71308 Cypress Drive, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270
Local realty services provided by:ERA Excel Realty
Listed by: joseph shane tourtelot
Office: compass310-230-5744
MLS#:26993613
Source:CRMLS
Price summary
- Price:$9,100,000
- Price per sq. ft.:$996.5
- Monthly HOA dues:$663.75
About this home
When LIFE magazine put 71308 Cypress Drive on its cover in May 1956 and christened it a "Push-Button Paradise," it cemented the estate as one of the most celebrated midcentury modern houses in America. It is one of the few private homes ever designed by Welton Becket. His practice was among the largest architectural firms in the world (the Capitol Records Building, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion), yet it almost never designed private homes. In 1967, William Cody, the desert's most celebrated modernist, expanded the house. Two of the era's defining architects, one address. London's Architectural Review called it "a gadgeteer's nirvana" in 1957; House Beautiful showcased it in 1963; Huell Howser even devoted an episode of "California's Gold" to it in 2001.Built for Robert Paxton McCulloch, the renowned chainsaw industrialist and, at heart, a land man. He founded cities: Lake Havasu in 1963 and Fountain Hills in 1970, each planned with C.V. Wood, the designer of Disneyland. It was McCulloch who bought the London Bridge and moved it to Lake Havasu. The house stands on the premier ground of the desert's first golf-course community, Thunderbird Country Club. The reasons McCulloch and Becket chose this ground are obvious: McCulloch took Lot No. 1, then bought the adjacent Lot No. 14, a full-acre double homesite wrapped on three sides by the golf course, and one of only two true estate homes in Thunderbird Estates set on a full acre. No neighboring house intrudes: no rooftops, only fairways rolling up to the Santa Rosa Mountains on one side and snow-capped San Jacinto on the other.The uncompromising Desert Modern estate contains 9,144 square feet: six en-suite bedrooms, six and a half baths, a library, an office, a gym, and an entertainer's bar, plus something almost unheard of in the desert, a full lower level with a wine cellar and a private movie theatre. A paver motor court, an extra-large three-car garage, and a golf cart garage complete the home. Emile Norman's artwork remains on property: the geological-strata mural at the sport court and the sun-legend mosaic in the library.The grounds live as a private desert resort: pool, outdoor kitchen, gazebo dining and lounge, and two fire-pit terraces under olive trees. The sunken, lighted sport court, set eight feet below grade to protect the view corridors, holds two pickleball courts and its own bedroom and bathroom.Most importantly, the house was never torn down. It stands today on its original plan, rooflines, and footprint: in 2002, when a proposed gut remodel threatened it, architect Leo Marmol reviewed the plans at the City of Rancho Mirage's request and found them wanting, and the city denied the permit. "What could be the second most important house in Rancho Mirage," Marmol called it (San Francisco Chronicle, November 2, 2002). A sensitive remodel was approved the following year. The City of Rancho Mirage's 2025 Historic Resources Survey evaluates the house as an example of the Desert Modern style and finds it eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, the California Register, and the City's own historic register, and eligible for the property tax relief of a Mills Act contract.Some houses are bought for a season of life. This one is bought for a family: a place for children and grandchildren to come back to, holiday after holiday, the way the McCullochs did.Homes with this level of provenance cannot be replicated: the homesite, the two architects, and the moment no longer exist in combination. 71308 Cypress Drive, the first home in the desert's first golf community, a LIFE magazine cover story, a landmark the city itself rose to defend, is offered for the buyer who collects the irreplaceable....
Contact an agent
Home facts
- Year built:1956
- Subdivision & Development:Cypress Estates
- Listing ID #:26993613
- Added:2 day(s) ago
- Updated:November 09, 2026 at 12:16 PM
Rooms and interior
- Bedrooms:6
- Total bathrooms:7
- Full bathrooms:6
- Half bathrooms:1
- Flooring:Carpet, Wood
- Kitchen Description:Barbecue, Built In, Dishwasher, Disposal, Gas Cooktop, Microwave, Oven, Refrigerator
- Basement:Yes
- Living area:9,132 sq. ft.
Heating and cooling
- Cooling:Central Air
- Heating:Central
- Central air:Yes
Structure and exterior
- Year built:1956
- Building area:9,132 sq. ft.
- Lot area:1 Acres
- Architectural Style:Mid Century Modern
- Exterior Features:BrickDriveway, FirePit
- Foundation Description:Slab
Finances and disclosures
- Price:$9,100,000
- Price per sq. ft.:$996.5
Features and amenities
- Appliances:Barbecue, Dishwasher, Disposal, Dryer, Washer
- Laundry features:Dryer, Inside, Washer
- Amenities:ENERGY STAR Qualified Appliances, Fire Pit, High Ceilings, Recessed Lighting, Storage, Utility Room, Walk In Closets, Wet Bar, Wine Cellar
- Pool features:Fenced, Filtered, Heated, Private
Parking
- Total parking spaces:10
- Parking description:Brick Driveway, Controlled Entrance, Garage, Garage Door Opener, Paved, Private
- Garage:Yes
- Garage spaces:4
New listings near 71308 Cypress Drive
- Coming Soon
$4,569,000Coming Soon4 beds 5 baths4,817 sq. ft.9 Clancy Lane S, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270
MLS# 219155470DAListed by: EQUITY UNION - New
$1,600,000Active4 beds 5 baths3,350 sq. ft.4 Via Santanella, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270
MLS# 219155604Listed by: COLDWELL BANKER REALTY - New
$925,000Active4 beds 3 baths2,548 sq. ft.2 Curie Court, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270
MLS# 219155731DAListed by: COMPASS - New
$1,799,000Active3 beds 3 baths2,142 sq. ft.126 Loch Lomond Road, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270
MLS# 219155722DAListed by: THE LORI BOWERS GROUP - New
$3,500,000Active4 beds 4 baths4,695 sq. ft.72114 Follansbee Road, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270
MLS# 219155715Listed by: COLDWELL BANKER REALTY - New
$1,335,000Active4 beds 5 baths3,125 sq. ft.35004 Vista Del Ladero, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270
MLS# 219155700Listed by: THE MASON GROUP - New
$795,000Active4 beds 3 baths2,191 sq. ft.13 Pine Valley Drive, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270
MLS# 219155692Listed by: BENNION DEVILLE HOMES - New
$1,345,000Active3 beds 3 baths3,788 sq. ft.1207 Tamarisk West Street, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270
MLS# 219155682PSListed by: COLDWELL BANKER REALTY - New
$7,800,000Active7 beds 8 baths7,959 sq. ft.71111 Tamarisk Lane, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270
MLS# 26106532Listed by: COMPASS