Little Beverly Hills: Palm Springs’ Hidden Gem

If you’ve spent any time exploring Palm Springs’ mid-century modern neighborhoods, you know that each one has its own personality. Twin Palms has the Hollywood glamour. Vista Las Palmas has the grand boulevards. But tucked into the southern end of the city — bordered by Ramon Road, El Cielo Road, Sunny Dunes Road, and Compadre Road — is a neighborhood that’s been quietly stealing hearts for decades. Welcome to Little Beverly Hills, quite possibly the most delightfully surprising pocket of Desert Modernism in all of Southern California.

Don’t let the petite footprint fool you. Little Beverly Hills is one of the smallest complete modernism neighborhoods in Southern California, but what it lacks in size, it more than makes up for in character, history, and architectural charm.

A Name With a Story (Actually, Several Stories)

The neighborhood was originally named Ramon Rise Estates in the 1950s, with the name derived from the development’s northern boundary along Ramon Road. Then the Alexander Construction Company bought a large portion of it and rebranded it as Enchanted Village. In the early 2010s, neighbors collaborated to form a new neighborhood organization and agreed on the name Little Beverly Hills because many of the streets are named after famous streets in Beverly Hills. Bedford Drive, Roxbury Drive, Beverly Drive, Compadre Road — yep, they’re all here. It’s a little bit of 90210 transplanted to the desert, and honestly? It works.

Two Developers, One Remarkable Neighborhood

Here’s where the history gets really interesting. The story begins on February 14, 1954, when The Desert Sun reported that George Goldberg, a well-known hotel man, purchased a 40-acre parcel of Indian land opposite Palm Springs High School. Goldberg teamed up with Samuel Sontag, former owner of 40+ Sontag Drugstores, to form SonGold Land Development Company. They brought in Jack Meiselman as Vice President. Meiselman and his wife Berne had been building homes in Palm Springs since the early 1950s.

The SonGold/Meiselman group built the first 21 homes between October 1956 and March 1957, priced between $14,000 and $16,000, located on El Cielo Road and Canon Drive. These modest but pioneering homes were among the first affordable residences for Palm Springs’ permanent working residents to offer swimming pools — a pretty big deal at the time.

Then the story takes an interesting turn. In late 1955, the remaining 64 lots were acquired by George Alexander and Joe Dunas, and the Alexander Construction Company built the remaining 64 homes between July 1957 and February 1958, priced between $18,950 and $19,775. These were marketed as the Enchanted Village, and the architecture firm of Palmer & Krisel was brought in to design them. That’s right — William Krisel created the floor plan, now known as the “Ramon Rise” floor plan. Krisel also designed one of six exterior elevations — the flat-roofed Enchantment model — while Richard Leitch, FAIA, completed the remaining five exterior styles.

Celebrity Neighbors and Neighborhood Legends

Oh, and did I mention the people who’ve lived here? Because the resident roster is genuinely remarkable. Actors Fernando Lamas and Arlene Dahl lived at 640 Compadre Road — the Enchanted Village model home — from 1958 to 1959. That same home later became a destination in its own right during Modernism Week. Arnold “Buddy” Gillespie, a special effects artist for MGM who was nominated for 13 Academy Awards and won for Ben Hur (1959), Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, and Dolphin Street, owned a home on Compadre Road in the early 1960s. Harriet Parsons, one of the few female film producers in the United States at the time, lived at 613 Beverly Drive. Three-time Olympic shotput medalist Parry O’Brien was an original owner on Bedford Drive. This neighborhood has serious bones.

Little Beverly Hills Today: From Forgotten to Fabulous

If you visited Little Beverly Hills in the late 1990s, you might have driven past without a second look. Many of the homes in the area suffered from a severe case of “deferred maintenance.” Revitalization of these homes began in the mid-2010s, with developers and contractors purchasing and restoring them. The transformation has been nothing short of remarkable. Once forgotten, the neighborhood is now fabulous, with most homes fully restored.

The neighborhood first participated in Modernism Week in 2019 and has since sold out its tours for three consecutive years — 2023, 2024, and 2025 — with 40% more tickets sold in 2025 than in previous years. Visitors consistently rave about the creativity and care homeowners have brought to their restorations. Some tour-goers have even bought homes here after falling in love on a walking tour. (Can you blame them?)

Beginning in October 2026, Little Beverly Hills will be added to Modernism Week’s Double Decker Architectural Bus Tours — joining celebrated neighborhoods like Twin Palms, Vista Las Palmas, and Old Las Palmas on this sought-after showcase. That’s a milestone moment. As the neighborhood marks its 70th anniversary, it’s safe to say Little Beverly Hills has firmly arrived.

Whether you’re a die-hard Desert Modernism devotee or just beginning to fall down the mid-century rabbit hole, LBH belongs on your must-explore list. It’s small, it’s special, and it’s got more history per square foot than almost anywhere else in Palm Springs. Trust me — you won’t be disappointed.

Have a Meiselman home in Little Beverly Hills? We’d love to feature your property in the Registry.

Register your home