Leo P. Raffaelli, AIA
DiGiorgio Residence ~ Photo: Sandé Lollis, Elements of Design 2007
“…I felt that Borrego had some potential as a resort area and could be developed very successfully into an attractive destination desert resort. I felt the first thing to do was to construct a golf course. We did develop the first golf course. DiGiorgio financed it, and it was very successful. We sold it to the members of the De Anza Golf Club, and now the golf course is at capacity and is surrounded by beautiful homes and is owned by the members. It's so busy and so heavily played by the members that there's no room for outsiders and guests. So there's a desperate need for another golf course in Borrego.”
Robert DiGiorgio, Robert DiGiorgio and Joseph A. DiGiorgio, "The DiGiorgios: From Fruit Merchants To Corporate Innovators, " an oral history conducted in 1983 by Ruth Teiser, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 1986.
Di Giorgio Residence, January, 1957 Borrego Sun © All Rights Reserved
De Anza Country Club would set the stage for the DiGiorgio development in the Borrego Valley. Robert’s father Joseph, had been in many ways a mentor and friend of A.A. Burnand and both had purchased land in the Borrego Valley with the idea of bringing early crops to market. With the passing of Joseph DiGiorio, Robert became head of the company. A.A. Burnand spent 10 thousand dollars to erect a fountain in honor of his friend in Christmas Circle.
DiGiorgio Residence under Construction, May 1957Borrego Sun © All Rights Reserved
The DiGiorgio Corporation built a home that would help market the new golf course development. The house was designed for entertaining and features a striking desert rock wall encircling a private patio that dramatically pierces the living room wall, becoming the fireplace. The use of rock is often a contributing feature to Desert Modern design.
DiGiorgio Residence ~ Photo: Sandé Lollis, Elements of Design 2007
Over the years the home has been incorrectly attributed to architect William Cody, a mistake that appears to have been the result of a reporting error that today can be corrected due to a photograph in the archives of the San Diego History Center. In 1984 the Union Tribune Publishing Company donated to the San Diego Historical Society (today the San Diego History Center) thousands of negatives spanning the years 1945-1981. Included in this archive were photographs used in the Borrego Sun that was then owned by the Copley Press. Resources of the Union-Tribune were at the time used to publish the Borrego Sun.
An architectural rendering of the DiGiorgio Residence appeared on the front page of the January 1955 issue. The article attributed William Cody as the architect, however when viewing the full photograph during research, the identity of the actual architect, Leo Raffaelli, was found.
Leo P. Raffaelli, AIA, was a San Fernando Valley architect who became associated with the DiGiorgios and produced many of their warehouse and cold storage facilities in the Central Valley. He also designed several commercial buildings and a home for television and movie actress Gale Storm. In a 2008 interview, Edward Takahasi, FAIA recalled working in Raffaelli’s office in 1956 while attending USC. He remembers Borrego Springs and the Salton Sea areas were spoken of frequently in the office, as well as the DiGiorgio Corporation. Research indicates Raffaelli designed two additional homes in de Anza Golf Estates.