Palm Desert
Right in the center of the Coachella Valley is the beautiful city of Palm Desert. Talk about dining, shopping, entertainment and recreation! It's all here in phenomenal abundance. Rob Zwemmer can point you in the right direction and find the perfect home whether you are a growing family, active adults, part-time or full-time desert dwellers. No matter who you are, you will enjoy a high standard of living with the College of the Desert nearby, the Gardens on El Paseo for a “Rodeo Drive of the East” shopping and dining experience, the Westfield Palm Desert mall with all your favorite retailers, the McCallum Theatre headlining the biggest names in the business, and The Living Desert with exotic animals and more residing within natural desert environs. And talk about all of the exciting happenings that take place weekly, monthly and annually! Enjoy the Golf Cart Parade, the College of the Desert Street Fair, the Fourth of July Fireworks display and so much more.
Palm Desert, “the heart of the Coachella Valley,” is a picturesque desert community with a dynamic, big-city vibe. Since its 1973 incorporation, the city, once defined as a world-class resort and retirement destination, has urbanized into a thriving municipality — a place where upper middle class families and working professionals now call “home.”
First known as “Old MacDonald Ranch”, it was renamed “Palm Village” in the 1920s following the planting of date palm trees in the area. Real estate development didn’t begin to take off until the 1940s, and was primarily led by the Palm Desert Corporation, headed by founder Cliff Bergen and his brother, entertainer Edgar Bergen, and Leonard Firestone. In 1951, as the city began to take shape, it received the permanent name of Palm Desert.
A high standard of living is enjoyed in Palm Desert today. Residents have the convenience of living within a short distance of the valley’s largest selection of stores, college campuses, and a premier center for the performing arts. Residents from every corner of the desert are drawn to its city limits to enjoy the attractions, social and cultural events held throughout the year: the Fourth of July fireworks spectacular, the art walks, the Living Desert, the McCallum Theater, Golf Cart Parade, and College of the Desert Street Fair — to name a few.
Major shopping destinations include El Paseo, the valley’s answer to Rodeo Drive, featuring an exceptional mix of restaurants, galleries, nationally known retailers and shops of the unique and boutique. Westfield Palm Desert, the Desert Crossings Shopping Center and major superstores are in ideal juxtaposition, creating the ultimate shopping hub.
Firecliff and Mountain View are two separate golf courses that form Desert Willow,
Palm Desert’s public golf course, once honored on the cover of Smithsonian for its water efficiency and environmentally correct landscaping. A number of prestigious private courses lie within the city limits. Among the ranks of these exclusive clubs are Bighorn, Stone Eagle, Ironwood, and Indian Ridge.
Palm Desert is home to several institutions of higher education including College of the Desert (a part of the California state community college system); California State University, San Bernardino-Palm Desert Campus; Chapman University; University of Phoenix; the University of Redlands.
Discover the vibrant city of Palm Desert, a picturesque paradise offering many of the valley’s most popular restaurants and nightclubs, exciting special events, premier shopping destinations, varied educational opportunities, and five-star entertainment.
Mayor: Jim Ferguson
City Hall: 73-510 Fred Waring Drive
Palm Desert, CA 92260
346-0611
Chamber of Commerce:
73-710 Fred Waring Drive, Suite 114
346-6111 www.pdcc.org
Visitor’s Center:
72-567 Highway 111
568-1441
Population: 49,280
Median Age: 52.6
Median Household Income: $51,277
Median Home Price: $320,807
Family Households: 60%
UTILITIES:
Phone Company: Verizon 1-800483-4000
Electricity: Southern California Edison
General Info 1-800-655-4555 www.sce.com
Gas: Southern California Gas Company
Service Requests 1-800-427-2200 www.socalgas.com
Water: Coachella Valley Water District
398-2651 www.cvwd.org
Sanitation: Waste Management of the Desert
340-2113 www.wmdesert.com
Cable System: Time Warner Cable
1-800-964-2783 www.timewarnercable.com/desertcities
SCHOOLS:
Desert Sands Unified School District
777-4200 www.dsusd.us
SERVICES:
Post Offices:
24-801 Hovley Lane
45-300 Portola Ave.
1-800-275-8777
Fire: 800-472-5697
Police : 836-1600
Library: 73-300 Fred Waring Drive
346-6552
HOSPITALS:
Eisenhower Medical Center
39-000 Bob Hope Drive
Rancho Mirage
340-3911
www.emc.org
Desert Regional Medical Center
1150 N. Indian Canyon Drive
Palm Springs
323-6187
www.desertmedctr.com
EVENTS & POINTS OF INTEREST
Art in Public Places
72-567 Highway 111
568-5240 www.palmdesertart.org
College of the Desert Street Fair
Every weekend (June-September, 7 a.m. - noon; October – May, 7 a.m.- 2 p.m.)
43-500 Monterey Ave.
773-2567 www.codstreetfair.com
Desert Crossings Shopping Center
72-355 Highway 111
341-0258
Desert Willow Golf Resort
38-995 Desert Willow Drive
346-7060 www.desertwillow.com
The Gardens on El Paseo
73-555 El Paseo
862-1990 www.thegardensonelpaseo.com
Golf Cart Parade
(January)
346-6111
The Living Desert
A Zoo & Gardens
47-900 Portola Ave.
346-5694 www.livingdesert.org
The McCallum Theatre for the Performing Arts
73-000 Fred Waring Drive
346-6505 www.mccallumtheatre.com
Stone Eagle Golf Club
72-450 Stone Eagle Drive
773-6200 www.stoneeagleclub.com
Westfield Palm Desert
72-840 Highway 111
568-0248 www.westfield.com/palmdesert