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History of retail in Palm Springs, California

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This article covers the history of department stores and retail in Palm Springs, California, particularly in that city's downtown.

Palm Springs Plaza

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Palm Springs Plaza, as it was then called, now La Plaza, opened November 1, 1936, one of the first shopping centers in Southern California with a single developer, owner and a uniform appearance, after Westwood Village (1929). It contained a parking garage on three levels with parking for 141 cars, the largest garage in Riverside County. Desmond's (department store) was an original anchor[1][2][3][4] and continued to operate until 2005.[5]

Resort stores

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Bullock's, a large upscale department store on Broadway in Los Angeles, opened a Spanish Colonial-style "resort store" in the Desert Inn complex in 1930. I. Magnin followed, opening a resort store in the El Mirador resort on December 1, 1933,[6] closing when that resort was turned into a military hospital in 1942.[7] When Bullock's opened a full department store at 151 Palm Canyon Drive in 1947, J. W. Robinson's, another large L.A. store, took the former Bullock's location and opened its own resort store there.[8]

Full-line and specialty department stores

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After La Plaza was built, additional junior and full-line department stores started to be established on Palm Canyon Drive immediately adjacent to La Plaza. Bullock's/Bullocks Wilshire (#151, 1947–1990), J. W. Robinson's (#333, 1958–1987),[9][10][11] and Saks Fifth Avenue (opened October 16, 1959 at No. 490),[12] forming a large shopping district. In 1967 the Desert Fashion Plaza mall was built, I. Magnin opened there (closed 1992)[13] and Saks closed its previous location and moved into a new larger store in the mall. Joseph Magnin Co. opened a 26,000 square foot department store in the mall in 1969,[14] meaning that together with a Sears at 611 Palm Canyon Dr., for two decades, downtown boasted seven department stores, plus the Palm Springs Mall 1.5 miles to the east operating from 1959 to 2005.

References

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  1. ^ "Plaza Opens with Ceremonies Sunday". Desert Sun (Palm Springs, CA). October 30, 1936.
  2. ^ "Palm Springs Plaza under construction". Desert Sun (Palm Springs, CA). February 14, 1936.
  3. ^ "Begin Monday on 36 shops in Plaza Project". Desert Sun (Palm Springs, CA). July 10, 1936.
  4. ^ "Power Company Publicizes Village". Desert Sun (Pam Springs, CA). December 11, 1936.
  5. ^ Hirsh, Lou (February 6, 2005). "Desmond's to Close?". Desert Sun (Palm Springs, CA).
  6. ^ "I. Magnin & Co. to Open Twelfth Branch". San Francisco Examiner. November 8, 1933. p. 25.
  7. ^ Brown, Renee (September 25, 2015). "History: Torney general hospital's contribution in WWII". The Desert Sun. Palm Springs.
  8. ^ "Bullock's New Palm Springs Shop Cheerful", Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov 1930, p. 40 (part II, p. 20)
  9. ^ Murphy, Gavin (October 28, 1988). "World Market Plan Dies". Desert Sun (Palm Springs, CA).
  10. ^ "Robinson's celebrating 75th anniversary", Desert Sun(Palm Springs, CA), January 9, 1958
  11. ^ Murphy, Gary (March 6, 1992). "Merchants bemoan loss in Palm Springs of I. Magnin Store". Desert Sun (Palm Springs, CA).
  12. ^ "Saks will open here tomorrow". Desert Sun (Palm Springs, CA). October 15, 1959.
  13. ^ "'New Era' Launched as I. Magnin Opens". The Desert Sun. Vol. 41, no. 62. 16 October 1967. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  14. ^ "Ground Broken Today for New Major Store". The Desert Sun. Vol. 42, no. 183. 6 March 1969. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
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