December 8, 2025 • 8 mins
The Plaza Theatre in downtown Palm Springs has reopened after an extensive renovation and is alive with the sound of music, comedy, films, and other performances. Greta Garbo would be proud!
The background music in this podcast is from the film Camille, which premiered at the Plaza Theatre in 1936. Frederic Chopin's Nocturne in E Flat Major and Carl Maria Von Weber's Aufforderung zum Tanz are in the public domain. The actual full Camille soundtrack is still under copyright protection.
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.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:06):
Hey there, and welcome to season2 of A Bert's Eye View.
My name is Bert and I'm the Buster operations manager for
Modernism Week in Palm Springs, CA.
I coordinate all our Double Decker bus tours during the
Modernism Week festivals in February and October, and I'm
happy to have their support for these podcasts.
I started this project to respond to questions from our
(00:28):
guests that we don't have time to answer during our tours.
I thought we would do a dozen orso stories, but the response has
been so positive that after doing 26 podcasts in season 1,
we're on to the second season. So if there's a topic you want
addressed, leave me a comment. Please tune in, click the follow
button and enjoy a bird's eye view.
(00:57):
With the Plaza Theater in downtown Palm Springs reopening
last week after a major $34 million refurbishment, I thought
I'd dig into a little bit of thehistory of the theater.
The Plaza Theater sits tucked into the heart of downtown Palm
Springs as a small white stuccoed reminder of the city's
golden Age, a place where Hollywood and desert resort life
(01:19):
met and mingled. Conceived as the theatrical
anchor of the LA Plaza shopping complex, the theater opened when
Palm Springs was transitioning from a seasonal hideaway for
Hollywood stars into a purpose built resort city.
Total cost for the construction of the shopping complex and the
theater was $1 million, quite a large sum in 1936.
(01:43):
The theater opened in 1936 and the first program included the
film premiere of Camille, and local lore has long insisted
that its star, Greta Garbo herself slipped into the
balcony, favoring privacy over abig city premiere.
The background music for this podcast is music that was part
of the film's soundtrack. The LA Plaza project was
(02:06):
commissioned by Julia Patterson Carnell, A wealthy patron and
seasonal visitor who engaged Dayton based architect Harry J
Williams to design A coordinatedSt. side retail court anchored
by the intimate movie house. From its earliest days, the
Plaza Theater was intended to serve a dual role, program
(02:26):
popular motion pictures and provide a glamorous public room
where seasonal celebrities and visitors could see and be seen.
Architecturally, the theater draws directly on the Spanish
colonial and Mediterranean styles that dominated Southern
California civic and commercial design in the 1920s and 1930s.
(02:48):
Its exterior composition, white stucco walls, clay tile roof
elements and arched openings seta restrained regional tone that
harmonized with the pedestrian oriented La Plaza Center.
But the theater's most distinctive architectural
character is revealed inside. It was built as an atmospheric
(03:08):
theater, a popular type in the 1920s and 30s that sought to
transport audiences into a stylized outdoor setting.
The plaza's auditorium originally featured A gently
curving dusk blue ceiling studded with small lights to
simulate stars, while side wallswere treated as faux garden
facades with miniature Spanish cottages and soft, indirect
(03:31):
illumination. That immersive interior
established an intimate, escapist ambiance appropriate
for a desert resort rather than the monumentality of a downtown
movie palace. Structurally, the building
reflects practical construction methods of its era.
Cast in place. Concrete, concrete masonry
(03:52):
units, and heavy timber framing were used to create a solid
fireproof shell suited to a public assembly space.
The proscenium and stage areas were sized to accommodate both
film projection and live acts, aversatility that later proved
decisive in the theater's midlife reinventions.
(04:13):
Original finishes, although modest compared with larger
metropolitan houses, emphasized handcrafted detail, plaster
moldings, wrought iron motifs, and a mezzanine balcony
treatment that reinforced the sense of a small village Plaza
under the stars. Over decades, those interior
treatments became the plaza's signature.
(04:36):
Photographs and eyewitness accounts repeatedly note the
garden walls and starry ceiling as defining visual memories for
generations of patrons. The plaza's origins and
architectural plan also shaped its cultural trajectory.
Designed for intimacy rather than mass throughput, the
theater suited Palm Springs seasonal rhythms and celebrity
(04:58):
clientele. Radio broadcast, special
premieres and variety acts made use of its stage.
While the film program attractedregular local audiences, the
Plaza programming and youth shifted with the rhythms of
changing entertainment habits. In the mid 20th century, it
hosted film premieres, radio broadcasts and variety acts that
(05:20):
drew national names. On other nights, it was simply
the town's neighborhood cinema. By the late 20th century, like
many single screen theaters, thePlaza had fallen on harder times
as multiplexes and television reshaped how Americans consumed
entertainment. Yet its historical aura and
compact atmospheric automatoriummade it an ideal candidate for
(05:43):
reinvention rather than demolition.
That reinvention arrived in a particularly Palm Springs way.
The Plaza became home to the fabulous Palm Springs Follies, A
nostalgic, vaudeville inspired review that launched there in
1990. The Follies, celebrating classic
(06:03):
songs, tap and showgirl razzle dazzle, performed largely by
veteran entertainers, all of whom were over 55, drew
audiences from across the country and put the tiny
downtown theater on the culturalmap for a new generation.
Over 23 seasons, the Follies notonly entertained but helped
sustain local tourism and downtown vitality.
(06:27):
When the review closed in 2014, it left both fond memories and a
practical problem How to preserve, upgrade and program a
historic house for the 21st century.
Preservation advocates, civic leaders and private donors
answered that challenge with a prolonged campaign to restore
(06:47):
the building. Local groups documented the
theater's architectural fabric, uncovered original decorative
elements during stabilization work, and raised funds to bring
the space up to modern performance and accessibility
standards while retaining its historic character.
Those efforts coalesced into a large scale restoration project
(07:08):
overseen by the Palm Springs Plaza Theatre Foundation and
supported by the city. The theater includes modern
acoustics, a 4K projection system, hearing assist
technology, and careful rehabilitation of the proscenium
and lobby details so the house could host films, concerts,
community events and theatrical productions.
(07:30):
Today the Plaza Theater story reads as a microcosm of Palm
Springs itself, a place that grew from desert resort
fantasies and celebrity escape into a real city with historic
layers to protect, reinterpret and celebrate.
Its survival, first as a local movie palace, then as a
vaudeville revival home, and nowas a restored multi purpose
(07:53):
venue, shows how heritage can bean engine for present day
community life rather than only a museum piece.
With the theater reopening 89 years after its first opening,
it will not only screen films and host performers, but also
help tell a broader story how a small desert town learned to
honor its past while building a cultural life for the future.
(08:17):
The plazas, arches and neon signremind visitors that history can
be both lived and performed if acommunity is willing to raise
the funds. Do the research and walk through
the doors to attend a performance at the Plaza
Theater. Direct your browser to
palmspringsplazatheater.com and review their schedule.
(08:40):
Support for a bird's eye view comes from Modernism Week,
celebrating global modernism andPalm Springs design each October
and February. Learnmore@modernismweek.com.
Hey there, and welcome to season2 of A Bert's Eye View.
My name is Bert and I'm the Buster operations manager for
Modernism Week in Palm Springs, CA.
I coordinate all our Double Decker bus tours during the
Modernism Week festivals in February and October, and I'm
happy to have their support for these podcasts.
I started this project to respond to questions from our
(00:28):
guests that we don't have time to answer during our tours.
I thought we would do a dozen orso stories, but the response has
been so positive that after doing 26 podcasts in season 1,
we're on to the second season. So if there's a topic you want
addressed, leave me a comment. Please tune in, click the follow
button and enjoy a bird's eye view.
(00:57):
With the Plaza Theater in downtown Palm Springs reopening
last week after a major $34 million refurbishment, I thought
I'd dig into a little bit of thehistory of the theater.
The Plaza Theater sits tucked into the heart of downtown Palm
Springs as a small white stuccoed reminder of the city's
golden Age, a place where Hollywood and desert resort life
(01:19):
met and mingled. Conceived as the theatrical
anchor of the LA Plaza shopping complex, the theater opened when
Palm Springs was transitioning from a seasonal hideaway for
Hollywood stars into a purpose built resort city.
Total cost for the construction of the shopping complex and the
theater was $1 million, quite a large sum in 1936.
(01:43):
The theater opened in 1936 and the first program included the
film premiere of Camille, and local lore has long insisted
that its star, Greta Garbo herself slipped into the
balcony, favoring privacy over abig city premiere.
The background music for this podcast is music that was part
of the film's soundtrack. The LA Plaza project was
(02:06):
commissioned by Julia Patterson Carnell, A wealthy patron and
seasonal visitor who engaged Dayton based architect Harry J
Williams to design A coordinatedSt. side retail court anchored
by the intimate movie house. From its earliest days, the
Plaza Theater was intended to serve a dual role, program
(02:26):
popular motion pictures and provide a glamorous public room
where seasonal celebrities and visitors could see and be seen.
Architecturally, the theater draws directly on the Spanish
colonial and Mediterranean styles that dominated Southern
California civic and commercial design in the 1920s and 1930s.
(02:48):
Its exterior composition, white stucco walls, clay tile roof
elements and arched openings seta restrained regional tone that
harmonized with the pedestrian oriented La Plaza Center.
But the theater's most distinctive architectural
character is revealed inside. It was built as an atmospheric
(03:08):
theater, a popular type in the 1920s and 30s that sought to
transport audiences into a stylized outdoor setting.
The plaza's auditorium originally featured A gently
curving dusk blue ceiling studded with small lights to
simulate stars, while side wallswere treated as faux garden
facades with miniature Spanish cottages and soft, indirect
(03:31):
illumination. That immersive interior
established an intimate, escapist ambiance appropriate
for a desert resort rather than the monumentality of a downtown
movie palace. Structurally, the building
reflects practical construction methods of its era.
Cast in place. Concrete, concrete masonry
(03:52):
units, and heavy timber framing were used to create a solid
fireproof shell suited to a public assembly space.
The proscenium and stage areas were sized to accommodate both
film projection and live acts, aversatility that later proved
decisive in the theater's midlife reinventions.
(04:13):
Original finishes, although modest compared with larger
metropolitan houses, emphasized handcrafted detail, plaster
moldings, wrought iron motifs, and a mezzanine balcony
treatment that reinforced the sense of a small village Plaza
under the stars. Over decades, those interior
treatments became the plaza's signature.
(04:36):
Photographs and eyewitness accounts repeatedly note the
garden walls and starry ceiling as defining visual memories for
generations of patrons. The plaza's origins and
architectural plan also shaped its cultural trajectory.
Designed for intimacy rather than mass throughput, the
theater suited Palm Springs seasonal rhythms and celebrity
(04:58):
clientele. Radio broadcast, special
premieres and variety acts made use of its stage.
While the film program attractedregular local audiences, the
Plaza programming and youth shifted with the rhythms of
changing entertainment habits. In the mid 20th century, it
hosted film premieres, radio broadcasts and variety acts that
(05:20):
drew national names. On other nights, it was simply
the town's neighborhood cinema. By the late 20th century, like
many single screen theaters, thePlaza had fallen on harder times
as multiplexes and television reshaped how Americans consumed
entertainment. Yet its historical aura and
compact atmospheric automatoriummade it an ideal candidate for
(05:43):
reinvention rather than demolition.
That reinvention arrived in a particularly Palm Springs way.
The Plaza became home to the fabulous Palm Springs Follies, A
nostalgic, vaudeville inspired review that launched there in
1990. The Follies, celebrating classic
(06:03):
songs, tap and showgirl razzle dazzle, performed largely by
veteran entertainers, all of whom were over 55, drew
audiences from across the country and put the tiny
downtown theater on the culturalmap for a new generation.
Over 23 seasons, the Follies notonly entertained but helped
sustain local tourism and downtown vitality.
(06:27):
When the review closed in 2014, it left both fond memories and a
practical problem How to preserve, upgrade and program a
historic house for the 21st century.
Preservation advocates, civic leaders and private donors
answered that challenge with a prolonged campaign to restore
(06:47):
the building. Local groups documented the
theater's architectural fabric, uncovered original decorative
elements during stabilization work, and raised funds to bring
the space up to modern performance and accessibility
standards while retaining its historic character.
Those efforts coalesced into a large scale restoration project
(07:08):
overseen by the Palm Springs Plaza Theatre Foundation and
supported by the city. The theater includes modern
acoustics, a 4K projection system, hearing assist
technology, and careful rehabilitation of the proscenium
and lobby details so the house could host films, concerts,
community events and theatrical productions.
(07:30):
Today the Plaza Theater story reads as a microcosm of Palm
Springs itself, a place that grew from desert resort
fantasies and celebrity escape into a real city with historic
layers to protect, reinterpret and celebrate.
Its survival, first as a local movie palace, then as a
vaudeville revival home, and nowas a restored multi purpose
(07:53):
venue, shows how heritage can bean engine for present day
community life rather than only a museum piece.
With the theater reopening 89 years after its first opening,
it will not only screen films and host performers, but also
help tell a broader story how a small desert town learned to
honor its past while building a cultural life for the future.
(08:17):
The plazas, arches and neon signremind visitors that history can
be both lived and performed if acommunity is willing to raise
the funds. Do the research and walk through
the doors to attend a performance at the Plaza
Theater. Direct your browser to
palmspringsplazatheater.com and review their schedule.
(08:40):
Support for a bird's eye view comes from Modernism Week,
celebrating global modernism andPalm Springs design each October
and February. Learnmore@modernismweek.com.
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