The Palm Springs Lifestyle

Every day at 9:30am, the Palm Springs Historical Society offers a walking tour of some of the town’s most fascinating homes and landmarks. The topic varies each day of the week, but tours always focus on the area's distinctive architecture and the glory days of Hollywood stars such as Frank Sinatra, who called Palm Springs home. It’s wisest to book tours in advance via pshistoricalsociety.org. If you don’t wind up on a tour, visit the McCallum Adobe, the hand-built 1884 hut that was the home of the first European American family to settle here. Inside, you’ll learn about those pioneers as well as the Indigenous people who have inhabited the valley for many centuries. You'll also see the modest Cornelia White House, which is barely a shack and yet functioned as the first hotel in the area. Both heritage buildings are located amid Palm Springs’ primary shopping-and-dining drag, Palm Canyon Drive, so you’ll be able to dip into some boutiques.

Spencer’s delivers the epitome of country club–style Palm Springs living. Under mature trees in a conservatory setting by the courts of the Palm Springs Tennis Club, the restaurant serves classic American lunch fare such as sandwiches, salads, and grilled dishes. Formed in 1937, the club has hosted the city’s see-and-be-seen set ever since. Past members include Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, and ventriloquist Edgar Bergen. Pearl McManus, whose parents once lived in the McCallum Adobe, developed the club as a rival for the Racquet Club, which was founded by actors Charles Farrell and Ralph Bellamy. That hangout burned down in 2014, and now Pearl, who died in 1966 though her club still flourishes, is considered one of the city’s founding mothers. The Palm Springs Tennis Club also rents hotel-style rooms in the mid-century building next door, along the base of the mountain.