Santa Fe Federal Savings and Loan Association
The president of Santa Fe Federal Savings & Loan Association commissioned master architect E. Stewart Williams to “build a little jewel box in Palm Springs” in 1960. Inspired by the Barcelona Pavilion designed by Mies van der Rohe in 1929, Stewart’s International Style design features a flat roof, deep overhangs, steel frame construction, steel posts and large glass surfaces. Full height sliding perforated metal panels of gold anodized aluminum were used to shield the interior from the harsh sun. It is one of ten banks created by Stewart and considered his most dramatic public building. The Palm Springs Art Museum Architecture and Design Center acquired and rehabilitated the building in 2011. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Palm Springs, Riverside County
Photographer: Al Russell