Foundation

Indian settlement

Archeological research has shown that the Cahuilla tribe has lived in the area for the last 350 to 500 years. The name they gave the area was "Se-Khi" (boiling water). When the Agua Caliente Reserve was established by the U.S. government in 1896, the land granted to it was squares of alternating land, as a chess, to others granted to the Southern Pacific Railroad as an incentive to take the railway into the desert.

The Agua Caliente Reserve is currently made up of small groups living in the Coachella Valley and the San Gorgonio Pass. The reservoir occupies 13,000 hectares, of which 2,700 are within the city's borders, making the reservation Indians the owners of the largest amount of land in the city. Currently, the size of the tribe is estimated at between 296 and 365 individuals.

Spanish explorers

In the early 19th century, Spanish explorers called the Agua Caliente area (hot water). A possible origin of the term palm in the name of the city is revealed in the November 1992 issue of Art of California. At least one of the Spanish explorers referred to the area with the Palma de la Mano de dios (the palm of God's hand).

The end of the 19th century

The first white settler in the area was Jack Summers, who was in charge of the due diligence station in 1862. Fourteen years later, in 1876, the railroad was built 10 kilometers north, isolating the settlement. The city's current name, "Palm Springs," probably became commonplace in the mid-1960s, when government topographers noticed that a water source was at the base of "two bunches of palms." In 1884, when the San Francisco prosecutor John Guthrie McCallum settled in Palm Springs, the name had already entered the mainstream.

20th century

The city became a fashion resort in the first decade of the 1900s, when people arrived who needed a warm, dry weather. The village of Palm Springs was very comfortable because of its microclimate, because the area is in the shadows during the late afternoon in the summer, as it is protected by the San Jacinto Mountains in the west. During the winter, the mountains instead block the cold winds coming from San Gorgonio Pass.

In the 1920s, Hollywood stars were attracted by the warm, dry, sunny weather and tranquility. International style members had a lot of errands from stars, and they used the city as a place for urban experimentation.

Residence

Palm Springs, 1973

Since the 1970s, an increasing number of pensioners have moved to the Coachella Valley. So Palm Springs began to evolve from a ghost town during the summer to a real, year-long, real city. Companies and hotels that used to close during July and August used to stay open all year round. As trade grew, so did the number of families with children.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 246,3 km² (95 square miles), of which 244 km² (99.1%) are occupied by land and 2,3 km² (0.90%) from water.

Climate

Palm Springs is located in the desert area of the Coachella Valley, and is protected by the San Bernardino Mountains in the north, the Little San Bernardino Mountains in the east, the Santa Rosa Mountains in the south and the San Jacinto Mountains in the west. This particular position gives the city its torrid and dry climate, characterized by 354 days a year of sun and only 122.7 mm annual rain. The winter months are lukewarm, with the hottest days usually between 23 and 23 30 °C (73 °F to 86 °F) and at night between 10 and 16 °C (50 to 60 °F), while the colder days have a maximum of 17 to 22 °C (62 °F to 71 °F) and at night between 7 and 9 °C (43 °F to 46 °F). The lowest recorded temperature was -7.2 °C (19 °F) 22 January 1937. The summer months usually range from 41,1 to 44.4 °C (106 to 112 °F), and night-time minima between 25 and 32.2 °C (77 to 90 °F). The average annual temperature is 23.7 °C (74.7 °F). Statistically, there are 180 days a year that reach a temperature of at least 32.2 °C (90 °F), and 116 reaching at least the 37.8 °C (100 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded was 50.6 °C (123 °F), registered on several occasions. A minimum of 40.6 °C (105.1 °F) was registered on 13 July 1985, one of the highest night-time records ever recorded on Earth.

Quarters

Viewed through the San Jacinto Mountains towards Palm Springs

The city of Palm Springs has set up a survey to identify the different neighborhoods of the city. Of the 29 neighborhoods, 7 have a historical and cultural background.

Movie Colony

Movie Colony is just east of the Palm Canyon Drive. Movie Colony East is further east from Ruth Hardy Park. This area started to develop in the 1930s, when Hollywood stars started to build residences here, smaller than the ones in the Los Angeles area. Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby among others built this area.

El Rancho Vista Estates

In the 1960s, Robert Fey built 70 houses designed by Donald Wexler and Ric Harrison in this area. Famous residents were Jack LaLanne and comedian Andy Dick.

Warm Sands

The oldest houses in Warm Sands date back to the 1920s, many built in bricks. The area also includes small resorts and Ramon Mobile Home Park. Known residents were the writer Walter Koch, artist Paul Grimm, activist Cleve Jones and actor Wesley Eure.

The Mesa

The Mesa neighborhood began as an independent community near the Indian Canyons. Famous residents were Zane Gray, Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, Suzanne Somers, Herman Woulk, Barry Manilow and Trina Turk. Famous houses are the Butterfly Houses ("Butterfly Houses") of Wexler and the Streamline Moderne Ship of the Desert ("modern aerodynamic ship of the desert").

Tahquitz River Estates

Tahquitz Canyon Way at the intersection with N Palm Canyon Dr.

Some houses in this neighborhood date back to the 1930s. The area was owned by Pearl McCallum McManus, who started building houses after the end of World War II. Dr. William Scholl (owner of Dr. Scholl's) had a 10-hectare residence here. Today, this neighborhood is the biggest of all, including 600 homes and businesses within its borders.

Sunmor Estates

During World War II, the area of Sunmor Estates was the western portion of the Palm Springs Army Airfield. The houses were built by Robert Higgins and the Alexander Construction Company. Actor and former mayor Frank Bogert bought his house in this neighborhood for $16,000 And he lived there for 50 years.

Historic Tennis Club

Poor artist Carl Eytel settled first in the area and then became the Tennis Club. Another artist in the neighborhood was Gordon Coutts, who built his "Dar Marrac" residence here in 1924. Other residences are the Mediterranean-style Marion Davies villa (now Willows Historic Palm Springs Inn), the House Cody Inn, built by Harriet and Harold William Cody (cousin of Buffalo Bill Cody) and the English Inn, built in the 1920s by the family of Humphrey Birge. The neighborhood now has about 400 individual homes, apartment blocks, hotels and restaurants.

Las Palmas

To the west of the Palm Canyon Drive you can find the areas of Vista Las Palmas and Old Las Palmas. These neighborhoods also see the presence of characteristic residences and celebrities.

Demographic evolution

In the 2010 United States Census, it was found that the population of Palm Springs was, in that year, 44,552 inhabitants. The population density was 181.1 inhabitants/km². There were several ethnic groups present: 33,720 white (75.7%), 1,982 African-Americans (4.4%), 467 Native Americans (1.0%), 1,971 Asian (4.4%), 71 ocean-Americans (0.2%), 4,949 other ethnic groups (11.1%), and 3 92 of two or more breeds (3.1%). Hispanics in general were 11,286 (25.3%).

There were 22,746 households, of which 3,337 (14.7%) had children under the age of 18, 5,812 (25.6%) were living opposite sex couples, 1,985 (8.7%) had a single adult woman, 868 (3.8%) had a man as only adult. There were 1 031 (4.5%) unmarried couples living together, and 2 307 (10.1%) same-sex couples living together. 10 006 households (44.0%) were made up of one person, of whom 4 295 (18.9%) were the sole members of a 65-year-old or older individual. The average size of households was 1.93 people. There were 8 665 households (38.1% of all households), the average household size was 2.82 people.

The population was distributed in this way between the different age groups: 6 125 (13.7%) persons under the age of 18, 2 572 (5.8%) between 18 and 24, 8 625 (19.4%) between 25 and 44, 15 419 (34.6%) between 45 and 64, and 19 1 811 (26.5%) of 65 years or more. The average age was 51.6 years. Every 100 girls had 129.3 boys. Every 100 girls under the age of 18 were 133.8 boys.

There were 34 794 dwellings, with a density of 141.4/km², of which 13 349 (58.7%) were occupied by the owner, and 9 397 (41.3%) were rented. 24,948 people (56.0% of the population) lived in owner-occupied homes, while 19,065 (42.8%) lived in rented houses.

The Palm Springs Visitors Center was built in the historic Tramway Gas Station designed by Albert Frey.

Although celebrities continue to retire in Palm Springs, many today establish themselves in other areas of the Coachella Valley. The city's economy now lives on tourism, and the local administration is largely dependent on taxes related to it. The city is rich in festivals, international conventions and events, including the Palm Springs International Film Festival.

Near the city is the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, or cable car equipped with the world's largest swivel booths. It goes up 4 kilometers from Chino Canyon to the train station, situated in the north 2596 m, good entry point to the San Jacinto Mountains complex. There is also a restaurant overlooking a remarkable landscape.

Two international film festivals are held every year in the city: The Palm Springs International Film Festival in January (parallel to the short film festival) and the Film Festival: The Palm Springs LGBTQ Film Festival in September.

City

The city is administered through a council-manager, consisting of a five-member council, who recruits a City Manager and a City attorney. The mayor, whose four-year term is elected by the citizens. The other four members of the council have four - year terms of office, the elections of which have been staged. The city is considered a full-service city, so it directly manages its own police and fire departments, its parks, its educational program, the city library, the sewer system, the sewage treatment plant and the international airport.

The current mayor is Steve Pougnet, elected in 2007 and confirmed in 2011. Pougnet followed Ron Oden, the first mayor of the African-American city and openly homosexual (2003-2007). Frank Bogert was the longest-serving mayor (1958-1966 and 1982-1988), but Sonny Bono, the most famous mayor, of course, was elected to the Congress from 1988 to 1992.

County

Palm Springs is in Riverside County, represented by John Benoit. In the 1980s, a new county, Cahuilla County, was proposed to replace the eastern part of Riverside County, but that proposal was rejected.

Status

Palm Springs is located in the 37th district of the Senate of California, represented by Republican Bill Emmerson, and in the 80th district of the California Assembly, represented by Democrat V. Manuel Perez.

Federal

Palm Springs is in the 36th California Congress for the election of Congress, represented by the Democrat Raul Ruiz.