311 N Cerritos Drive, Palm Springs, CA

Property Description

This 1,348-square-foot, two-bedroom single-family home in Palm Springs’ Sunrise Park neighborhood was built in 1957 — placing it firmly in the mid-decade sweet spot of Desert Modernism’s most productive era. Attribution to Jack Meiselman is suspected but not yet formally verified, and the architect of record hasn’t been documented. What is clear from the physical evidence is that this home carries the design DNA of that moment: a generous open living volume, a thoughtful material palette, and an orientation strategy that puts the desert landscape to work.

The living room is organized around a floating stone corner fireplace — a design move that anchors the space without dividing it, keeping the plan open and the sight lines clear. Vaulted beamed ceilings amplify the spatial generosity beyond what the square footage alone would suggest, and west-facing sliding doors pull the patio and pool area into the composition. That western exposure is doing real work: late-afternoon desert light floods the interior while the outdoor space becomes a natural extension of the living zone as the day cools.

Terrazzo-tiled floors throughout — although it’s not clear whether they are original or added by a later owner. Original terrazzo is one of the most reliable physical markers of mid-century construction, but it’s increasingly hard to find intact. Whether they are original or newer, the combination, alongside the original beamed ceiling and post-and-beam structure, gives this home a continuity that speaks directly to its 1957 origins.

The kitchen retains its original layout with period-appropriate appliances, including a working retro butter-yellow range. A replacement retro-style refrigerator has been added. Copper plumbing and the pool pump have been updated.

What Makes This Home Special

At 1,348 square feet on a 9,583-square-foot lot, 311 N Cerritos sits in a comfortable middle range for Meiselman-attributed single-family homes — larger than the Meiselman’s smallest home at 1,114 SF and bigger than the cluster of 1,200-square-foot homes documented in Sunrise Park, Oasis del Sol, and Sunmor.

The 1957 build date also places it in an important transitional period. It’s four years after Meiselman started his own building company and four years older than the Meiselman-Berkus collaboration at Park Imperial North (1961). And the intact terrazzo, the surviving beamed ceiling, and the working period kitchen appliances suggest a home that’s been respected and curated, rather than reinvented.

Development and Neighborhood Context

Sunrise Park occupies the northeast quadrant of Palm Springs, roughly bounded by Vista Chino to the north, Gene Autry Trail to the east, and Tachevah Drive to the south — a mid-century residential neighborhood that developed largely through the 1950s and 1960s as Palm Springs expanded beyond its original resort core. It’s a neighborhood of single-family homes on generous lots, with the San Jacinto Mountains as a constant backdrop. The neighborhood hasn’t historically received the same preservation spotlight as areas like the Movie Colony or Old Las Palmas, but the density of mid-century residential construction here is real — and the Registry’s documentation of it is overdue.

Is This Your Home? Claim It!

If 311 N Cerritos is your home, you might be sitting on a genuinely important piece of the Meiselman story — and we’d love to help you tell it. Claiming your listing connects you to the Registry community, unlocks verified documentation status, and gives you the chance to add your own history, photos, and provenance to the archive.