How the famed Palm Springs Desert Inn went from prominence to ruin

Special to The Desert Sun

The demolition permit was issued in July 1966. It allowed for the destruction of The Desert Inn, but really it obliterated the heart and soul of Palm Springs. Work crews took some two years to tear down the handsome buildings, destroying decades of history that saw Palm Springs rise from a dusty little backwater into a resort of international renown. The Desert Inn was not a mere witness to that incredible transformation – it was the catalyst.

The hotel that truly “made” Palm Springs came into being in the fall of 1909. Modest in the extreme, it originally consisted of a wood-frame bungalow which housed an office, kitchen and dining room, and a set of tents on wooden floors which served as guest accommodations. In its first iteration, The Desert Inn and Sanitari