#Palm Springs Aerial Tramway

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Palm Springs Aerial Tramway

Canon AE1 / Kodak Gold 200 & Dubble Film Solar

[victoriaorolfoart]

Emerald City ✨ One of my favorite climbs at Tramway. I want to paint more rocks~

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[thorsenmark]

Stopping by to See Some Woods on a Snowy Morning in the San Jacinto Mountains by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the southwest while taking in views at the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway Mountain Station and across a snowy landscape with a forest of evergreen trees. This is in Mount San Jacinto State Park.

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Frey House I (1940) as pictured in House & Garden magazine, January 1948

More images of Frey House I

Palm Springs is famous for its mid-century modern architecture and architect Albert Frey played a large part in creating that legacy. Palm Springs Art Museum’s Architecture and Design Center’s Albert Frey: Inventive Modernist celebrates his career with a creatively curated show filled with an extensive collection of historical photographs.

From the museum-

Albert Frey (American, born Switzerland, 1903-1998) helped to establish Palm Springs as a world-recognized center for modern architecture and design. He was the first architect to design a modern International Style structure for Palm Springs and paved the way for modern architecture and the architects that followed.

Steeped in early European modernism, Frey’s adroit handling of low-cost and low-maintenance industrial materials, sublime desert color combinations, and appealing geometric compositions give him a unique and permanent place in the idiom of “desert modernism” and succinctly expressed his two greatest loves—nature and architecture.

His mark on Palm Springs is indelible and includes such recognized icons as the Palm Springs City Hall, Fire Station #1, The Palm Springs Visitors Center, The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway Valley Station, The Loewy House, and his final home, known as Frey House II, as well as hundreds of other notable projects.

“….the sun, the pure air and the simple forms of the desert create perfect conditions for architecture.”- Albert Frey in a letter to Le Corbusier, 1935 about Palm Springs

More selections from the exhibition below-

In 1937, Frey left California to join the staff of Philip Goodwin who was commissioned to design the new Museum of Modern Art in New York. The museum has included documentation, photos and a model of the building- pictured above.

Above are stills taken from North Shore Yacht Club (1958), a promotional video for the structure that Frey built when the Salton Sea was a thriving resort destination. The refurbished building is now used for community events in Mecca, California.

The Tramway Gas Station, pictured above, is now the location of the Official Palm Springs Visitor Information Center.

From the museum-

At the same location where some 23 years earlier Clark & Frey had designed the graceful stone entry gates to Palm Springs, Frey created another welcoming structure-the Tramway Gas Station, a bold and assertive monument. Architecturally speaking, its roof offers a hyperbolic paraboloid design. Its cantilever suggests a spectacular soaring bird and indicates that visitors were entering a decidedly mid-century modern, forward-thinking city. About its genesis Frey said, “When you think about what nature produces in fantastic forms, in birds and animals-that’s where creativity comes in.”

In 1996 the building was approved by the city for demolition, sparking the beginning of the mid-century preservation movement in Palm Springs. The building was saved by those who bravely stood up for and championed its daring artistry, its physical representation of a moment in time and place, and the legacy of Albert Frey.

This exhibition closes 8/18/24.

If you are a modernism fan, every year Palm Springs celebrates Modernism Week- this year with a four day event in October and next year a week long event in February.

[selenabuniverse]

Palm Springs Aerial Tramway Hike | Breathtaking Views

[krglphotos]

*sigh* mom still won’t let me ride the tramway

[xoashdurham]

Palm Springs Tram Surprise Proposal

The day after I got to hang out with Nick and Jackie for their surprise proposal, I got to go back up for another Palm Springs tram surprise proposal! This time I got to be there for Jesus and Alex, and it was so much fun. Jesus and I planned out for this whole thing, where he brought Alex to the tram for a sunset picnic; he even went up the tram a couple of times before actually proposing to…

[receivingtransmission]

i hate being disabled and looking like a completely able bodied freak. at first glance one would assume I could climb stairs, perhaps even stand longer than 5-10 minutes at a time, like my joints probably work. and so when i ask if i can use the seating accommodations for disabled individuals and you (underpaid/overworked service worker with something to prove) spat no in my face without a second thought. and me, not one to turn away when spit on, stand until my knees give out.

[kimberlyalford]

Palm Springs Aerial Tramway with the Viks!💛💛💛✨

[germanpostwarmodern]

„A Swiss in the Desert“ could read a future biography of architect Albert Frey: born and trained in the Confederation, Frey in 1930 emigrated to the United States and after an interlude in New York permanently settled in Palm Springs. Between 1928 and his emigration Frey had worked in the office of Le Corbusier, among others on the Villa Savoye project, and eventually became the first LC disciple in the US. With this record in his luggage Frey was able to join architect Lawrence Kocher, at the same time managing editor of Architectural Record, together with whom he designed the famous Aluminaire House in 1931.

A commission from Kocher’s brother eventually decided his fate to settle in Palm Springs permanently: while designing the Kocher-Samson Building in 1934 Frey fell in love with Palm Springs and the mountainous desert landscape in particular. During the more than sixty years that would follow, Frey, in changing collaborative constellations, designed a great number of buildings in Palm Springs, ranging from the Palm Springs City Hall (1952) to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway Valley Station (1963) and numerous residences including his own two houses. But while his early Aluminaire House still shows the Corbusian influence Frey eventually coined his very own interpretation of the International Style in the desert, steering clear of any kitschiness that is sometimes associated with Palm Springs architecture. Instead, his architecture is characterized by a sophisticated simplicity that derives from his life-long concern with low-cost housing, his interest in materials and also his deep-rooted convictions about good architecture.

Up until August 18 the Palm Springs Art Museum shows the comprehensive exhibition „Albert Frey: Inventive Modernist“, curated by Brad Dunning who is also the editor of the present accompanying catalogue. It contains a wealth of photographs, plans and drawings as well as numerous and very insightful essays by renowned authors like Joseph Rosa, Barbara Lamprecht and Michael Rotondi. The result is a truly comprehensive overview of both Frey’s work and life that also is beautifully designed and as such deserves glowing praise!

[skunkworks101]

Accessible via 10-minute ride up the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, Mt. San Jacinto State Park sits over 3,300m (10,800ft) above sea level on a weathered granite summit.  The temperature difference between Palm Springs at the bottom of the mountain and the state park itself can be quite stark.  When I visited, it was roughly 37°C in Palm Springs and yet, there was still snow up top. The park itself encompasses a 14,000 acre site with over 50 miles of trails and gives amazing views of the desert below where you can see Palm Springs, and the surrounding area including large fields of wind farms.

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[thorsenmark]

Across the Coachella Valley to Snow Capped Ridges and Peaks in Joshua Tree National Park by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While at the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway (Mountain Station) with a view looking to the northeast.

[recherchestetique]

Albert Frey (1903-1998), one of the most important modern architects of our time, lived and worked in Palm Springs since 1934. 

Over a long and prolific career, he produced more than 200 building designs, including such notable local landmarks as the Palm Springs City Hall and the Aerial Tramway Valley Station with John Porter Clark. 

Frey House ll, his long-time residence is perched on the hillside at the west end of Tahquitz Canyon Way.  Frey House II, architect Albert Frey's second home in Palm Springs, completed in 1964.

[bozefam]

2025. We took a tour of a wind farm, then rode the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway to San Jacinto State Park at the top.