Sunday Church Feature

Palm Desert Church

Palm Desert Community Presbyterian Church was built in 1968 by  Berton Lamb and the Architects were Powell, Morgridge, Richards  Coghlan.   It is a modern cement building in southern Palm Desert at 47321 California State Highway 74 near El Paseo and at the base of Eisenhower Mountain. "President Eisenhower was the honorary building chairman as he attended and was a member for many years up until his death...There is a pew in the sanctuary dedicated to he (President Eisenhower) and his wife ...the stained glass window was placed there because of security concerns when he was in his pew...At the parking lot entrance to the church is a Wayside prayer chapel which is a mini version of the sanctuary and at that location  where the President's limos parked when he was here." e mail Floyd Vail. 

There seem to be many architectural references to skiing in the design of the building. The church itself seems shaped like a  giant cement  ski jump.  The photo above is of the back of the church with the center sanctuary window and framed by towering palm trees. At the  Wayside prayer chapel a large cross is featured on the side opposite the front entrance to the church. The chapel like the rear of the church is framed in tall palm trees. Between the chapel and the church entrance is a walk flanked with date palms. The roof from the entrance to the the rear of the sanctuary  is an extreme curved slope again reminiscence of that on a ski jump. Inside the large modern sanctuary the roof shape also reminds one of skiing.  This time it is the slope and bottom curve of each side of the ceiling which as it meets the side walls. Each side  is curved up like the tip of a ski. 

Traditional Sanctuary Services are held every Sunday at 8:30 and 10:15 am.

Thank you: To Floyd J. Vail for his e mail with information about the church.

Photo: Taken in 2010 by SW.
Link: http://www.pdpresby.org/