HomeMy WebLinkAboutList of 7 City of Palm Desert Landmarks Updated 2017
L ANDM ARKS OF THE CITY OF PALM DESERT
1. HISTORIC AL SOCIETY OF PALM DESERT (72-861 El Paseo) Designed
by W alter W hite in the style of Ranch Vernacular, the fire station was
completed in 1951. Contractor Bill Lord used rustic concrete masonry
units furnished by the Count y Prison farm brick yard in Banning.
2. S HADOW M OUNT AIN GOLF CLUB (73-800 IRONW OOD) Located in the
heart of the Coachella Valley surrounded by the Santa Rosa and San
Jacinto Mountains, Shadow Mountain Golf Course was incorporated
on January 24, 1958. Designed by the famed and legendary golfer,
Gene S arazen. It was the first golf course in Palm Desert.
3. PORTOLA COMMUNITY CENTER (45-480 PORTOLA AVE) The building
located at 45-480 Portola Avenue is significant as the first Community
Library in the Cit y of Palm Desert. The building was constructed in
1962 on land donated by Randall and Cyria Henderson.
4. S ANDPIPER CONDOMINIUMS, CIRCLES 5 through 12 (EL PASEO)
Sandpiper Condominiums Circles 5 through 12, completed in 1965 by
the Los A ngeles- based architectur al firm of Palmer & Krisel, exhi bit
numerous st ylistic markers that place them directl y in t he historic
cont ext of P alm Desert’s Modern P eri od. Further, Circles 5 through 12
are an excellent exam ple of m ulti-family residential development in
Palm Desert in the mid-1960s. The 128 units and 64 buil dings
that comprise Circles 5 through 12 reflect a coherent vision of
modernist architect ure rarel y f ound an ywhere else in t he United
States. The siting of the buildings in Circles 5 through 12, and the
landscape architecture f urther reinf orce a coherent modernist
arc hitectural vision that successf ully created a leisure lif estyle of
“carefree desert living.”
5. P ALM DESERT COMMUNITY CHURCH (CENTER FOR SPIRITUAL LIVING,
P ALM DESERT) – (45-630 PORTOLA AVE) The building is significant as
the City of Palm Desert’s first Community Church. A ground-breaking
ceremony was held at the Portola Ave site on February 6, 1950.
Architect Barry Frost’s plans were approved by the congregation on
March 12, 1950, with Clarence Beck of Indio, the builder. Carl
Henderson became the chairman of the building committee, and the
congregation set to work in earnest to provide a roof for “the house
that Mac would build.”
6. SCHINDLER HOUS E FOR M ARYON TOOLE (44-870 CABRILLO AVE)
From 1946-48 Schindler built this home for Maryon Toole in what
was then known as Palm Village. The hom e was built in the later
years of Schindler’s career, which ended prematurely with his death
in 1953 at the age of 65. In The Architecture of R. M. Schindler,
Michael Darling of The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
said “The richness of the Toole house shows an architect in full
command of his medium , orchestrating a range of architectural
concerns toward a f ully integrated whole.”
7. Randall Henderson House - (74-135 Larrea Street)
The residence at 74-135 Larrea Street is signific ant as the home of
Randall Henderson, founder of Desert Magazine and early pioneer
in the city of Palm Desert. It is further significant for its contribution
to the development of the south side of Highway 111. Construction
on the home began in approximately 1950 and was completed in
1952. Henry Colglazier from Cathedral City was the contractor on
the home and his son Walter also helped. A three foot wall, which
remains today, was built south of the home to protect it from floods.
Randall wrote an article documenting the thought that went in to his
home that was published in the July 1954 edition of Desert
Magazine.