Small Dreams: 50 Palm Springs Trailer Homes

Jeffrey Milstein is fascinated with how similar forms repeat themselves in distinctive ways. Here, he examines classic Palm Springs trailer park homes, each composed of the same basic units the box-like house, the flanking carport, and the patio shelter. Photographing each one from exactly the same viewpoint, he shows how the owners have personalised their dwellings in a delightful range of architectural styles from Chinese to early Egyptian to Desert Modern. Parked on small plots with their narrow ends facing the street, these tiny homes were made of surplus sheet metal using technology developed in aircraft factories during WWII. Over time, people remodelled them, creating decorative facades and in some cases adding elements of architectural styles found in more affluent neighbourhoods. In documenting these older mobile homes, including the Blue Skies Village Trailer Park founded in 1955 by Bing Crosby, Milstein reveals how we shape our world to reflect our dreams and aspirations.

AUTHOR:
Jeffrey Milstein is a photographer, architect, graphic designer, and pilot. His photographs have been exhibited and collected throughout the United States and Europe. Born in Los Angeles, he frequently returns to there to photograph.