Palm Springs Art Museum Architecture and Design Center

City Recreation Centers | Parks
Relatively Close To: Public bus stop and homeless.
Public Transportation: Yes.
Valet Service: No.
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes.
Service Pet Allowed: No.
Parking: Small private lot and street parking.
Popularity: Not much, it’s actually quite a bore.
Reason of Visit: Visited during grand open I no with a friend.
Cellular Reception: Yes.
Free Wifi: No.
Outdoor Space: Very minimal seating.
Cleanliness: There’s no doubt that it is clean but, the homeless outside urinating across the street makes the area not so appeasing.
Lighting: A little dim for a museum.
Presentation: Retro modern with some wierd art.
Ownership: City of Palm Springs.
Items Ordered: None, they have no concession stand besides a gift shop.
Check-​in Wait Time: 27 minutes.
Temperature: °78
Staffs knowledgement of business and or amenities: Mostly seniors manage this museum and they aren’t always pleasant to talk with.
Overall Service: Needs to be friendlier and educated on things that are of importance.
Staffs response on compliments: I did not give one.
Staffs response about complaints: I did not give one.
Recommendations:
Two ** stars or less dont consider.
Three *** stars be cautious.
Four **** stars or more highly recommended.
Quick Notes: I was disappointed, and taken back by some of the art. Not all art can be appreciated and not art can be interpreted.
My reviews are structured and rated in many areas. I believe that my experiences will provide consumers satisfactory or acceptable in quality or quantity information.
I hope this particular review has helped you carefully decide whether or not to give this venue your business.
Enjoy, Jonathan

visited again, and i’m happy to report, the new exhibit is about architecture! models, photos, drawings and furniture highlighting Bauhaus architecture which emphasizes functionality over style. interesting and in line with what one would go to this museum to see. also love the film of the Dinah Shore (now the Leo D. house) downstairs.

The exhibit that consumed almost the entire space was by Andrea Zittel. I had a high school physics teacher named Zittel and it was pronounced like Little but with a zit. Not a good reminder for those hormonally challenged teens with acne. He always wore tight jeans that showed too much of the outline of his privates. So when he passed along the sage advice from his father about using one hand to handle a live electrical wire and to put the other hand in your pocket, I couldn’t resist to exclaim, «Why? So you can lose what you’ve got down there, too?»
But I digress as she pronounces her name Zhi-​Tel which doesn’t sound like zit. The side story is to fill Unilocal space because I basically don’t have much to say. As this one room gallery is the smallest of the three Palm Springs Art Museum locations, there wasn’t much to write about and took only 20 minutes to see. As for Zittel’s works, her empty boxes made me feel empty — much like opening a present with nothing inside.
A nice job was done to transform the former bank branch and there is a free parking lot.

We stopped in to see the Andria Zittel exhibition (Aggregated Stacks). What a great space. The work is very well presented, which is partly on the artist and partly on the gallery.
Nice gift shop.

This new architecture museum, a branch of the Palm Springs Art Museum, is housed a former mid-​century modern bank building designed by E. Stewart Williams. His drawings and models of his work were on display in an exhibition that was quite packed into the relatively small footprint of this museum.
Only temporary exhibitions are featured here so no personal photography is permitted; however, you can take photos of the interior building details, such as the metal scrollwork and the bank teller window.
Palm Springs is very fortunate to have a museum devoted to the architectural style made famous here and it’s that architecture which keeps me coming back to this small city.

With all due respect to Mary D’s review, I would definitely not say the content of the museum is pathetic. When I visited the Palm Springs architecture museum in January 2015 the exhibit was.a.well known architect’s original drawings and architectural sketchings. It was basically an exhibit that featured his work on a number of buildings. Somebody’s life work especially at a professional level is anything but pathetic.
THE REVIEW: the museum staff epitomize everything you think of when considering what typical Museum staff are like. My mom and I visited on Sunday and upon entering the building we noticed a tall, slender, late-​middle aged woman standing in the reception area greeting visitors (physical appearance is not what epitomizes museum staff). «Greeting» visitors was actually more like acknowledging them and reminding them that the museum was free that day and gestured toward the entrance to the actual exhibit area.
I had a delicious shake with me that I had all but finished by that point (upon entering the building). My mom and I approached the lady and asked if I could bring the shake and with me. I did not see anything on the outside of the building that said no food or drink. I realize that normally, food and drinks are not welcome in museums but I just thought it wouldn’t hurt to ask. She was quick to say no. That was not a problem. My problem was when she lurched for the shake trying to take it from me. I literally pulled back to avoid having my $ 8 shake snatched right out of my hand. I simply said, «I’ll just finish it right now» which I did.
After I tossed it in the trash my mom and I went in to browse the exhibit. It was very nice even though we don’t know the first thing about architecture and drafting. We went about each section of the museum and tried to appreciate everything we looked at. At one point I noticed a very nice quote about architecture above one of the original sketchings. I took out my phone to take a photo of the quote on the wall. The quote itself was probably ten feet off the ground so I had to raise my arms up and point them basically toward the ceiling to take the photo. It was clear that I was not taking a photo of the architectural drafts that were directly in front of me.
No sooner had I taken the photo and started to put my phone back in my bag did the museums secret service come out from behind the wall and proceeded to quietly but sternly read me the riot act by reminding me that photography was not allowed in the museum. This is where things got weird… Rather than approaching me and politely reminding me that photography was not allowed, this person came out from behind the wall and walked a semi-​circle behind me all the while giving me the stone-​cold secret service reprimand about photography not being allowed.
I wasn’t up to anything shady and wanted him to know it so I quickly remarks that I was not taking a picture of the architects original work but was just capturing a photo of the quote that I like to the top of the wall. He said it didn’t matter and that photography of any kind was not allowed. The whole thing was just so odd because he never stopped walking he just came out from behind the wall started reprimanding me walk to semi circle around me and just kept on going until he was out of sight.
The people skills of the museum’s staff leave a lot to be desired. If they want visitors to come and patronize their establishment they need to work a lot harder on making those same visitors feel welcome.
There was one tall middle-​aged gentleman in the gift shop who is very pleasant to me. I needed to make sure I included that.

This name should be corrected to the Palm Springs Architectural Museum, it’s not actually the Art Museum which is located elsewhere nearby at 101 N Museum Dr
Palm Springs, CA 92 262.
This is indeed very small but informative about the residents, including Sinatra, who appreciated the beautiful architecture and the history of the city. Includes a neat bank vault built in that serves as a gift shop.
I wouldn’t pay to come here but if you keep your Palm Springs Art Museum ticket stub, you get to come in here for free. Otherwise I definitely would not come in here besides the fact that it looks really neat from the outside.
You can probably tour this whole place in under 10 minutes. That’s how small it is but it’s got some value to architect’s out there I’m sure. Of which I am obviously not of that occupation.

The building is just restored and awesome. The current exhibit on Williams the architect who designed the building and so much more is just amazing. However, the next exhibit does not look to be of interest to me. Be sure and check what’s there and try to get in on the E Steward Williams exhibit.
They are showing a film in the basement that shouldn’t be missed about the Frey House II. Don’t miss the basement floors plus there are very nice restrooms down there. Everything about my several visits to the Design museum has been amazing.
This is not a place of interest for small children.

Not only is the content pathetic, they are 100% non-​child friendly. Michael, the minimum wage security guard, followed us around with our daughter complaining the moment we walked into the museum. For a public funded institution, they should be more child friendly and encouraging of education. Not worth the $ 5 fee.