The circus is in town!

For more than 50 years, the Desert Circus celebrated Palm Springs' love for horses and riding through the desert with an annual festival. Parades, car races, pageants, all to raise money for charity.

This episode of A Bert’s Eye View is brought to you by Modernism Week— the celebration of midcentury and modern architecture, design, and culture in sunny Palm Springs, California. Join the fun in October and February with tours, talks, parties, and more—tickets and details at modernismweek.com.

The information presented in this podcast is for general knowledge and entertainment purposes only. All research that was done and opinions expressed are our own and not necessarily those of Modernism Week.

Episode Transcript

(00:06):
Hey there, and welcome to Upper's Eye View.
My name is Bert and I'm the Buster Operations Manager for
Modernism Week in Palm Springs, CA.
I coordinate all of our double Decker bus tours during our
Modernism Week festivals in February and October.
Many of you have been our guestsand we hope that you'll return.
If you haven't joined us yet, please do.

(00:28):
It's a great introduction to ourcity and its architecture.
While doing research for the bustours, I come across a lot of
information that we just don't have time to share.
This series of podcasts will highlight some of those
interesting details that we cannot cover during your short
time with us. So TuneIn and enjoy a bird's eye

(00:49):
view. No, that wasn't the sound of a
late night reveler leaving one of the many night spots here in
Palm Springs. Not many of our guests or even
our residents know that early Palm Springs had a very active

(01:12):
horse riding community. In the 1930s, there were nine
different stables in Palm Springs, many of them located
along Avenida Caballeros. All the major hotels, the
Almiridor and the Oasis, The Desert Inn and Ingleside Estate
had arrangements with stables and offered desert horseback
rides as an activity to their guests.

(01:34):
In addition to golf, tennis, andlazing by the pool, riding
through the desert was a main pastime for early visitors to
Palm Springs. There were numerous riding clubs
such as the Desert Riders and Las Compadres who counted many
local members, including celebrities who had homes here.
Today, within the city limits, there are only two stables at

(01:57):
Smoke Tree Ranch and Las Compadres stables on South El
Cielo Rd. This western spirit, combined
with a bit of Hollywood glamour,resulted in the first desert
circus in 1934. It was more than a parade down
Palm Canyon Drive. It was a community event that
left a mark on Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley.

(02:19):
In 1934, during the Great Depression and before Palm
Springs was officially a city, agroup of local organizers,
including church members and influential residents, looked to
raise funds for Our Lady of Solitude Church.
For the first two years the event did not have a name, but
by 1936 it was officially known as the Desert Circus.

(02:41):
What began as a one day fundraiser became a sprawling
multi day spectacle. By the late 1930s and 40's, the
Desert Circus went big with parades featuring floats
sponsored by local businesses such as I Magnum and bullocks
adorned with western motifs ranging from horses to faux

(03:01):
indigenous themes. There were three ring circus
acts, trapeze performances, precision horse teams and
tightrope walkers performing 110feet high.
There were fashion shows, lunches, steeplechases, rodeos
and airplane races. Community skits known as the

(03:23):
Village Insanities were popular as well, staged at locations
like the Plaza Theater to poke fun at the town's leading
figures. Palm Springs in the mid century
was a magnet for celebrity seeking sun, golf and desert
serenity, and the Desert Circus became their pet playground.
And celebrity attendance boostedthe festival's prestige and drew

(03:45):
tourists far and wide. Bob Hope.
Lucille Ball. Shirley Temple.
Gene Autry. Clark Gable.
Kirk Douglas. Janet Lee.
Debbie Reynolds, Jane Mansfield,Gene Autry and Moore served as
grand marshals or circus Queens.In 1954.

(04:08):
Clark Gable served as the courseMarshall for the car races held
at the Palm Springs Airport. In 1963, Desert Circus saluted
the grand opening of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway.
Governor Pat Brown led the parade.
Lucille Ball was Queen, Gene Autry grand Marshall, and Troy

(04:28):
Donahue the High Sheriff. Fundraising was central from
church building support to localnonprofits.
Kangaroo court fines alone reportedly brought in hundreds
for charity. The event rekindled Wild West
Fund Saddle parties mounted parades inspired by the Desert

(04:50):
Writers Club, founded in 1931. Rodeos.
Steeplechases and the formation of the Desert Circus Rodeo in
1940, led by Frank Bogert, who later became the mayor.
The Desert Circus thrived through the 1950s and 60s,
becoming Palm Springs Signature social week.

(05:10):
But by the 1970's, the winds of change began to blow Palm
Springs. Rapid growth ushered in
nightlife scenes, tourist diversification, and new
festivals like the InternationalFilm Festival and later
Modernism Week and the Pride Parade.
Despite A brief revival in 1985 after a four year absence, the

(05:32):
Desert Circus held its last hurrah in the fall of 1986 with
singer and local resident Trini Lopez as Grand Marshall.
Festivals and charitable fundraisers will continue to be
a part of Palm Springs, and no matter if the festival
celebrates horses, film, architecture or pride, we will
continue to enjoy all the activities the city offers.

(05:57):
Thanks to Renee Brown, the Director of Education and
Associate Curator at the Palm Springs Historical Society, for
reviewing my facts. And if you want to know more
about Palm Springs history, stopby at the Historical Society.
They are in the old McCallum Adobe on the Village Green.
Or drop a comment on this podcast.
Support for a bird's eye view comes from Modernism Week,

(06:20):
celebrating global modernism andPalm Springs design each October
and February. [e-mail].