Howard Lapham

Who was Howard Lapham?

Howard Lapham was a modernist architect whose notable residences exist primarily in Southern California. He relocated to the Coachella Valley in the California desert east of Los Angeles in 1954 from Stamford, CT. He was 40 at the time of the move. Soon after settling into this desert community, he began designing homes for California's wealthy and movie elite. Many of Lapham's clients were members of the Thunderbird Country Club. Development near the golf club's fairways and up the slopes of the foothills grew into "Thunderbird Heights." These Lapham buildings appeared in Architectural Digest: Hyatt von Dehn Residence, the Kiewit Residence, the Clarke Swanson Residence, the Morrow Residence, and a remodel of the Thunderbird Country Club clubhouse.

Lapham's early work included custom homes in Palm Spring's Deepwell Estates including Manzanita House, known for its asymmetrical lot position and glass-with-stone facade, located just east of downtown. Perhaps Lapham's most famous renovation was that of the famous Chi Chi nightclub in 1959. The Chi Chi facade was redone in "ultra-modern" style.