{"product_id":"howard-manor-palm-springs-1960s","title":"Howard Manor, Palm Springs 1960s","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn 1936 Al Wertheimer, a reputed mobster and former member of the infamous Detroit-based Purple Gang of bootleggers and hijackers, opened the Colonial House hotel in Palm Springs, CA.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Purple Gang had run riot in Detroit in the 1920s - also committing an estimated 500 murders - all while running the city’s Colony Club, where the gang hid its stashes of guns and ammunition.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Spanish Colonial-style hotel on N Indian Canyon Drive soon proved a hit with Wertheimer’s gambling pals who appreciated the sun-drenched weather in Palm Springs and the underground speakeasy and brothel concealed in the basement.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWerthheimer also had financial interests in the lavishly decorated The Dunes nightclub in Cathedral City where illicit gambling took place.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAfter WWII, the hotel came under new ownership and was re-named Howard Manor.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe new owners were Robert Howard, son of Charles Howard who owned Seabiscuit, the undersized and temperamental thoroughbred whose unlikely success in racing proved a diversion to many Americans during the Great Depression, and his actress wife Andrea Leeds Howard.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLeeds Howard had been nominated in 1937 for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in Stage Door starring Katherine Hepburn and the following year lost out to Olivia De Havilland for the role of Melanie in Gone with the Wind.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn the ensuing decades, the glamorous couple turned the Howard Manor and its Academy Room supper club into a desert hot spot. Among the guests were boxing champion Jack Dempsey, locals Mary Pickford and Frank Sinatra, and future president Ronald Reagan.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe hotel changed hands again in 1956 and was run by Annie and Dave Margolis. Later, it was leased to fitness pioneer Sheila Cluff and her husband Don, who changed the name to The Palms.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eToday the three-acre property is the four-star Colony Palms Hotel, owned by hotelier and designer Steve Hermann, and is one of Palm Spring’s most luxurious and sought-after hotels.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGallery quality Giclée print on natural white, matte, 100% cotton rag, acid and lignin free archival paper using Epson archival inks. Custom printed with border for matting and framing.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb style=\"line-height: 1.2;\"\u003eEach order includes a print of the interior menu.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb style=\"line-height: 1.2;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eAll printed in USA.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Lynxwiler","offers":[{"title":"8.5x11\" Archival Print (Unframed) $25.00","offer_id":57491817037990,"sku":"gro1790052528619","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"11x14 Archival Print (Unframed) $30.00","offer_id":57491817070758,"sku":"hhe1790052528620","price":21.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"13x19 Archival Print (Unframed) $40.00","offer_id":57491817103526,"sku":"pcq1790052528621","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"16x20 Archival Print (Unframed) $55.00","offer_id":57491817136294,"sku":"pts1790052528622","price":39.6,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"20x24 Archival Print (Unframed) $85.00","offer_id":57491817169062,"sku":"ijk1790052528623","price":63.75,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"24x36 Archival Print (Unframed) $135.00","offer_id":57491817201830,"sku":"qnl1790052528624","price":81.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0745\/9133\/8662\/files\/howard-manor-palm-springs-1960s_1.webp?v=1790052532","url":"https:\/\/coffeetamper.shop\/products\/howard-manor-palm-springs-1960s","provider":"My Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}