Tramway Gas Station Explained

Tramway Gas Station
Location:2901 North Palm Canyon
Palm Springs, California
United States
Architecture:Desert modern
Added:September 28, 2015
Refnum:15000645
Coordinates:33.8584°N -116.5581°W

The Tramway Gas Station is a landmark former Enco service station in Palm Springs, California, United States, so named because of its location at the foot of Tramway Road, the lone road leading to the base of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. It was intended to be the first Palm Springs building visitors saw when approaching the city from the north via California State Route 111.

The building, with its distinctive, cantilevered, wedge-shaped canopy (referred to as a hyperbolic paraboloid on a historic marker mounted on the building) was built in 1965 and designed by Albert Frey and Robson C. Chambers. It is considered to be a prime example of modernist architecture.

The station had closed by the mid-1990s, and its fate was in doubt until its purchase by a private interest, who erected a wall around the property and converted it into an art gallery.[1] The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.[2] It is now operated by the Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism as the Palm Springs Visitor Center.[3] [4]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: In Palm Springs: Frey gas station and Tramway. Hinrichs. Matt. Scrubbles.net. 2016-09-19.
  2. Web site: National Register of Historic Places Listing. 9 October 2015. National Park Service. 2016-09-19.
  3. Lotter. Jane. 16 October 2003. Last Chance for Gas. dead. Preservation. National Trust for Historic Preservation. https://web.archive.org/web/20100105034116/http://www.preservationnation.org/magazine/story-of-the-week/2004/palm-springs-tramway.html. 2010-01-05. 2016-09-19. ymd-all.
  4. Web site: About Palm Springs. Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism. 2016-09-19.