The O'Donnell House is a brown stucco villa perched on the rocky slope of the San Jacinto Mountains, overlooking the flat desert floor. Thomas O'Donnell, an oilman from Pasadena, built it in nineteen twenty-five using native desert stone and steel to anchor the structure into the cliffside. He wanted a winter retreat that mimicked the rugged landscape rather than standing apart from it. The house became a magnet for celebrities, but O'Donnell ultimately donated the property to the Desert Museum for public use.
The O'Donnell House at the Willows
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