"They might know the library or the Swim Center, but not the entirety of the park itself." Graphic designer Tom Dolle, a regular at the Swim Center, said that to Palm Springs Life in its December 2025 history of Sunrise Park. He wants a renewed effort along the lines of 1972, when, in his words, the city "raised the money, hired a team of the best local architects, and they did this very big project."
That effort is already underway on the 38 acres along Sunrise Way. The main library is closed behind construction fencing. The city has cleared the way to demolish the Swim Center's office building. At the Pavilion, demolition and remediation are finished, and upgrades to its technology, HVAC, doors and windows are still planned. On Saturday, December 12, the City of Palm Springs will hold a free birthday party for the park in the middle of all this work. The buildings being reworked now are largely the ones the original plan shortchanged when money ran out in the 1970s.
What the 1972 vote paid for, and what 1973 took back
Before it was a city park, the land was the Polo Grounds. It started in 1935, when the Palm Springs Field Club pooled $50,000 for a piece of desert used for horse racing, rodeos and polo. The stadium hosted its first baseball game in 1950, and Gene Autry brought the Los Angeles Angels there for spring training for 31 years, starting in 1961.
In November 1972, voters approved Proposition R, a $5 million bond, by a 2-to-1 margin. It paid for a new library and a set of recreation buildings, and it tied the Polo Grounds and the civic buildings around them into one park. Those older buildings, including the stadium, the 1966 Dr. Frey Jaycee Building, the 1958 Boys & Girls Club building and the 1951 Fire Station No. 2, stayed in the new layout. The design work went to members of the Palm Springs Collaborative, a group of architects the City Council had appointed in 1965 to bring design quality to public projects:
- William F. Cody and his firm designed the $1 million library and oversaw the recreation projects.
- Donald Wexler and Richard Harrison designed the Pavilion and the Leisure Center, joined by a breezeway.
- Hugh Kaptur and Larry Lapham designed the Swim Center.
Then the 1973 oil crisis drove up costs. Planners simplified the landscaping and dropped many architectural details. The Swim Center lost the most. The Olympic-size pool kept its size, but the bathhouse was cut to less than a third of its planned size, and the snack bar, seating areas and exhibition bleachers were dropped.
The pool opened on April 21, 1975, with swimming and scuba classes and a "diaper class" for babies. The library was dedicated on December 7 of that year, and the city counts 1976 as the park's opening year. The anniversary celebrates a park whose pool building opened at less than a third of the size its architects had drawn.
The building that shrank the most is the one coming down
That history explains a vote taken in July. According to The Palm Springs Post, the Historic Site Preservation Board voted unanimously to take no action on the historic status of the Swim Center office building. The city can now demolish it under standard building permit procedures as part of a larger renovation. Historic Preservation Officer Sarah Yoon told the board that the building does not keep the design intent of its original 1970s concept and that construction-era budget cuts had sharply reduced the Swim Center from its original design. Board Chair Kurt Bachman called the building compromised "functionally and esthetically."
The vote did not approve a new design, which goes through its own review. The city's Swim Center project page lists a $7 million renovation with new locker rooms and offices, two all-gender changing rooms and restrooms, and accessibility improvements. The City Council approved a contract for construction-level design in November 2025, and the city's 2026 project updates still describe the construction plans as in development.
For now, the pool is running on its normal schedule. The city's Swim Center page lists public swim hours and current classes, and its facility-updates field reads "None."
The library is a lane of Sunrise Way for now
Cody's library is the most recognizable building in the park. It is a brutalist design set at an angle to the street, with sloping concrete walls, clerestory windows and a skylight. Palm Springs Life notes that its fountain later became a koi pond and was eventually fenced "after too many bookworms fell into it."
The building is closed for structural, electrical, plumbing and seismic work, and the city gives summer 2027 as a tentative reopening date. Library service has moved to a temporary branch at Rimrock Plaza, 4721 E. Palm Canyon Drive, with hours posted on the city's library page.
The project also reaches into the street. Since July 20, Sunrise Way has been narrowed to a single lane between Baristo Road and Camino Parocela, with work running 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. The work adds a median, an expanded south parking lot and a new driveway with right turns only, in and out. The city's September 30 traffic advisory projected the work to run through November 13. The Palm Springs Public Library Foundation expected the new south entrance and parking area by mid-November. That puts the end of the roadwork about a month before the party, if the schedule holds.
Where each piece of the park stands this month
Gonzales, the city's Parks & Recreation director, told Palm Springs Life that over the next several years the park would see deferred maintenance at Palm Springs Stadium, Pavilion renovations, upgrades to the Swim Center buildings and a full playground renovation. He also said officials were helping set up a nonprofit for fundraising and community partnerships. Some of that work has started, and some is still in planning.
| Facility | Original or added | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|
| Library | William F. Cody, dedicated Dec. 7, 1975 | Closed for renovation; tentative reopening summer 2027; temporary branch at Rimrock Plaza |
| Swim Center | Kaptur and Lapham, opened April 21, 1975 | Pool on regular hours; $7 million renovation in design; office demolition cleared in July 2026 |
| Pavilion | Wexler and Harrison | Demolition and remediation done as of January 2026; technology, HVAC, door and window upgrades planned |
| Palm Springs Stadium | Polo Grounds era, first game 1950 | $841,000 in deferred maintenance recommended for funding in a May 2025 city report, covering drainage, dugouts, infield, sound and an outfield wall |
| Palm Springs Skate Park | Added December 2003 | Bowls, street features and lighting, with posted hours |
| Playground | Added 2016 | Full renovation named among planned upgrades |
The Palm Springs Power, a summer collegiate team that plays its home games there, won its fourth straight California Premier Collegiate League title in July. The city's Sunrise Park page also lists the Leisure Center, the VillageFest office and the Mizell Senior Center on the grounds. The Mizell Center is in the 1951 Clark and Frey fire station, which was once slated for demolition and was converted into a senior center in the early 1990s.
Two Saturdays in December, in order
The park's 50th has run all year as "50 Years of Sunrise a Year of Play," with city events from a March kite-making session at Sunrise Park to the November 1 Día de los Muertos celebration at Demuth Community Center. The last three events fall within nine days.
- Friday, December 4. Tree Lighting Ceremony at Frances Stevens Park.
- Saturday, December 5, 5:45 p.m. The Festival of Lights Parade, themed "Desert Dreaming: A Retro Holiday," will include a commemorative Sunrise Park float. According to the parade's 2026 FAQ, the route starts at Ramon Road and Palm Canyon Drive and runs north on Palm Canyon about 1.5 miles to Tachevah Road, with marching bands, drill teams, giant helium balloons, illuminated floats and equestrian entries. The Palm Springs Tribune reported the theme in September.
- Saturday, December 12, noon to 4 p.m. "Shine On: 50 Years of Sunrise" at Sunrise Park, 401 S. Pavilion Way. Admission is free, and the afternoon includes a birthday picnic, community booths, games and prizes. Parks & Recreation takes questions at (760) 323-8272, and updates are posted at PalmSpringsCA.gov/Recreation.
Coming from the south on December 12 means passing the library work along Sunrise Way. The party will be held next to Wexler's 1975 Pavilion. Palm Springs Life reports that the Pavilion still hosts weddings, concerts, the summer farmers market and dance classes, and that the dance class today is tap.
Sunrise Park's rebuild includes Collaborative-era buildings that city boards are now evaluating, preserving or replacing one at a time. That stewardship work is close to how Luca Realty Trust thinks about Palm Springs architecture. If you own or are considering a midcentury property nearby and want to talk through how the city handles these buildings, schedule a consultation with Luca.
