Palm Springs, with its mix of grit and glamour, was made for noir: scorching sun by day and long, lingering shadows at dusk, stark desert views interrupted by the clean lines and bold colors of midcentury architecture. So its fitting the city now hosts two festivals devoted to the shadowy art form.
Borrego Desert Treasure Map: The Cipher Behind the Legend of Lost Gold
Somewhere in the scorched canyons between the Santa Rosa Mountains and the Salton Sea, a secret lies hidden — sketched on a hand-drawn map and locked behind a code that has stumped treasure hunters for more than a century. This is the legend of desert gold, reignited in the 1950s by Zaddie Bunker, the famous flying grandmother of Palm Springs. Over the years, the tale has seduced more than a few dreamers. Their stories span generations, following a mystery older than the town itself.
As far as you could see, everybody turned and watched them sing,” Michael Becker recalls of a game day at Dodger Stadium featuring a performance by his great-uncle, Lamberto Leyva, frontman of the Guadalajara Trio. “It was incredible for me to sit there and watch. They played ‘The Star Spangled Banner,’ and Lamberto and his son Rene went into this falsetto. A third of the entire stadium just stopped.”
Inside The Doll House: A Legendary Celebrity Hideaway of Midcentury Palm Springs
Discover the history of The Doll House, where locals and luminaries rubbed elbows and danced the night away in Palm Springs to the tune of the Guadalajara Trio.
Murder in Paradise: How a 1940s Actor Lost His Way in the Desert
“I remember that case pretty darn well,” ex-Palm Springs Police Officer Joe Jones says. “I joined the police department in September of ’64. Twenty-two years old. I hadn’t been to the academy yet.” When they arrived at the scene, Jones walked in first. “The front...
