Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
225
One of the former Cahuilla tribes was located at the hot springs known today as the nearby
town of Indio.
Palm Springs derives its name from the water that supported the palm trees growing here.
Spanish explorers referred to the area as “the palm of God's hand.” Later, government survey-
ors identified the local springs as being at the base of “two bunches of palms.” The completion
of the railroad brought Judge John Guthrie McCallum of San Francisco and his family in 1884.
McCallum hired local Indians to build a 19-mile stone-lined ditch from the Whitewater River
into Palm Springs, bringing in pure, precious water for irrigation and giving him the title of
founder of Palm Springs.
By 1915, Palm Springs was a small desert town with great potential. Humphrey Birge, the
founder of the Pierce Arrow Motor Car Company, visited Palm Springs and decided he loved the
area. He built a Spanish-style home in 1925 and lived there for ten years. Upon his death, the estate
was sold to a city council member, Ruth Hardy. She turned the place into a twenty-room inn, which
was so exclusive, one could not even make a reservation. You had to be invited to come and stay and
any guest you might bring to dinner had to be personally approved by Ruth. Should she decide that
you were not suitable company, you would simply be told there was “no room at the Inn.”
The Inn was a private club and she usually closed it for six months of each year. Ruth was me-
ticulous in her supervision of the restaurant. She did not have a liquor license, though guests were
permitted to bring their own spirits. Their informal “happy hour” was held in what is now the
Library Room of the Inn. The Inn hosted such notable figures as Howard Hughes, Salvador Dali,
Norman Vincent Peale, and Spencer Tracy, among others.
Ruth passed away in 1965 and the Inn passed through two owners before Melvyn Haber bought
it after arriving as a tourist in 1975. He completely renovated the property, creating Melvyn's Res-
taurant and the Casablanca Lounge.
Today, Palm Springs is growing rapidly, due in part to the climate and in part to its star-quality
prestige. Al Jolson, Greta Garbo, Cary Grant, Steve McQueen, Liberace, Bob Hope, Elvis Presley,
Debbie Reynolds, Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Sonny Bono, Cher, Kirk Douglas, Jack Benny, Frank
