Coachella Valley Savings No. 1

Architect: Emerson Stewart Williams
Style: Mid-Century Modern
City: Palm Springs, CA
Collection: desert modernism

Coachella Valley Savings No. 1 was constructed in 1955 as the first branch of the Coachella Valley Savings and Loan Association, and it was the first of several bank buildings E. Stewart Williams would design in Palm Springs. It anchored a stretch of South Palm Canyon Drive between Baristo Road and Ramon Road that filled with financial institutions through the 1950s and 60s. The building has since been converted into an event space known as The Bank Palm Springs.

the building

From bank to event space. Renovated out of its original role as a savings and loan branch, the building now operates as an event venue called The Bank Palm Springs, a name that keeps its banking history visible even after the conversion.

the style

Coachella Valley Savings No. 1 is cited as an example of mid-century modern architecture, blending functional International Style elements with adaptations suited to the local desert climate.

the architect

This was the first of several bank buildings E. Stewart Williams designed in Palm Springs and is recognized as one of his major projects in the Coachella Valley. He later added Santa Fe Federal Savings and Loan (now the Palm Springs Art Museum's Architecture and Design Center) and Coachella Valley Savings No. 2 (today a Chase Bank branch) to the same stretch of South Palm Canyon Drive.

significance

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Coachella Valley Savings No. 1 survives as one of the anchor buildings of Palm Springs' once-dense financial row along South Palm Canyon Drive and has been adapted for reuse as an event venue, The Bank Palm Springs.

nearby

Avalon Hotel and Bungalows Palm Springs 290 ft · Spanish Colonial Revival · 1929
Santa Fe Federal Savings and Loan Association 470 ft · Streamline Moderne
Coachella Valley Savings No. 2 0.1 mi · Mid-Century Modern
Palm Springs Art Museum 0.5 mi · 1938
Frey House II 0.5 mi · Mid-Century Modern · 1964
Fire Station No. 1 0.6 mi · Mid-Century Modern · 1955

All 21 buildings in Palm Springs