20 years of Modernism Week: a local’s guide to Palm Springs, California

The desert oasis of Palm Springs is a design-lover’s paradise. It’s packed with chic, mid-century modern buildings, which evoke an age when Palm Springs was the destination of choice for stars of the stage and silver screen. Fast-forward to today and the city’s warm climate and effortless cool still attracts celebrities as well as travellers drawn in by its rich architectural heritage, progressive arts scene and camera-loving desert location.

For two decades, the Modernism Week festival has shone a light on the city’s mid-century culture and design, and the 2025 event is now in full swing (13-23 February). To celebrate, we asked a local to share his top tips for exploring the city during Modernism Week and beyond. Here’s what to see, do and eat according to artist, designer and Palm Springs resident Josh Agle.

In the middle of the 20th century, Palm Springs’ dry, sunny desert climate drew the country’s rich and famous who began building vacation homes and resorts here. Photos of movie stars and showbiz industry titans playing tennis and golf, relaxing by their swimming pools and hosting cocktail parties in the evening ignited the imagination of Americans, and ultimately turned Palm Springs into a renowned destination. In the early 2000s, people began buying homes in the area again in an attempt to recreate that mid-century lifestyle of leisure and glamour. It lives on today and makes Palm Springs a dazzling city.

Modernism Week is celebrating its 20th year in Palm Springs. It was founded to highlight the mid-century architecture and design which, at the time, was becoming a major attraction here. During Modernism Week, many historic mid-century homes and buildings, which can usually only be seen from the outside, are open for tours and cocktail parties. Also, authors and experts from all over the world come to speak or give presentations about design, pop culture and architecture. If someone is a fan of the mid-century modern era, this is the best chance to see and experience what makes Palm Springs so special.

The Palm Springs Modern Committee publishes a map of the city’s preeminent homes and commercial buildings, which is great for the hardcore design aficionado. Some must-see buildings include the newly restored Bank of America building on Palm Canyon Drive, the House of Tomorrow (also called the Elvis Honeymoon Hideaway), the Kaufmann House and the upper and lower stations of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway.

The Palm Springs Art Museum is world-class, with both contemporary and traditional collections, so that should be a must-see for art lovers. They also run the Architecture and Design Center, which hosts career retrospectives of well-known Palm Springs architects and exhibitions about furniture and graphic design.

The Backstreet Arts District has galleries and studios of emerging and established artists, and holds biannual open houses every spring and fall. And finally, the Shag Store is a gallery in Palm Springs’ Uptown Design District devoted to my own art, which is an ongoing love letter to the fabled Palm Springs lifestyle. 

Some of my favourite food spots are Bar Cecil, a high end bistro with French and American food; Rooster and Pig, which offers a contemporary twist on Vietnamese cuisine; and Sherman’s Deli and Bakery, a New York-style deli with a huge pastry and cake counter.

The best view in the city is from the pool deck of the Albert Frey House II on the hill above the Palm Springs Art Museum. The house is owned by the museum and is open for tours throughout the year.

The Moorton Botanical Garden is a family-owned attraction where cacti, succulents and other desert flora are displayed in collections grouped by geographic region. It doesn’t look like much from the outside, with its hand-painted signage and aged brick walls, but inside the gates is a wonderland of rare and unusual plant species.

If you want to feel like you stepped into 1964, take a walk or bike ride around the Vista Las Palmas neighbourhood, where almost every home has been restored to mid-century modern splendour and vintage automobiles are parked in the carports.

Josh “Shag” Agle is a painter, illustrator and designer based in Palm Springs, California. Since 1996 Shag has had numerous gallery exhibitions in the United States, Europe, Japan and Australia, and also exhibits his work at Palm Springs’ Shag Store gallery in the city’s Uptown Design District.

For more information see visitgreaterpalmsprings.com and psmodcom.org.