Palm Springs is a sun-baked oasis in the Southern California desert, about 100 miles east of Los Angeles. During the 1930s, at the height of the Hollywood studio system, numerous movie stars decamped to balmy Palm Springs to relax. It was within two hours of Los Angeles, and photographers were successfully discouraged from pestering celebrities there. The city served as a winter playground for luminaries such as Frank Sinatra, Marlene Dietrich and Bob Hope. These stars and other individuals of means built vacation homes and resorts, designed by noted architects such as Albert Frey, Richard Neutra and E. Stewart Williams. Their airy, light-filled midcentury-modern creations took full advantage of the pleasant climate and mountain views. Along with shopping and dining, sun-soaked recreation is the focus here, and the improbably green golf courses and sky-blue swimming pools attract throngs of visitors.