Palm Springs
We love Palm Springs. Having said that I can understand how it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. I’m sure that some people think that unless you are old or into golfing what is there to see? Well let me tell you - for anyone interested in Mid-Century Modern Design it is an absolute mecca that must be experienced! Here is a short summary of our recent trip to that oasis in the California desert.
Flying in is an interesting experience. It seems like you are landing in the middle of absolutely nowhere, as you’ve been flying over sparsely populated areas of the mountains of Utah and Nevada for a while and all of a sudden you see these amazing patches of bright green in the middle of desert as you descend into the airport in the middle of Palm Springs at the top of the Coachella Valley.
At the foot of the San Jacinto Mountains, you emerge into this town in the bright desert sunlight with the most incredible views of the mountains. What seems like a bleak and unvaried landscape suddenly bursts into an incredibly beautiful and varied tapestry that takes your breath away. The light, warmth and colors are all reflected in the architecture that you see over and over again as you come to learn your way around.
So put a Sinatra CD in the stereo, sit back and relax as we show you around some of the wonderful sights we saw in this desert hideaway:
The Hotel
We lucked into finding a fabulous Mid-Century Modern motel called the Desert Star Bungalows that has been wonderfully kept up by our friends Walter and Davy - if you ever go to Palm Springs I strongly suggest you stay there...
Palm Springs Architecture
The reason we came here in the first place. Check out some photos of some of the most amazing architecture that we have seen anywhere...
Palm Springs Architecture - Alexander Homes
A gallery of photos showing just a few of the (literally) thousands of modern homes built by the Alexander company as tract housing in the 50s...
Desert Flora
A gallery of photos showing some of the unique plants around the area we were staying...
Palm Springs Tramway
One of the big tourist attractions in the area is a tram that rises to over 8000 feet above the desert into the mountains. And the gondola that takes you up rotates 360 degrees as you travel on it...
Air Museum
The Palm Springs Air Museum is a wonderful working museum - all of the aircraft in the museum are in flying condition and have been used in movies like Pearl Harbor.
DaVinci Exhibit
At the Air Museum was a special traveling exhibit of models based on Leonardo DaVinci’s drawings and sketches.
Friday, February 9, 2007