Explore Palm Springs: Summer in the City

Villager Magazine ad shows hot summer buys in 1955

Nicolette Wenzell History

 

Though they may not be apparent to an outsider, there are many alluring things about Palm Springs from June through August.

The streets are traffic free, the pools are more refreshing, and an ice cold drink is even more satisfying. Summer is also the best time to get a low price on many things in the desert. From hotel rooms to home prices, costs for everything (except of course, air conditioning) are at rock bottom during the summer months.

Though things remain much more active in the desert during the sweltering summer than they used to, there were still enough people during the 1950s for summer prices to drop at the stores that remained open.

This full -page advertisement ran on page 10 of June 1955’s Villager Magazine. The items offered for sale could not get any more mid-century; from poofy poodles with the “Palm Springs desert clip” to black and white television sets.

Please notice what they considered “cool summer drinks.”

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

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