“THE WAY IT IS...“ WHIMSICAL 1970s PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA TRAVELOGUE FILM EL MIRADOR HOTEL 91674
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This whimsical 1970s travelogue “The Way It Is...“ from the Storyline Company takes viewers through Palm Springs California, highlighting popular spots visitors would frequent. The places that are shown range from the Desert Inn Fashion Plaza (6:52) to Camelot RV Park (21:54). The film is unique, creative and different from most travelogues of this era, in that the director decided to juxtapose scenes of the bustling oasis of Palm Springs with scenes from the deserts of the Middle East. The depictions of the Middle Eastern desert (signified by the music that plays in the background) are a bit problematic, in that they make the narrative a bit hard to follow -- but the film is a charming timewarp nonetheless. A full list of key places in Palm Springs shown in the film appears below.
Date palms and dates (3:08). Dune buggies (3:41). People drinking mixed drinks at a bar (4:29).
The Palm Springs Airport fountain (5:05). The film shows aerial footage of Palm Springs neighborhoods (5:44) and a huge trailer park filmed with Airstreams (6:18). The Desert Inn Fashion Plaza (6:52), Bullocks Wilshire (6:54), Saks Fifth Avenue (6:57), I. Macnin & co. (7:01), W&J Sloane (7:03), Robinson’s (7:06), Eva Harbor Interiors (7:08), Clau Ladel (7:10), The Danish Silversmith (7:14), Marge Riley Westerns (7:17), The Basket Shop (7:17), Walker Scott (7:18), Dorothy Gray (7:24), Silverwoods (7:28), Walbur Clarke’s Hawaiian Shop (7:35), Lilly Pulitzer of Palm Springs inc (7:38), Marie Geyer (7:41). The film shows the Joseph Magnin M department store and then shows a group of models trying on clothes on display (8:47-9:50) in an open air shopping mall. Palm Springs signpost (10:53). Palm Springs Aerial Tramway (11:53), Desert Villa (12:04), The Regent (12:06), Cara del Camino Hotel Apartments (12:07), Lone Palm Hotel (12:08), The Starliter Therapy Pool Comp (12:12), the Claremont Hotel (12:13), Crest View Hotel (12:15), Gene Autry Hotel (12:23). Dune buggy rides through town. Women get their hair done in a beauty salon (13:10). Angels Stadium, later changed to Palm Springs Stadium (14:08). Golden State Rodeo Company (17:05). Rabbi poses in front of Palm Springs synagogue (18:16). Casbah Club (19:17), Banducci’s Bit of Italy restaurant (19:26), Howard Manor (19:30), El Mirador Hotel (19:37), Red Baron (19:43), Don the Beachcomber (19:50), Jack London’s presents Roberta Sweed, Joe Felix & Woody (19:51), Lord Fletcher Inn (19:52), Casa Camargo Mexican Food (19:56), Al Greco Piano & Songs Cocktails (19:57), The Racquet Club (20:00), Riviera Convention Center (20:28), Jerry Buss’s Ocotillo Lodge (20:32), Welcome Al Malaika Shrine convention (20:40), American Legion (21:05), Camelot (21:54), montage of license plates (22:46), a red VW Beetle drives away, a Western Airlines Boeing 737 jet plane arriving at Palm Springs Municipal Airport (23:38). Passengers are shown exiting an American Airlines Astrojet (24:56). The films conclusion begins with scrolling text (26:03). Welcome Palm Springs Recreation & Visitors Bureau Reservations & Information center (27:26). The film ends (27:31).
The El Mirador Hotel opened in 1928 and was one of the grandest, most fashionable resorts in town. Hollywood celebrities and business tycoons were on hand to celebrate the new hotel, designed by Los Angeles architects Walker & Eisen and built by Palm Springs businessman and developer Prescott Thresher Stevens (who invested nearly $1 million in the venture). The 200 room hotel encompassed 20 acres and featured tennis courts, a golf course (the first 18-hole golf course in the city), stables, an Olympic-size swimming pool, and the 60-foot Spanish Revival bell tower that is a Palm Springs landmark. Today a version of the hotel still exists, but converted into a medical center.
Sprawling across 20 acres, the 200-room hotel featured tennis courts, a golf course (the first 18-hole golf course in the city), stables, an Olympic-size swimming pool, and the 60-foot Spanish Revival bell tower that became -- and still is -- a Palm Springs landmark.
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