Palm Springs Art Museum Awarded Community Enrichment Award by Palm Springs Modernism Committee

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The Palm Springs Art Museum was awarded with the Community Enrichment Award on Saturday by the Palm Springs Modernism Committee at its annual awards ceremony. The award was bestowed on the Palm Springs Art Museum for its efforts to rehabilitate a historic bank building in downtown Palm Springs as it transforms the building into the new Palm Springs Art Museum Architecture and Design Center, Edwards Harris Pavilion. PSModCom also announced to the attendees that its board of directors had decided to help fund the rehabilitation of the building by pledging $25,000 and joining the growing number of Founders for the building. Among the honorees that received this Community Enrichment Award on behalf of the museum were the principal founders Elizabeth Edwards Harris, Trina Turk & Jonathan Skow, John Boccardo, as well as the Palm Springs Art Museum executive Director Steven Nash and Architecture and Design Curator Sidney Williams.

"We are honored to receive this award from such a prestigious preservation organization," said Williams, who accepted the award on the museum's behalf. "PS ModCom has a long history of honoring organizations and individuals who have contributed to the preservation of the historic buildings in Palm Springs, so we are thrilled that the group not only recognized our efforts to transform this significant building into a world-class center for architecture and design, but also believes in our vision so much that they have decided to join our circle of Founders."

The Architecture and Design will involve a major rehabilitation to transform the 1961 E. StewArt Williams-designed Santa Fe Federal Savings and Loan into a museum dedicated to modern architecture and design. The museum purchased the building on Palm Canyon Drive in downtown Palm Springs in June 2011, and when the rehabilitation is completed, it will be the country's first free-standing architecture and design museum housed in a Class 1 Historic structure. Scheduled to be completed in spring 2014, the opening is planned to coincide with the museum's 75th anniversary festivities.

PS Mod Com's Annual Preservation Awards honor a select group of individuals and entities who through their vision, commitment and talent have preserved the original integrity of or sympathetically restored one of the desert's modern architectural treasures. It also recognizes those who have gone above and beyond to keep preservation in the public eye and consciousness. Also recognized are the creators of new contemporary new architecture inspired and informed by the modern style.

In addition to the Community Enrichment Award, the 2012 awards honored a broad range of worthy recipients in several categories. They included the Architectural Restoration Award, Architectural Preservation Award, Preservationist of the Year, and Excellence in New Modern Design Award.

The Palm Springs Modern Committee (PS ModCom) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the appreciation and preservation of Desert Modern architecture and design. They accomplish this through education, advocacy for threatened buildings, promotion of heritage tourism, and the celebration of successes in preservation and adaptive reuse.

For more information, call 760-322-4800 or visit www.psmuseum.org