70375 Calico Rd
Rancho Mirage, CA 92270, USA

Bing Crosby's Estate

Step Inside Bing Crosby’s Estate — That Once Welcomed JFK and Marilyn Monroe. Last listed in 2019 for $5 million, Bing Crosby’s former house is a true legacy from the Golden Age of Hollywood by Georgie Mihaila

The Palm Springs area was a crazy popular celeb destination in the 1950s and ’60s. Frank Sinatra had his own place in Rancho Mirage, with Dean Martin and Marilyn Monroe each having vacation homes in Palm Springs. Other notable celebrities of the times like Ginger Rogers, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez all had homes nearby.

So there’s no surprise that the mid-century home built for Bing Crosby and his second wife, Kathryn Grant — shortly after their marriage in 1957 — was set in Rancho Mirage.

The 70375 Calico Road house which became home to the Crosbys had been designed to accommodate guests and parties as extravagant and entertaining as its owner — America’s first multimedia superstar, who at the time was the first celebrity to lead the charts in record sales, radio ratings, and motion picture grosses alike.

The home’s most famous guests, though, were definitely Marilyn Monroe and John F. Kennedy.

As the story goes — according to Monroe’s biographer — the two stayed at Crosby’s 70375 Calico Road home at the same time, with many speculating that this is the place where their rumored love connection may have blossomed. In honor of their stay here, the two-bedroom attached casita has been named the JFK Wing.

Crosby only lived at the Rancho Mirage home for a few years, before he moved to another home he had built in nearby Palm Desert.

But the home retains quite a few elements from its past celebrity owner who loved to live large, including expansive indoor and outdoor living areas with sliding glass doors that completely recess into the walls, a theater room with projector, and a huge living room with stone fireplace.

Spread on nearly 1.14 acres, the 70375 Calico Road home comes with approximately 6,700 square feet of living space that extend into the outdoor areas. The stylish residence beautifully blends art and architecture in a mid-century design with a nice Moroccan theme.

Set in the Thunderbird Heights community of Rancho Mirage, a city near Palm Springs, the 70375 Calico Road estate comes with great views of the Coachella Valley.

Among its most striking features, Bing Crosby’s former home lists a large living room with a stone fireplace and bar, a chef’s kitchen, movie theater, a beautiful and spacious 1,400-sq. foot master suite with a stunner of a walk-in closet and a fireplace, and four additional en-suite bedrooms.

The property was last listed for sale at the beginning of 2019, with an asking price of $5 million, repped by Linda Taglianetti, Fredrik Eklund, and Gail Vasquez of Douglas Elliman. And while the ‘for sale’ listing is no longer active, the old Bing Crosby estate is also offered as a vacation rental, if you want to bask in that Old Hollywood charm.

JFK and Marilyn Monroe

It is widely accepted that JFK and Marilyn Monroe did have sex at least once, In 1962 at Bing Crosby's house in Palm Springs. A friend of Marilyn's is quoted as saying:

Later, once the rumor mill was grinding, Marilyn told me that this night in March was the only time of her "affair" with JFK. Of course she was titillated beyond belief, because for a year he had been trying, through Lawford, to have an evening with her. A great many people thought, after that weekend, that there was more to it. But Marilyn gave me the impression that it was not a major event for either of them: it happened once, that weekend, and that was that.

The next and last time Marilyn Monroe crossed paths with JFK was at Kennedy's 45th birthday party at Madison Square Garden. The knowledge that Monroe and JFK had already had a one-night stand by this point makes the sensuality she brought to her performance of Happy Birthday, Mr. President even more palpable.

JFK and Eisenhower

Kennedy and Eisenhower at Bing Crosby's home in Palm Springs. March 24, 1962.