One of the surprising attributes of this desert oasis is the fact that it is home to an amazing artistic scene.
How could an artist live in an area like this and NOT want to create? Everyone knows Palm Springs as a place to chill out in the desert, a getaway to the world of pleasure, with tons of bars, great restaurants, warm weather, and an LGBT scene that’s possibly the best in the world. Fewer people, however, realize how vast an amount of art and culture spreads through the Coachella Valley. Public art abounds, and the museums, galleries, and boutiques would be the envy of areas much larger and more urban.
Once the fabled haunt of movie stars, Palm Springs has really undergone a renaissance in the past 20 years or so, fueled by gay dollars and savvy. Here’s an interesting fact: every member of Palm Springs’ City Council is LGBT. Given this fact (and an overwhelmingly large LGBT population, with estimates at about 55%), you’d naturally expect art and culture (well, I would anyway). Greater Palm Springs doesn’t disappoint. With several theaters, a diverse selection of museums, a Gay Men’s Chorus, and a slew of free public art, many who come to lie around the pool or hit the nightlife might not even realize just how much is available here.
Palm Springs Art Museum Main Entrance
Most of the town’s major events of the year are arts and culture related, like Modernism Week, which spreads across the Valley and celebrates this architectural movement that’s so prominent in the area, along with vintage design and culture. Held this year February 14-24, it’s a diverse collection of events and sights spreading throughout the valley. In Cathedral City, tours are available of the Cree House, a newly restored 1955 work by noted architect Albert Frey. A home tour and cocktail party celebrates famed interior designer Arthur Elrod (who also receives a star on Palm Springs’ Walk of Stars). There are guided walks through four classic midcentury homes, a tasting highlighting the friendly mid-century rivalry of California and French wines, symposia, discussions, a new play based on a true-life encounter of architects Richard Neutra and Rudolph Schindler, a classic car show, and a keynote address by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie. This is just a small sampling of what has come to be the event of the year.
Palm Springs Art Museum
It overlaps with one of the most ambitious arts projects the area has undertaken: Desert X, a biennial extravaganza of public art, which this year is February 9-April 21 and covers the entire valley with site-specific artworks. This year, 15 artworks from artists around the world adorn the valley, and you can either take an organized tour or grab a map and drive yourself. There are no fences, no ropes, no ticket booths.
Modernism Week and Desert X are far from the only artistic festivals the area hosts. There’s the Palm Springs International Film Festival in January that presents almost 200 films from around the world. There’s the Coachella Valley Music Festival in April, which this year will feature a huge roster of stars. There’s also the weekly VillageFest, during which several blocks of Palm Canyon Drive are lined with artists and craftspeople that make this event a cut above the usual street fair.
In Greater Palm Springs, the entire region is like an al fresco exhibit of public art and I seem to find creativity wherever I look.
The arts, of course, aren’t limited to festival times, so let’s check into our hotel and then explore. I love The Saguaro, a former Holiday Inn transformed into an artistic palette of desert wildflower and colors in every shade of red, orange, pink, and yellow. I could spend all day sitting on my balcony and looking at the pool, surrounded by palms and the brightly hued balconies of the other rooms, the sun glowing on the mountains (yes, it actually glows). They’ve done such a job at transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary.
I also love the Kimpton Rowan, which opened in the heart of town in late 2017 and has immediately become a hit for its coolly designed rooms, amazing mountain views, and the city’s only rooftop swimming pool. As I walk out the back door of the hotel, I’m startled to see a group of babies crawling across an abandoned pit. I relax when I realize the children are fiberglass (and about ten feet long). It’s all the work of Czech artist David Cerný. Entitled “Babies on the Move,” it’s scheduled to run for about two more years, at which point construction will take its “exhibition space” away. Meanwhile, it’s an intriguing and disturbing piece of public art that’s well worth seeing.
Your Dog by Yoshitomo Nara at the Palm Springs Art Museum
While downtown, I visit the Palm Springs Art Museum, a beautiful museum with three floors of art. The collection isn’t huge but it’s well curated and displayed, with some stunning pieces. I admire Native American baskets and ceramics, both contemporary and dating back as far as 300 BCE. I pause before an amazing painting of a tiny bird at the center of a huge canvas by Cuban-American artist Enrique Martinez Celaya. I’m fascinated by a carpet from Azerbaijani artist Faig Ahmed that seems to melt down into the floor, sending its intricate designs down into a puddle of color. I see works by David Hockney and Dale Chihuly, both instantly recognizable. Spanning the centuries and beautifully laid out, the museum is at turns comforting and challenging, modern and age-old, multi-cultural and very Southern California. About ten minutes’ walk away is the Museum’s Architecture and Design Center, one room of constantly changing exhibits (on display now through June: an exhibition about Hugh Kaptur, the well-known Palm Springs architect, and his organic desert architecture). There’s also a branch in Palm Desert, a quieter town 15 miles down the road, and it’s well worth a visit for the four-acre Faye Sarkowsky Sculpture Garden—a perfect way to combine Coachella Valley weather and great art!
The Art of Renewable Energy: Modern Windmills in Palm Springs
One essential area to visit is Palm Springs’ Design District, on the north end of town, mainly along Palm Canyon Drive. Here, there is gallery after home furnishings store after antiques shop after gallery, and I easily while away the entire afternoon looking through some of them. A different and unique take on design awaits at Revivals, an organization that raises money for the Desert AIDS Project. They’ve taken the art of resale to a new level with their own brand of new design elements called Mode at Revivals, and you can pick up a bit of that “The Palm Springs look” with home furnishings that don’t break the bank. Even the clothing, largely secondhand, has some new gems in it: they’ve partnered, for instance, with designer Will Stiles, and you’ll often find some of his fashionable creations at jaw-droppingly low prices. Many local artists and designers contribute their work, and a new line entitled “Sewing Hope” consists of recycled fabric works done by clients and patients of Desert AIDS Project. Wander through the store: to one side you might find a designer couch, pillow, or vase in a distinctly 1970’s style, while across the store you could find a similar item that’s actually FROM the 1970s. It’s a unique and eclectic mixture, driving design forward while at the same time preserving the vintage aspect (which is kind of Palm Springs in a nutshell).
In Greater Palm Springs, the entire region is like an al fresco exhibit of public art and I seem to find creativity wherever I look. At Tahquitz Way and Indian Canyon Drive, “Agua Caliente Women” is a beautiful reminder of the tribe’s still-strong presence. In Sunrise Park I see a gorgeously undulating monument called “Wave Rhythms.” Right on Palm Canyon Drive, a bronze fountain depicts a young Sonny Bono (he was mayor here for four years). As I walk from my car to dinner one night, my eye is taken by the rounded yellow forms of a sculpture called “Squeeze.” In Palm Desert, there are even more: the median of main drag El Paseo is filled with ever-changing displays created by artists in a city-funded public art project that makes this as much an outdoor museum as upscale shopping street (though in galleries such as Coda, you’ll certainly find an enviable selection of contemporary art). As I walk down El Paseo admiring the sculptures, my eye is caught by a splash of color just off the corner, and sure enough it’s another piece of public art: a utility box turned into an artwork entitled “Suncatcher.” I head to the local mall and end up on the outdoor top level of the garage, only to discover more art, as this entire parking area has been turned over to mural artists, their vibrant creations the perfect foreground to the stunning mountain backdrop. I find out later that monthly events are held here, at which you’ll see things like a car-painting or a mural going up on what little wall space is left. Suddenly, an hour has passed. I never do get to go shopping! By the way, if you want to be just steps from all this, I’d suggest a stay at Palm Desert’s new boutique lodging, Hotel Paseo, where the rooms are clean-lined and elegant, the service top-notch, and Palm Desert’s attractions practically at your doorstep.
Giacometti Sculpture at Sunnylands
Case in point: The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens. While I’m not sure I’d call it “art,” it’s certainly a cultural must, with several habitats based around different deserts of the world, from North America to Africa. I pause before the cheetah, looking regal in repose, watch as a porcupine unfurls its quills, see a zebra prancing across an open field, and spend what seems like hours watching the giraffes. All the while, those awe-inspiring San Jacintos Mountains loom above at every step. It’s a great lesson in the richness and beauty of the desert, and that’s art of its own kind, right?
Inspired, I head up Highway 74 into the mountains, and it makes me think of the words of a Palm Desert friend, “There’s something about being out in the desert that allows you to be reflective. Sitting around the pool only gets you so far.” As I stand among the amazing scenery, there’s a sculpture greeting me at the entrance to the mountains as if to say “even up here in the middle of nowhere, there’s art.”
In IW Coffeehouse, just over the border from Palm Desert into Indian Wells, as I sit over avocado toast, drizzled with this amazing chipotle aioli, I look up and the guy across the table from me has a set of watercolors and is working on a painting while he eats his breakfast bagel. In Rancho Mirage’s Sunnylands, I look out at the Great Lawn and wildflower trails, noticing a thin figure standing at the window seeming to gaze out at the perfectly manicured landscape in front of him. His elongated bronze form immediately says “Giacometti,” and sure enough it’s an original work by the great sculptor. Not enough? A few feet away is Rodin’s “Eternal Spring,” an aptly named piece of art for a place so green. You just can’t get away from art anywhere in this Valley!
Palm Springs Door Tour
Into a different cultural world, I head across Rancho Mirage to Tolerance Education Center, an important cultural project, designed to present to students the stories of people who have suffered from intolerance, from Holocaust survivors to representatives of immigrant and LGBTQ communities. The fascinating exhibits in the small museum space include permanent displays, primarily of Holocaust-related items: an album from Dachau, World War II–related political cartoons by Dr. Seuss, a piece of barbed wire from Auschwitz, a concentration camp uniform donated by a survivor’s widow. There’s also one changing exhibit, and when I visit, they’re preparing for “We Are One: A Photographic Celebration of Diversity in America,” photographer Russel Hiles’ gorgeous images of the many cultures that make up America. One photo in particular of a smiling group of children of various races and ethnicities is a perfect emblem of hope in a world where hope seems to be disappearing fast.
After the thought-provoking exhibits, I’m ready for a total escape into nature. On the edge of Palm Springs, I hop on the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, and I’m soon ascending past desert and mountain scenery, the cities of the valley growing smaller and smaller as we climb to 8,516 feet. Departing the tram, I set out on the Desert View Loop Trail through the wooded terrain that somehow combines forest and desert, bleak and lush, sheltered and wide-open. It’s an incredible hike past Jefferson Pines with red barks and vanilla/butterscotch scent (yeah, I smell them, the sign tells me to). I walk across rocky trails past overturned trees in an almost unimaginable variety of formations, large white-pitted boulders, overhanging branches with a deep green that’s startling against the clear blue sky. Everywhere I look is a different color, or shape, or combination of colors and shapes, and I can see where painters and sculptors have drawn their inspiration. Better yet, I can feel myself in the studio of Mother Nature, that most eminent artist of all. This is art that needs no museum, no gallery placard. I walk back, the waning sun casts patterns of light across the trees that an artist could only hope to capture, the ridges of pines dark green, fading almost into black, while one little row of trees picks up the light and scatters like gold across the ridge. Pure magic.
Am I getting overly poetic and sentimental? As you know, that’s not my style. Take a few hours, though, among this landscape, among these forms, underneath this sky, and see if you don’t feel the same way, see if you don’t understand why this area is full of artists and why, with such a backdrop, the Valley just can’t help but be an artistic incubator.
I arrive back in town just in time for happy hour. I know we’re supposed to be exploring arts and culture, but sometimes a guy’s just gotta stop for a drink. On Arenas Road, where the bars beckon you, you’ll find Quadz, a video bar with screens across the walls, revolving lights, and nice shaded patio; Chill, which draws a mostly male, mostly middle-aged crowd to its spacious room with large bar at the center; Blackbook, packed with a diverse crowd under the violet-hued walls and pink-lit shelves of drinks; Hunters Nightclub, with its big couches on the patio and classy interior, video screens, pool tables, male crowd, and sign proclaiming “Spirits Elevated”; Street bar, the first on the block and a retro wonder of aqua stools, large mirror, rainbow lights, large chandelier, and a middle-aged, male crowd; and Stacy’s @ Palm Springs, all brocade-y wallpaper and where an older-tilting crowd gathers to listen to piano music.
While the bulk of the nightlife is in Palm Springs, there are two winning spots in Cathedral City as well. Trunks, the first to open in town, boasts a kind of vintage gay bar look, with rainbow flag hanging from the ceilings, dark walls, a front room with U-shaped bar, large second room with tables and chairs, pool room, and a patio. The very sweet bartender is the only person in the room under 40, and there’s a neighborhood-y feel that’s far from the cruisy atmosphere of Palm Springs bars. Similarly, Studio One 11, in a little strip mall next to a taco joint, feels a little more modern but just as comfy, with a rainbow flag on the wall at the entrance, hanging cone-shaped lights above the long bar, smoking and non-smoking patio space, and dark walls. The crowd here is also all male and mainly middle-aged, and the bar staff is nice as can be. If you need a break from the more high-powered Palm Springs spots, I definitely suggest these two down-to-earth and welcoming places.
Statue of Former Mayor Sonny Bono
When it comes time to eat, you’ll find a wonderful array of creative, culinary options from which to choose. I start at Workshop Kitchen + Bar, and it’s a fabulous start. If (unlike me) you plan ahead, you can snag one of the booths, or a table in the pleasant courtyard. I’m happy, though, with my bar seat and a house-made ginger beer. Then begins one of the best meals I’ve had in ages: a “cauliflower steak” that’s a thick slab adorned with swirls of tahini and little cilantro blossoms. More wonders to come with possibly the best chicken breast in the history of chicken breasts, moist and flavorful, an orange-roasted carrot lying insouciantly on top and surrounded by more roasted vegetables and a green curry chicken jus. It’s (dare I say it) a work of art, and at Workshop you get that rarity: food that tastes as good as it looks.
Another favorite: Grand Central, located in the erstwhile Desmond’s Department store in La Plaza, a 1936 outdoor shopping strip. It’s a friendly gathering spot that just happens to have great food. There’s a gallery at the back featuring local artists, a large clock that reminds me of the one I’d meet friends under in that “other” Grand Central, and a look that effortlessly combines vintage (like the original stamped concrete floors) with a thoroughly modern overhaul. As I tuck into the world’s best avocado toast, livened with blood orange vinaigrette and arugula, owner Rita Capponi, who opened Grand Central with her husband in May 2018, tells me of the warm welcome she’s received in Palm Springs: “There’s a kindness and a friendliness, that if I were to imagine a small town, this would be it, but with a sophistication level.” That could be a description of Grand Central itself.
Just around the corner lie’s everyone’s beloved Lulu California Bistro, a spacious and buzzing spot at the heart of town where I start with fabulous ahi tuna on wonton “tostadas” and continue with a rich wild mushroom soup, lovely chicken piccata (yes, I get hungry), and, why not?, a humongous glass filled with cotton candy. The Lulu owners opened Acqua California Bistro in Rancho Mirage in 2017, with many of the same menu items in a chic, modern spot. There’s a lot of glass, an open kitchen, a patio with misters for hot weather, and (of course) an amazing mountain view. The food is just as fab as Lulu (I indulge in an avocado and tuna tartare tower that’s the epitome of what a “California bistro” should serve).
In Palm Desert, AC3 offers food that’s so beautiful it could be a work of art, but one taste of the sweetcorn/fennel soup with lobster and a balsamic glaze, and pappardelle with roasted mushrooms, onions, and peas, and you realize it’s as much about beautiful flavors as beautiful presentation!
You’d expect the Design District to have great dining, and it doesn’t disappoint. In addition to Workshop, there’s Eight4Nine, a sophisticated spot with a lovely patio and a wide array of culinary delights. Just three minutes’ walk away is my favorite coffeehouse in town, Ernest Coffee, where I have my usual espresso at a high wooden table under the mural of book-laden shelves, before my curiosity gets the better of me and I order the seasonal special, a fig/honey iced latte. Surprise: it’s amazing, rich, sweet, and refreshing.
Three minutes the other way from Eight4Nine lies Copely’s, a gracious restaurant that was once Cary Grant’s guesthouse. The interior boasts wide plank floors, stucco walls, archways, and muted hues of rose and teal, though I prefer to sit in the large courtyard, with its terracotta tiles and overhanging trees. You’ll feel like one of Mr. Grant’s personal guests as you tuck into teriyaki-glazed salmon or grilled fillet, relaxing into a world of refinement that’s both comforting and inspiring.
At the other end of the dining spectrum is the all-organic Palm Greens, an organic café that’s dishing up some wonderful food, from an “avocado roll in a bowl” to fajita and curry bowls and salads. They also have a great line of smoothies and cool little “wellness shots.” I get the Taj Curry bowl, a date smoothie, and a “turmeric gold” shot, and it’s all fresh, flavorful, and healthy.
Before I leave town, I have one essential final stop: Kreem, a wonderful new ice cream and coffee place (can you imagine a better combination?). The house-made, small-batch ice creams are a revelation. I get a Funky Cold Medina: orange blossom ice cream with pistachios and bits of sesame halvah. If it sounds astonishing, it is. For my second scoop, I choose rosemary, that is every bit as deliciously sweet/woodsy/astringent as you might expect from rosemary ice cream. Best of all: everyone I see in there, both workers and customers, is happy. Gee, I wonder why.
Palm Springs Door Tour
Which pretty much sums up Palm Springs and its surroundings, and that’s one of my favorite things about this area: everyone seems to be happy, and happy to be here. As I take a final stroll up Palm Canyon Drive, the street is like a fairyland, soft light making the adobe buildings look like a film set, palms lined up under the moon, the swirly cobblestone sidewalks of the Walk of Stars honoring celebrities from Lena Horne to Nancy Sinatra, Al Jolson to Sonny Bono, philanthropists and movie stars and authors. People stroll arm in arm, smiling, and I want to say, I get it, I get why. You’re here in search of pleasure, which is Palm Springs’ and the entire valley’s special gift: you come here to be happy, and they deliver. Some of the pleasures are obvious, some take some searching out. Make an effort, and you’ll be glad you did.
When you walk down Palm Canyon Drive at night, you’ll be one of those people I see, with the special glow that comes from discovering, or revisiting, such a very special place. There’s that word “glow” again, but I really can see it, a glow that’s almost palpable, brightening the faces of the people out in the cool evening air. That’s the visitors. To those lucky enough to live here, I want to say, I get it for you too. I mean, you live in this absolutely gorgeous spot, the jewel in a crown that stretches from jewel to jewel to jewel, full of art and culture and all that entails. You have amazing food around every corner (not to mention a piece of art on many of those corners). You look up every day and see this breathtaking scenery. You live in a place full of history, but alive to the moment, with the openness and progressive spirit that is so often a precursor to great art. What reason is there NOT to glow?
