Palm Springs is a resort city in Riverside County, California, set in the Coachella Valley at the foot of the San Jacinto Mountains. Its dramatic setting—a desert floor ringed by mountains that rise abruptly to nearly 11,000 feet—has made it a destination for more than a century, from its early days as a winter retreat for Hollywood figures to its modern role as a global center for architecture, design, and leisure. The city's population of roughly 45,000 swells with visitors and seasonal residents drawn by the warm, dry climate and abundant sunshine. Palm Springs is internationally known for its concentration of mid-century modern architecture, one of the largest and most significant collections in the world. Neighborhoods such as Vista Las Palmas, Twin Palms, Deepwell Estates, Old Las Palmas, and Racquet Club Estates preserve the work of architects and builders—including the Alexander Construction Company and designers like William Krisel and Donald Wexler—whose butterfly roofs, breeze-block walls, and glass-walled living rooms came to define a style. This architectural legacy, once the playground of Hollywood celebrities, is now celebrated through Modernism Week, home tours, and a thriving preservation culture. The city's recreation and tourism economy is anchored by the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, the world's largest rotating tram car, which carries riders more than two and a half miles up the cliffs of Chino Canyon to the pine forests and alpine trails of Mount San Jacinto State Park. Downtown, Palm Canyon Drive offers a walkable corridor of vintage boutiques, galleries, hotels, and restaurants, and the broader Coachella Valley adds major events, golf, and resort amenities. Palm Springs serves as both a year-round community and a seasonal home, with a strong retiree and second-home presence alongside a growing base of full-time residents. Palm Springs Unified School District provides public education, and Palm Springs International Airport, just east of downtown, offers direct air access that reinforces the city's standing as one of the West's signature resort destinations.