Explore Palm Springs: Alcott Home

Rooftop ramada offered clear view of Coachella Valley

Renee Brown History

 

Franklyn Jr. and Polly Alcott moved to Palm Springs in 1924 from Cleveland, Ohio.

Alcott had been in the banking business working for the Cleveland Trust Co. and later for Portland Cement Co. in Canton, Ohio.

Retirement brought the couple to California where he and Polly set up homes in both La Jolla and Palm Springs. In an interview with Melba Bennett, founder of the Palm Springs Historical Society, Polly Alcott remembered Palm Springs was so small at the time that you knew practically everyone in the village.

The Alcotts began building their home in Palm Springs in January of 1925. The house was completed that year.

A ramada was built on the roof allowing the occupants to sit with a clear unobstructed view of the entire Coachella Valley.

An unattached garage was also built on the property and the house was built at the highest point of the property allowing for the rain to drain away.

At that time neither house numbers nor street names were available. The house has been renovated and is currently occupied.

There is a multitude of ways to learn more about Palm Springs, which turned 75 in 2013. One of the more intriguing methods is by exploring the city’s history.

The Palm Springs Historical Society will share a weekly story whose time and place corresponds with today.

The Palm Springs Historical is located at 221 S. Palm Canyon Drive. For more information, visit www.pshistoricalsociety.org

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