Now home to the Palm Canyon Theatre, the Frances Stevens School at 538 N Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs was one of the first schoolhouses in the Coachella Valley. The first classrooms were built in 1927. The building was designated a Class 1 Historic Site by the Palm Springs City Council on November 7, 1984.
According to the plaque: Prescott T. Stevens, developer of the El Mirador Hotel, donated this site and the funds to build the Frances S. Stevens School, in memory of his wife and her interest in education. The first two rooms were completed in 1927. Katherine Finchy, who arrived in Palm Springs in 1922, became this school's first administrator. Palm Springs' first bond issue provided additional classrooms, a library, indoor plumbing, a cafeteria, an apartment for the principal and a large auditorium, which served as the city's first theater. The City of Palm Springs later purchased the facility as a cultural arts center, then Vice President Gerald Ford dedicated the center, known as Everybody's Village, in 1974.
Next on the list of Palm Springs Historic Sites is the Palm Canyon Stone Street Marker.
Follow my Palm Springs adventures on Instagram at @bradhudsonthomas
Brad Hudson
Call/Text (760) 469-4439
