This section is dedicated to the mid-century modern stuff around Palm Springs and the desert areas surrounding.
Frey's Tramway Gas Station
Palm Springs, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Driving into Palm Springs from the north, it is hard to miss Frey's Tramway Gas Station and that enormous wing-shaped canopy reaching toward the desert sky. These photos from 1998 catch the old station while the interior was being gutted for its next life as an art gallery. Even surrounded by construction fencing, the building still looked like the perfect modern gateway into town.
The former Enco station was designed by Albert Frey and Robson C. Chambers and opened in 1965. Its soaring canopy was meant to catch the attention of motorists arriving along Highway 111, while also pointing the way toward the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. The station later sold gasoline under several different names before closing in the mid-1990s and nearly meeting the wrecking ball.
Frey's Tramway Gas Station
Palm Springs, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Preservationists stepped in, the building survived, and Albert Frey was even consulted during its conversion into an art gallery around 2000. That gallery chapter was short-lived, but it helped keep one of Palm Springs' most recognizable roadside landmarks standing.
UPDATE: The former gas station became the Palm Springs Visitor Center in 2003 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2015. The gasoline signs and pumps are gone, but the dramatic canopy remains, now illuminated after dark for anyone rolling into town after sunset. 09-26
Canyon
Apartments
Palm Springs, CA Photo courtesy Mark Regester
Here’s an old mid-century apartment building called The Canyon, tucked away in the south end of Palm Springs. Check out the flat rooflines, deep overhangs, and walls of glass facing the courtyard. Of course, there is a swimming pool in the middle of it all. This is Palm Springs, after all.
The Canyon was built in 1962 by desert developer Roy Fey, who was responsible for several residential projects around this part of town. The low-slung buildings and indoor-outdoor layout made good use of the sunshine and mountain views, offering residents their own little piece of the Palm Springs lifestyle.
UPDATE: The Canyon remains standing and continues to operate as an apartment complex. 09-26
Art Building
Palm Springs, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Here’s an interesting circular building found while making the rounds through Palm Springs. The Art Building is wrapped almost entirely in floor-to-ceiling glass, with a thin flat roof hovering over the whole thing. It looks a little like a giant display case dropped into the desert.
What occupied the building in earlier years remains a mystery. The round shape and glass walls suggest it may have been designed as a showroom, sales office, or some other business that wanted everything inside on display. Whatever its original purpose, this little glass cylinder is another good example of the unusual modern architecture once scattered around Palm Springs.
UPDATE: Not sure if this building is still around. 09-26
Frey's Tramway Gas Station
Frey's Tramway Gas Station
Canyon
Apartments
Art Building
