Bob Hope’s Palm Springs House
May 14th, 2009 | By Lindsay | Category: Celebrity Homes
While in Palm Springs this past weekend, I dragged my boyfriend – ahem, fiance (I swear, I’m never going to get used to saying that!) out to stalk Bob Hope’s former residence, which is located high up on a cliff at the very top of Southridge Drive. I wasn’t so much interested in seeing the home because it had once belonged to Bob Hope, but rather because it was designed by famed architect John Lautner. And I am absolutely obsessed with Lautner homes! Once upon a time, I actually hated his designs - I thought they were just simply too weird. But over the years they have really grown on me. I love that all of his homes are so incredibly unique and recognizable. One look at a poured concrete wall or a curving roof line and you know immediately if a house was designed by Lautner. 
It’s no wonder that his homes have been used in countless Hollywood productions over the years including Charlie’s Angels, Diamonds Are Forever, The Big Lebowski, and Lethal Weapon 2.
Not everyone is as big a fan of John Lautner as I am, though. Legend has it that Bob Hope wasn’t exactly happy with the house that Lautner designed for him. According to this article, Judith Lautner, John’s daughter, states that Bob “made life hell for my father. He destroyed a lot of the thinking. He just stepped in and said ‘No, no, no.’” Legend also has it that Bob never even spent one night in the home, but instead used it solely for entertaining purposes. LOL The home, which was built in 1979 and was designed to look like the skirts of a volcano, measures 17,531 square feet, has 6 bedrooms and 9.75 bathrooms!
Unfortunately, Bob’s former home is located in a private, gated community, so I wasn’t able to get very close to it. 
And, judging from the signs pictured above, the neighborhood is not very stalker friendly! LOL When I saw the sign which read “Trespassers will be photographed and may be prosecuted”, I was pretty much outta there! LOL Bob’s former community is very exclusive and was once also home to actors Steve McQueen and William Holden. Lautner also designed another home – the Elrod House – just down the road from Bob’s, but, unfortunately, I didn’t realize that until after I got home, so I didn’t get any photographs of it! Ugh, I am such a blond sometimes! LOL
Because I couldn’t get very close to the house while stalking it, I had to settle for doing some cyberstalking as soon as I got home. It’s funny, but in aerial images the home actually appears to be rather small, but rumor has it that the open circle cut-out in the roof is so large that a helicopter could actually land there!! I don’t know if that is true or not, but being that the home measures almost 18,000 square feet, it is definitely a possibility! Another rumor floating around about the former Bob Hope residence is that the shape of the pool was loosely based on the comedian’s profile. So cool! You can see another amazing aerial view of the home here.
Until next time, Happy Stalking!
Stalk It: Bob Hope’s Palm Springs house is located at 2466 Southridge Drive. The Elrod House is located just a few houses down at 2175 Southridge Drive. Both are in a private, guard-gated community, so DO NOT trespass. If you are into hiking, apparently the nearby Araby Trail offers some great views of both homes.
Related posts:
- Les Baux de Palm Springs Thanks to the Real Estalker’s recent post about the...
- Brenda and Dylan’s Palm Springs Hotel from “Beverly Hills, 90210″ Another Beverly Hills, 90210 location that I stalked recently...
- Stalking Palm Springs Style This weekend my boyfriend and I took a little...
- The Californication House First off let me wish everyone a very happy...
- The Pilot House! One filming location that has pretty much been the...
Hi anyone who knows a BIO of Bob Hope, i have here a number plate and logbook from a ‘73 lincoln continental adressed to BOB R.HOPE, in 1973 lived in Palm Springs California Hope Dr. Anyone interested in authenticating this piece of memorabilia email me at tate253@gmail.com
thanks
You have the House right, but not the address. Bob’s house is the one above the tennis court on Southridge Circle. That house belongs to an old acquaintance named Ben Perry [or it did in the 90’s. When Ben built the Tennis court, it drove Bob Hope nuts. He was mad at the Night Court Lights.
Hello there
i was curious to know from which part of the road, does it starts the “gated community”
having a look through the bing web site, there is a white gate , near the first Lautner house,
in the middle of the road, so i guess it’s that one the right point, but maybe you know more
thanks for your thread, nice blog
ciao
Gianni
A few times a year in the winter there are charity functions held at the Lautner/Hope residence- do for $100-200 you can run around and get a good look.
For any readers who don’t know, the nearby Elrod house IS the house from the end of “Diamonds are Forever.”
Also, if you can’t get use to fiancé, imagine what it will be like to call your boyfriend your husband!