For Dinah Shore's 100th Birthday, Head to 432 Hermosa

Lesbians may think Dinah Shore is the patron saint of women's music fests, as Club Skirts The Dinah celebration brings thousands to Palm Springs every spring. But this groundbreaking singer, actress, and TV personality made Palm Springs her home long before their party ever started.

February 29 marks what would have been Shore's 100th birthday, and in celebration, you can visit (or even stay at) her longtime Palm Springs estate at 432 Hermosa, in the historic Old Vista Las Palmas neighborhood. Created in the 1940s by renowned architect Donald Wexler, the estate features a 7,000-square-foot home with six bedrooms and seven and a half baths. There's a pool and tennis court, plus a guesthouse overlooking the pool, and a Tennis Casita that sleeps four, adjacent to what was formerly Kirk Douglas's home.

"This home is said to be Donald Wexler's finest piece of architecture," said Sanford Edward Cohen, the Estate Manager for 432 Hermosa. "The neighborhood is also renowned; Elvis lived there, Nancy and Ronald Reagan had a home, Marilyn Monroe was in the area, and it was rumored that Elizabeth Taylor owned a home there, but she never did -- she rented across the street from it."

Shore was married to actor (and furniture designer) George Montgomery, with whom she had a daughter, and adopted a son. But that didn't keep this spitfire from playing the field. Her longtime affair with the much-younger Burt Reynolds is Hollywood legend, making her one of the first official "cougars" of the time. Some even speculate that she was engaged in a clandestine affair with Frank Sinatra. Cohen said this it is also rumored that Shore ran with the Rat Pack.

Chevrolet sponsored Shore, and her song, "See the U.S.A. in your Chevrolet," became such a popular jingle that it was even performed by the "Glee" cast at the 2011 Super Bowl. She was a Big Band singer in the '40s and '50s, performed with Frank Sinatra, and was one of the first women to have a primetime TV variety show.

During a Red Jeep Tour with Desert Adventures Tour Guide Bob Gross, he noted that just about 20 years to the day after Shore passed away, actor Leonardo DiCaprio purchased the estate in February 2014 for a reported $5.23 million.

The lavish property is available as a vacation rental, even for those women in town in late March for Club Skirts The Dinah. Don't expect to run into the landlord, however; DiCaprio is reported to have only spent two nights in his home since purchasing it.

"Nothing I've ever found would lead me to believe she was a lesbian," said Gross of the actress who lent her name to a legendary women's festival and renowned LPGA Golf Tournament. "But I did hear that when she played golf, she would wear her outfits one size too big, so that people watching on TV at home would think she had lost weight."

Although the city of Palm Springs doesn't have anything planned for Shore's Centennial, the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation held their annual Retro Martini Party on February 19 at the stunning estate, where guests watched the Southern California sun set behind the beautiful San Jacinto Mountains with cocktail in hand, just as Shore must have done back in her day.

For more information, to rent or for a guided tour of the estate, visit www.432hermosa.com.