| City of Palm Springs | |
|---|---|
| — City — | |
| Aerial view of south west Palm Springs (facing south), with the Canyon Country Club in the center | |
| Location in Riverside County | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Riverside |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Steve Pougnet |
| Area[1] | |
| • Total | 94.975 sq mi (245.984 km2) |
| • Land | 94.116 sq mi (243.761 km2) |
| • Water | 0.859 sq mi (2.224 km2) 0.90% |
| Elevation | 440 ft (146 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 44,552 |
| • Density | 469.1/sq mi (181.1/km2) |
| Time zone | PST (UTC-8) |
| • Summer (DST) | PDT (UTC-7) |
| ZIP codes | 92262-92264, 92292 |
| Area code(s) | 760 (with a 442 overlay) |
| FIPS code | 06-55254 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1652768 |
| Website | http://www.palmsprings-ca.gov/ |
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles (177 km) east of Los Angeles and 136 miles (225 km) northeast of San Diego. The population was 44,552 at the 2010 census.
Golf, swimming, tennis, horseback riding and hiking in the nearby desert and mountain areas are major forms of recreation in Palm Springs.[2] The area code for Palm Springs is 760. The ZIP codes for Palm Springs are 92262 through 92264.
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The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians is a tribe composed of several smaller bands who lived in the modern day Palm Springs area when the Agua Caliente Reservation was established by the United States Government in 1896. Archaeological research has shown that the Cahuilla have lived in the area for the past 350–500 years. The reservation occupies 32,000 acres (13,000 ha), of which 6,700 acres (2,700 ha) lie within the city limits, making the Agua Caliente band the city's largest landowner. The reservation land was originally composed of alternating squares of land laid out across the desert in a checkerboard pattern. The alternating, non-reservation squares, were provided by the United States Government to the Southern Pacific Railroad as an incentive to bring rail lines through the open desert. Tribal enrollment is currently estimated at between 296 and 365 people. The Cahuilla name for the area was "Se-Khi" (boiling water). In the early 19th century, Spanish explorers named the area "Agua Caliente" (hot water). One possible origin of palm in the place name is revealed in the November 1992 issue of Art of California. At least one Spanish explorer referred to the area as la Palma de la Mano de dios or "The Palm of God's hand". The current name for the area is "Palm Springs" which likely came into common usage in the mid-1860s when U.S. Government surveyors noted that a local mineral spring was located at the base of "two bunches of palms". By 1884 when San Francisco attorney John Guthrie McCallum settled in Palm Springs, the name was already in wide acceptance.[3]
The city became a fashionable resort in the 1900s when health tourists arrived with conditions that needed dry heat. The village of Palm Springs was more comfortable in its microclimate, the village was covered in a shadow late afternoon during the summer by the San Jacinto mountains to the west and the opposite in the winter keeping out cold winds from the San Gorgonio pass. In the 1920s Hollywood movie stars were attracted by the hot dry, sunny weather and seclusion. Architectural modernists flourished with commissions from the stars, using the city to explore architectural innovations, new artistic venues, and an exotic back-to-the-land experiences. Inventive architects designed unique vacation houses, such as steel houses with prefabricated panels and folding roofs, a glass-and-steel house in a boulder-strewn landscape, and a carousel house that turned to avoid the sun's glare.[4]
In 1946 Richard Neutra designed the Edgar and Liliane Kaufmann House. A modernist classic, this mostly glass residence incorporated the latest technological advances in building materials, using natural lighting and floating planes and flowing space for proportion and detail.[5] In recent years an energetic preservation program has protected and enhanced many classic buildings.
Culver (2010) argues that Palm Springs architecture became the model for mass-produced suburban housing, especially in the Southwest. This "Desert Modern" style was a high-end architectural style featuring open-design plans, wall-to-wall carpeting, air-conditioning, swimming pools, and very large windows. As Culver concludes, "While environmentalists might condemn desert modern, the masses would not. Here, it seemed, were houses that fully merged inside and outside, providing spaces for that essential component of Californian—and indeed middle-class American—life: leisure. While not everyone could have a Neutra masterpiece, many families could adopt aspects of Palm Springs modern."[6]
Hollywood values permeated the resort as it combined celebrity, health, new wealth, and sex. As Culver (2010) explains: "The bohemian sexual and marital mores already apparent in Hollywood intersected with the resort atmosphere of Palm Springs, and this new, more open sexuality would gradually appear elsewhere in national tourist culture."[7] To purify the environment city government, stimulated by real estate developers systematically removed and excluded poor people and Indians.[8]
Palm Springs was pictured by the French photographer Robert Doisneau in November 1960 as part of an assignment for Fortune on the construction of golf courses in this particularly dry and hot area of the Colorado desert. Doisneau submitted around 300 slides following his ten-day stay depicting the lifestyle of wealthy retirees and Hollywood stars in the 1960s. At the time, Palm Spring counted just nineteen courses, whereas the city now has "one hundred and twenty-five golf courses, 2,250 holes, or rather continuously thirsty pits, which soak up 1.2 million gallons of water just to survive."[9]
As the 1970s drew to a close, increasing numbers of retirees moved to the Coachella Valley. As a result, Palm Springs began to evolve from a virtual ghost town in the summer to a year-round community. Businesses and hotels that used to close for the months of July and August instead remained open all summer. As commerce grew, so too did the number of families with children.
Palm Springs is located at (33.823990, −116.530339).[10]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 95.0 square miles (246 km2), of which, 94.1 square miles (244 km2) of it is land and 0.9 square miles (2.3 km2) of it (0.90%) is water.
Located in the Coachella Valley desert region, Palm Springs is sheltered by the San Bernardino Mountains to the north, the Santa Rosa Mountains to the south, by the San Jacinto Mountains to the west and by the Little San Bernardino Mountains to the east. This geography gives Palm Springs its hot, dry climate, with 354 days of sunshine and only 4.83 inches (122.7 mm) of rain annually.[11] The winter months are warm, with daytime highs often between 73 °F and 86 °F (23–30 °C) and corresponding nighttime lows of 50°F to 60°F (10–16 °C) while the coolest days tend to average from 62 °F to 71 °F (17–22 °C), and corresponding nights falling to the mid 40s°F (7–9°C).[12] The lowest temperature recorded is 19 °F (−7.2 °C), on January 22, 1937.[12] Summer often sees daytime temperatures between 106 °F (41.1 °C) and 112 °F (44.4 °C), with overnight lows ranging from 77 °F (25.0 °C) to 90 °F (32.2 °C). The mean annual temperature is 74.7 °F (23.7 °C). There are 180 days with a high reaching 90 °F (32.2 °C), and 100 °F (37.8 °C) can be seen on 116.[13] The highest temperature on record in Palm Springs is 123 °F (50.6 °C), recorded on several occasions.[12] A low of 105.1 °F (40.6 °C), was recorded on July 13, 1985, one of the highest nighttime lows recorded on earth.[14]
| Climate data for Palm Springs, California | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 95 (35) |
99 (37) |
104 (40) |
112 (44) |
118 (48) |
121 (49) |
123 (51) |
123 (51) |
121 (49) |
116 (47) |
102 (39) |
93 (34) |
123 (51) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 70.8 (21.6) |
74.0 (23.3) |
80.4 (26.9) |
87.7 (30.9) |
95.7 (35.4) |
103.7 (39.8) |
108.1 (42.3) |
107.3 (41.8) |
101.9 (38.8) |
91.2 (32.9) |
78.5 (25.8) |
69.2 (20.7) |
89.1 (31.7) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 45.4 (7.4) |
48.0 (8.9) |
52.2 (11.2) |
57.4 (14.1) |
64.3 (17.9) |
70.8 (21.6) |
77.5 (25.3) |
77.6 (25.3) |
71.9 (22.2) |
62.3 (16.8) |
51.6 (10.9) |
44.1 (6.7) |
60.3 (15.7) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 19 (−7) |
24 (−4) |
29 (−2) |
34 (1) |
36 (2) |
44 (7) |
54 (12) |
52 (11) |
46 (8) |
30 (−1) |
23 (−5) |
23 (−5) |
19 (−7) |
| Rainfall inches (mm) | 1.16 (29.5) |
1.16 (29.5) |
0.49 (12.4) |
0.05 (1.3) |
0.02 (0.5) |
0.02 (0.5) |
0.14 (3.6) |
0.29 (7.4) |
0.22 (5.6) |
0.20 (5.1) |
0.38 (9.7) |
0.70 (17.8) |
4.83 (122.7) |
| Avg. rainy days | 3.8 | 3.5 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 2.6 | 18.2 |
| Source: NOAA [13] | |||||||||||||
The locale features a variety of native desert flora and fauna. A notable tree occurring in the wild and under cultivation is the California Fan Palm, Washingtonia filifera.[15]
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1940 | 3,434 |
|
|
| 1950 | 7,660 | 123.1% | |
| 1960 | 13,468 | 75.8% | |
| 1970 | 20,936 | 55.4% | |
| 1980 | 32,359 | 54.6% | |
| 1990 | 40,181 | 24.2% | |
| 2000 | 42,807 | 6.5% | |
| 2010 | 44,552 | 4.1% | |
The 2010 United States Census[16] reported that Palm Springs had a population of 44,552. The population density was 469.1 people per square mile (181.1/km²). The racial makeup of Palm Springs was 33,720 (75.7%) White, 1,982 (4.4%) African American, 467 (1.0%) Native American, 1,971 (4.4%) Asian, 71 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 4,949 (11.1%) from other races, and 1,392 (3.1%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11,286 persons (25.3%).
The Census reported that 44,013 people (98.8% of the population) lived in households, 343 (0.8%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 196 (0.4%) were institutionalized.
There were 22,746 households, out of which 3,337 (14.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 5,812 (25.6%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,985 (8.7%) had a female householder with no husband present, 868 (3.8%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,031 (4.5%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 2,307 (10.1%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 10,006 households (44.0%) were made up of individuals and 4,295 (18.9%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.93. There were 8,665 families (38.1% of all households); the average family size was 2.82.
The population was spread out with 6,125 people (13.7%) under the age of 18, 2,572 people (5.8%) aged 18 to 24, 8,625 people (19.4%) aged 25 to 44, 15,419 people (34.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 11,811 people (26.5%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 51.6 years. For every 100 females there were 129.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 133.8 males.
There were 34,794 housing units at an average density of 366.3 per square mile (141.4/km²), of which 13,349 (58.7%) were owner-occupied, and 9,397 (41.3%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 6.7%; the rental vacancy rate was 15.5%. 24,948 people (56.0% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 19,065 people (42.8%) lived in rental housing units.
As of the 2000 census,[17] there were 42,807 people, 20,516 households, and 9,457 families residing in the city. The population density was 454.2 people per square mile (175.4/km2). There were 30,823 housing units at an average density of 327.0 per square mile (126.3/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 78.3% White, 3.9% African American, 0.9% Native American, 3.8% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 9.8% from other races, and 3.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 23.7% of the population.
16.3% of households had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.0% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 53.9% were non-families. 41.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.1 and the average family size was 2.9.
In the city the population was spread out with 17.0% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 26.4% from 45 to 64, and 26.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females there were 107.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $35,973 and the median income for a family was $45,318. Males had a median income of $33,999 versus $27,461 for females. The per capita income for the city was $25,957. The relatively low income reflects the presence of a large retired population and a large population of owners of second homes whose income is not reported. About 11.2% of families and 15.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.2% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.
Palm Springs is also home to a relatively large gay community. In the city, 7.2% of households belong to a same-sex couple compared to the national average of 1%. This makes Palm Springs the city with the fifth largest percentage of same-sex households in the nation.[18] Former mayor Ron Oden estimated that about a third of Palm Springs is gay.[19]
Though celebrities still retreat to Palm Springs, many today establish residences in other areas of the Coachella Valley. The city's economy now relies on tourism, retail sales and TOT (transient occupancy tax). It is a city of numerous festivals, conventions, and international events including the Palm Springs International Film Festival.
The world's largest rotating aerial tramcars (cable cars) can be found at the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. These cars ascend two-and-a-half miles up a steep incline to reveal views of the entire Valley. The ascent from the desert floor to an altitude in excess of 8,500 feet (2,600 m) is accompanied by a drop in temperature of 30 degrees Fahrenheit or more, giving riders a cool respite from the heat. A wilderness area can be explored at the top of the tram and there is a restaurant with notable views.
The Palm Springs International Film Festival presents movie star-filled, red-carpet affairs. The Palm Springs Follies stage-show features performers that are over the age of 55. Every Thursday evening downtown Palm Springs is transformed into Village Fest, featuring a diverse display of arts and crafts, a certified farmer's market, food, and live entertainment on historic Palm Canyon Drive. The Palm Springs Convention Center underwent a multi-million-dollar expansion and remodeling in 2005
The Palm Springs Art Museum presents traveling art exhibitions plus a variety of entertainment in its Annenberg Theater. The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians is located downtown with the Spa Resort Hotel and Casino.
Numerous five star hotels, restaurants and attractions cater to tourists, while shoppers can find a variety of high-end boutiques in downtown and uptown Palm Springs. There is a water park and skateboard park. The city is home to 20 clothing-optional resorts catering to Gay men. [20]
Palm Springs is home to the Palm Springs Power, a semi-pro league baseball team composed of college all-stars. It has a winter league baseball team, the Palm Springs Chill of the Arizona Winter League. The Palm Springs Stadium, was once the spring training site of the California Angels (now Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) American League baseball team from 1961 to 1993.
The Palm Springs area features a number of sporting events including the BNP Paribas Open, one of the most significant tennis events in the world, after the four Grand Slam tournaments. It is also home to the PGA TOUR's Humana Challenge in Partnership with the Clinton Foundation (formerly the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic), the LPGA's Kraft Nabisco Championship and the Canadian Tour's Desert Dunes Classic. It also hosts dozens of boxing events held throughout the valley. Palm Springs has also hosted the Easter Bowl, the national junior tennis championships, where America's top juniors in the nation go and compete for a grand prize, and several NCAA golf tournaments.
As of January 2009, the number of golf courses in the Palm Springs area is 125.
The Palm Springs AYSO American Youth Soccer Organization region 80 starts mid-September and ends mid-February.
The City of Palm Springs is a charter city, with a charter adopted by the voters in 1994. It consists of a Council-Manager government, with a five-person city council that hires a city manager and city attorney. The mayor is directly elected and serves a four-year term. The other four council members also serve four-year terms, with staggered elections. The City is considered a full-service city, in that it staffs and manages its own police and fire departments including a jail, parks and recreation programs, public library, sewer system and wastewater treatment plant, international airport, and planning and building services. The city council also serves as the Community Redevelopment Agency, the Housing Authority, and the Financing Authority.
The current mayor is Steve Pougnet, but the best-known mayor in the city's history was Sonny Bono.
In the state legislature, Palm Springs is located in the 37th Senate District, represented by Republican Bill Emmerson and in the 80th Assembly District, represented by Democrat V. Manuel Perez.[21] Federally, Palm Springs is located in California's 45th congressional district, which has a Cook PVI (Partisan Voting Index) of R +3(Republican +3%)[22] and is represented by Republican Mary Bono Mack.
Public education in Palm Springs is under the jurisdiction of the Palm Springs Unified School District, an independent district with five board members. The District has fourteen elementary schools, four middle schools, three comprehensive high schools, one continuation high school, one independent study program, eight headstart/state preschools, three full-day headstart programs, four childcare programs, and an extensive adult education program. The PSUSD serves the Desert Communities of Cathedral City, Desert Hot Springs, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage and Thousand Palms. [2]
The Palm Springs Unified School District has four middle schools: Desert Springs Middle School, James Workman Middle School, Nellie N. Coffman Middle School and Raymond Cree Middle School. The largest middle school in the Palm Springs Unified School District, Desert Springs Middle School, [3] is located in Desert Hot Springs and serves approximately 1,800 students in grades six through eight.
James Workman Middle School [4] is located in Cathedral City and serves the north side of Cathedral City and a small portion of Palm Springs. James Workman serves approximately 1,500 students in grades six through eight. Nellie N. Coffman Middle School [5] is located in Cathedral City and serves approximately 1,200 students in grades six through eight.
Raymond Cree Middle School is located in Palm Springs and is the smallest middle school in the Palm Springs Unified School District. Raymond Cree [6] serves approximately 1,000 students in grades six through eight. Public school (kindergarten through twelfth grade) enrollment within Palm Springs itself has steadily declined since the early 1990s, due to an exodus of families from the city and the resulting demographic changes.
Private schools in Palm Springs and nearby communities include Desert Adventist Academy (K–8), Sacred Heart School (PS-8), Desert Chapel (K-12), St. Teresa's (K–8), King's School (K–8), Desert Christian (K–12), and Marywood-Palm Valley School (K–12), an independent, non-denominational, college-prep school. The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Bernardino has recently built a Catholic high school called Xavier College Preparatory High School in Thousand Palms east of Palm Springs.
The Desert Community College District, headquartered in Palm Desert with its main campus, College of the Desert, is located there. California State University, San Bernardino and University of California, Riverside used to have satellite campuses available within the College of the Desert campus, but now have their own buildings a few miles away.
Palm Springs International Airport serves Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley. SunLine Transit Agency provides bus service in the area. Amtrak's Sunset Limited stops at the Palm Springs Amtrak station three times a week.
The Welwood Murray Cemetery[23] was started by hotel operator Welwood Murray in 1894 when his son died.[24][25] It is maintained by the Desert Cemetery District,[26] which also maintains the Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City.
The Jane Augustine Patencio Cemetery[27] is maintained by the Agua Caliente Tribe.
Palm Springs is the 144th largest TV market as defined by AC Nielsen. The Palm Springs DMA is unique among TV markets as it is entirely located within only a small portion of Riverside County. Also, while most areas received their first local television stations during the 1950s, Palm Springs did not receive its first TV stations until October, 1968 when stations KPLM-TV (now KESQ) and KMIR-TV debuted almost simultaneously about three weeks apart. Prior to that time, Palm Springs was served by TV stations from the Los Angeles market, which were carried on the local cable system that has been in operation since the 1950s and predated the emergence of local broadcast stations by more than a decade.
TV stations serving the Palm Springs and Coachella Valley area include:
The CW, Fox, My Network, PBS and other networks are covered by low power TV stations in the market.
Additionally, Palm Springs and the surrounding area are served by a multitude of AM and FM radio stations including KCLB, KCRI, KDES-FM, KDGL, KESQ, KEZN, KFUT, KGAM, KHCS, KJJZ, KKUU, KLOB, KMRJ, KNWQ, KNWZ, KPLM, KPSC, KPSH, KPSI, KPSI-FM, KPTR, KRCK, KSUT, KUNA-FM, KVLA-FM, KWXY, and KXPS.
The Desert Sun is the local daily newspaper serving Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley region.
Palm Springs is noted for its mid-century modern architecture,[4] a tradition that grew out of the aesthetics of the German Bauhaus.
It is reflected in the work of Albert Frey (who designed the Palm Springs city hall, aerial-tram (cable car) station, Movie Colony Hotel and airport), Donald Wexler, Richard Neutra, E. Stewart Williams, John Lautner, and others.[28]
A home developer, Alexander Homes, popularized this post-and-beam architectural style in the Coachella Valley. Alexander houses and similar homes feature low-pitched roofs, wide eaves, open-beamed ceilings, and floor-to-ceiling windows. Restoration projects are now being undertaken to return these homes and businesses to their original condition.
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