Page 118 - 2017 Travel Guide to California

PALM SPRINGS
Vintage Hollywood glamour with a modern flair
B Y C H R I S T O P H E R P . B A K E R
»DINE, SHOP,
GALLERY HOP!
Visitor Information
visitpalmsprings.com
PALM SPRINGS HAS LONG DEFINED
the meaning of a relaxing oasis of glitz and
glamour. In the 1950s and ’60s, it was the
retreat of Frank Sinatra and a constellation
of tanned Hollywood stars who partied
poolside in their Mid-Century Modern
bungalows. By the 1970s, the movie stars
and moguls had moved on. Palm Springs
sank into a period of sleepy retirement. But
the city has since come full circle. Newly
fresh and compelling, this epicenter for
desert vacations again exudes laid-back
contemporary cool.
A spectacular redevelopment plan has
put a new luster on downtown Palm
Springs, including a pedestrian walkway
linking the world-class Palm Springs Art
Museum to “The Strip.” Add Uptown art gal-
leries and fashion stores, exciting new au
courant restaurants, an edgy night scene
plus super-trendy hotels that push the
Modernist design vernacular into the now.
No wonder a whole new generation of Hol-
lywood stars and millennials is flocking to
where it’s the swinging 1960s all over again.
In fact, Mad Men-era retro reigns in Palm
Springs. Populated by trademark vintage
motels with 21st-century accoutrements,
candy-colored furnishings and kidney-
shaped pools with DJs, this desert bolthole
is ground-zero for anyone in search of
throwback movie star glamour. Think vin-
tage Palm Springs with modern flair.
Sophisticated Architecture
Any sojourn through Palm Springs is a
magical mystery tour of “art-chitecture,”
thanks to the city’s stock of more than two
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