706 E Vista Chino, Palm Springs, CA

Property Description

At 1,100 square feet, 706 E Vista Chino is one of the condo units in Park Imperial North, a condo development designed by noted architect Barry Berkus, whose clever floor plan and use of windows make the space feel considerably larger than its measures. Developed by Jack Meiselman in 1955 and designed by a 26-year-old Barry Berkus (who trained under William Cody and deeply influenced by Richard Neutra), this 2-bedroom, 2-bath single-level condo is a textbook example of what early Desert Modernism could deliver at an approachable scale: expansive, sun-drenched, and quietly sophisticated.

The bones are everything here. Beamed ceilings anchor the interior volume while floor-to-ceiling glazing dissolves the boundary between inside and out. The living area opens directly onto a large east-facing private patio — morning light flooding in before the desert heat takes hold, which is exactly the kind of solar intelligence Berkus was putting into these units from day one. The eat-in kitchen has its own west-facing attached patio, and the primary bedroom suite adds a third outdoor space with an enclosed west-facing patio. Three patios in 1,100 square feet. Berkus understood that in Palm Springs, outdoor square footage counts.

The formal entry, formal dining area, and private laundry round out a floor plan that punches well above its weight. This is a Plan 200 configuration — the two-bedroom layout Meiselman offered alongside the larger Plan 300 — with the characteristic open flow and half-wall spatial vocabulary Berkus developed for the complex. Original beamed ceilings and the overall structural expression remain; the HVAC has been updated (replaced in 2022, according to the data we have).

What Makes This Home Special

Among Park Imperial North’s 51 units, 706 E Vista Chino stands out for its patio count alone — three distinct outdoor spaces in a 1,100-square-foot footprint is unusual even within this complex, and it reflects how deliberately Berkus distributed indoor-outdoor access across all sides of the unit. The east-facing primary patio is a genuine amenity in this climate, capturing the best morning hours before desert temperatures climb.

Within the broader Meiselman Registry, Park Imperial North is Meiselman’s only condo development and features unique architectural elements not found in Meiselman’s other homes, including spider-beam construction and accordion doors to separate living spaces. The complex earned the “Gold Medallion” designation at the original sale (for fully electric, GE-outfitted homes), and the terrazzo walkways and original structural details that remain in surviving units are preservation landmarks in their own right. The fact that this unit appeared on the Palm Springs Modernism Tour two consecutive years signals that it retains meaningful original character — that’s not a distinction lightly given.

Development and Neighborhood Context

Park Imperial North was developed by Jack Meiselman in 1955 on five acres at the intersection of Vista Chino, Via Miraleste, and Louise Drive in the Racquet Club Estates area — and it was a genuinely ambitious project. Fifty-one single-level condo units arranged in small clusters around shared green space and two pools, with a design ethos centered on resort-style living at a democratic price point. The complex earned the “Gold Medallion” designation, meaning every unit came fully electric with GE appliances: “Mark 27” ranges with automatic timers, “Quick Recovery” water heaters, Textolite countertops in “White Gold,” wool carpeting, and terrazzo walkways extending through to the patios. In 1955, this was cutting-edge residential specification. Meiselman offered two floor plans — the two-bedroom Plan 200 and the three-bedroom Plan 300 — both built around Berkus’s signature moves: clerestory windows, half-walls, open plans, and an easy flow between indoors and out. Park Imperial North was, notably, the second residential condo development in Palm Springs to sell the mid-century resort-living concept.

The Racquet Club Estates neighborhood sits in the northern section of Palm Springs, named for the legendary Racquet Club that anchored the area and drew Hollywood’s mid-century elite. It developed rapidly through the 1950s and early 1960s, becoming one of the highest concentrations of intact Desert Modernism residential architecture in the city. Park Imperial North sits right in the thick of it — and the five-acre low-scale campus feels like it was designed to belong there.

Within the Meiselman Registry, Park Imperial North is irreplaceable. It’s the only documented Berkus-designed development in the archive, and the only condo complex Meiselman built. Barry Berkus went on to receive more than 300 design awards and was named one of Architectural Digest‘s top 100 architects in America. He designed Park Imperial North at 26, which is an incredible achievement for a young man at the start of his career.

Is This Your Home? Claim It!

If 706 E Vista Chino is yours, you’re sitting on a piece of Palm Springs history — a unit in the only Meiselman-Berkus condo development in the Registry, in a complex that set the standard for mid-century desert resort living. Claim your listing to add your own documentation, connect with the Registry community, and make sure your home’s story gets told right.