JPC PRESIDENT LINDA JOHNSON-RICE SELLING PALM SPRINGS PROPERTY

As part of the ongoing sell-off of JPC's commercial and private assets, Crain's Business Chicago reported last week that Linda Johnson Rice is looking to offload the iconic Palm Springs house bought by her parents John Johnson and Eunice Johnson during the mid-1970s. The connection to "Black Media Architecture" comes through the building's designer, Arthur Elrod.

Johnson House, Palm Springs. Compass

Elrod was also the man behind the lavish interiors at the Johnson Publishing headquarters at 820 South Michigan Avenue in Chicago, as well as John and Eunice Johnson's apartment on Lake Shore Drive, both of which had been completed a few years before the purchase of their Palm Springs property. Elrod had invited the Johnson's to spend a weekend with him in Palm Springs following the completion of their Lake Shore Drive home, and the publisher and his partner had quickly fallen in love with the area. 

The property they eventually purchased is located in the exclusive neighborhood of South Ridge, famed for playing host to celebrities such as Bob Hope and Steve McQueen. The Johnson house had once belonged to Ralph Stolkin, an oil magnate and furniture manufacturer who had retired to Palm Springs after spending much of his career in Chicago. The 5,300-square-foot house includes an interior courtyard with an open-air swimming pool, panoramic views of the San Jacinto and Santa Rose mountain ranges, and a tennis court.

Johnson house, interior courtyard. Compass