A newcomer's guide to Palm Springs
Your first ninety days: the airport, the mountain, the neighborhoods, and the summer.
Start at the airport, even if you already live here. Palm Springs International is owned and operated by the City of Palm Springs, and its passenger terminal, designed by Donald Wexler in 1966, is built around open-air courtyards and natural light, a design the airport says embraced the desert climate.
Then go up the mountain. The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway runs from a valley station at 2,643 feet to a mountain station at 8,516 feet, a climb of 5,873 feet over about two and a half miles, in cars whose floors rotate once or twice during the ride.
Learn the neighborhoods by their roofs
The fastest way to read the city is through its houses. In Twin Palms, developers George and Robert Alexander and architect William Krisel built 90 residences from just two floor plans, varying the facades, rooflines, landscaping, colors, and orientation so the tract never reads as repetition.
Butterfly roofs, clerestory windows, and open carports are the local vernacular. Once you can spot an Alexander, you will start seeing them everywhere.
Respect the summer
Summer here is a civic fact, not just weather. Riverside County's Community Action Partnership coordinates daytime cooling centers with community organizations, and the county has supported an overnight cooling shelter in Palm Springs with the city and an operator.
Our advice for the first summer: run errands in the morning, save the pool for the afternoon, and remember the mountain is always an option.
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