It's official: the 1931 Aluminaire House, the U.S.'s first all-metal prefab, is leaving NYC for Palm Springs, California. Originally installed in the Grand Central Palace exhibition hall, the three-story structure then moved to a private estate in Long Island, before getting donated to the New York Institute of Technology. But ever since NYC's Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously rejected a proposal to site the house in Queens last year (it's currently sitting in boxes), Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet has been adamant about bringing the aluminum alloy and steel structure to his city. Pougnet has been working to fundraise the approximately $600,000 required to transport the prefab across the country, and just last weekend, announced that the move is definitely happening.
Designed by architects Albert Frey and A. Lawrence Kocher, the Aluminaire House will fit right in with Palm Springs' already extensive collection of Modernist buildings, some of which are also Frey's work. According to the Desert Sun, the house will live in Palm Springs' city yard until an upcoming downtown event space site is ready to begin restoration. Pougnet recently threw a party called "An Evening for Aluminaire" as part of the city's Modernism Week to help raise the funds. "So folks, it is coming. That's a done deal. It is coming," he declared at the event.
—Alexa Carrasco
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