Local Questions, Vol. 13 | Field Notes From Palm Springs: The Little Mysteries We All Wonder About
Parker Palm Springs Hotel
After a couple of days in Palm Springs, you stop asking tourist questions.
You already know where to find a good margarita.
You've figured out the pool.
You've accepted that the mountains somehow look both impossibly close and impossibly far away.
Instead, your curiosity starts drifting toward the little mysteries.
Why am I suddenly Redfinning real estate ads with my morning latte?
Why are the roofs so low?
Why are all the front doors orange or pink?
Why does the airport feel like the place my vacation actually begins?
And why is the brunch waitress delivering my hash browns decked out in stilettos and a purple feather boa?
The desert, as it turns out, rewards people who notice things.
Why Is Everyone Suddenly Interested in Real Estate?
Palm Springs has a curious effect on otherwise sensible people.
Someone arrives planning a long weekend.
By the second day they're casually browsing Zillow over breakfast.
By the third, they're saying things like, "I wonder what we could get for our place back home."
By the fourth day, they're asking whether the backyard gets afternoon sun.
The city has always attracted dreamers. Movie stars came looking for privacy. Retirees came looking for sunshine. Designers came looking for clean lines and dramatic light.
Everyone else arrived thinking they were just visiting.
Real estate is one of Palm Springs' most contagious hobbies.
Most vacations end with souvenirs. Palm Springs occasionally ends with a mortgage.
Why Are the Palm Springs Roofs So Low?
Because the mountains are supposed to be the tallest thing in the picture. In Palm Springs, the architecture knows when to take a supporting role.
Palm Springs architects preferred long, horizontal rooflines that echoed the flat desert landscape instead of competing with the mountains. The homes feel relaxed because they are. They literally stretch out across the ground.
There's also the practical matter of shade. Wide overhangs protect walls and windows from the relentless summer sun while creating patios that become outdoor living rooms for much of the year.
The result is architecture that somehow manages to look both sophisticated and like it's permanently on vacation.
What's With All the Brightly Colored Doors?
In Palm Springs, front doors tend to introduce themselves in turquoise, orange, lime green—or pink.
No one knows exactly when colorful doors became a local tradition, but the city has enthusiastically embraced the idea that your front entrance should have a personality.
Some homeowners coordinate with desert flowers.
Others coordinate with vintage convertibles.
A few appear to have selected their paint using the same criteria as a bowl of tropical Skittles.
Pink deserves special mention.
In most cities, a pink front door might raise an eyebrow.
In Palm Springs, it doesn’t even get a second look.
Why Is the Palm Springs Airport So...Pleasant?
Most airports feel like places you're trying to escape.
Palm Springs somehow feels like you've already arrived.
What began as a modest airfield in the 1930s—and later served as a World War II training base—never lost its small-town confidence.
Instead of endless fluorescent hallways, there are open-air courtyards. Instead of rushing between terminals, you're walking beneath palm trees.
You can actually hear birds.
You might even smell jasmine before you collect your luggage.
It's one of the few airports where people voluntarily linger outside after landing.
Mostly because it's hard to believe this still counts as an airport.
Why Are There So Many Drag Brunches?
Because Palm Springs has long celebrated people who enjoy being exactly who they are… or who they want to pretend they are… today.
Before the country became more welcoming to LGBTQ+ communities, Palm Springs was already a place where people could live openly and authentically.
That spirit still shapes the city.
The drag brunches may draw plenty of visitors, but they grew out of a community that celebrates self-expression.
Now they're neighborhood traditions with better costumes.
In some cities, brunch is Eggs Benedict. Here, Lady Eggs Benedict may arrive with a platinum wig and fishnet stockings.
Which raises the Palm Springs question: why do subtle when you can do sequins?
Even at 10:00 a.m.
On a Sunday.
People who say "I've never been to one" often leave wondering why every city doesn't do brunch this way.
More Desert Questions Coming Soon
The desert answers one question by asking three more.
Why do the mountains change color every hour?
Why does everyone suddenly have an opinion about Modernism?
Why do hummingbirds behave like tiny fighter pilots?
We'll keep asking.
Because curiosity is part of the landscape.
Enjoyed this article? The Local Questions are just one part of Devour the Desert. Explore our other "Local…" series for stories about the food, architecture, history, celebrities, and culture that make Palm Springs unlike anywhere else.
Walk Between the Questions
The best way to understand Palm Springs isn't from behind a windshield.
It's on foot.
At Artisan Food Tours, our guided walking tours combine local restaurants with stories about architecture, history, neighborhoods, and the wonderfully odd details that make this city unlike anywhere else. Bring your curiosity, and leave knowing why so many buildings are only one story... and probably wondering about something else.
Come hungry. Leave like a local.
Dave Ball is a local guide and co-owner of Artisan Food Tours with his wife, Phyllis. He spends an inordinate amount of time thinking about Palm Springs history, neighborhood architecture, and where to find a great meal.
Copyright: David W. Ball