Many developers have gazed up from the desert floor to the majestic mountains surrounding the city of Palm Springs and dreamed of erecting homes that capture an unobstructed view of the desert’s expansive horizon. Even though the views can be spectacular, special considerations have to be addressed before building.
Some of the issues include how to obtain access to the home, where to lay the pipes and wires, how to deal with drainage issues and above all else, the safety of the location.
In 1961, after many conferences with Palm Springs’ city government, permission was granted to build a 33-foot-wide, lighted palm lined roadway at a 17 percent gradient on the hillside about Araby Cove in the Santa Rosa foothills.
The development that followed, Southridge, was the vision of a contractor, a teacher, and a tile seller who entered into a partnership that created one of most exclusive hillside residential developments in the Coachella Valley.
Palm Springs architect E. Stewart Williams, who served in an advisory capacity for the construction of Southridge, stated that he felt that building homes on hillsides gave the architect a good opportunity for unusual designs and multilevel arrangements while keeping all rooms oriented to the view. He believed that the natural site should be as undisturbed as possible.
Many multimillion-dollar homes have since been built in Southridge, including those designed by many preeminent architects such as John Lautner, William F. Cody, and Hugh Kaptur.
There is a multitude of ways to Explore Palm Springs, which turns 82 in 2020. One of the more intriguing methods is by exploring Palm Springs history.
The Palm Springs Historical Society will share a story whose time and place that often corresponds with today.
The Palm Springs Historical Society is located at 221 S. Palm Canyon Drive. Visit pshistoricalsociety.org for more information.
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