Historic Merrill Lynch Building recommended for landmark status ⋆ The Palm Springs Post

The Merrill Lynch Building along South Palm Canyon Drive is seen shortly after completion in 1971 (left) and as it looks today.

The Palm Springs Historic Site Preservation Board voted unanimously Tuesday to recommend the 1971 Merrill Lynch Building for Class 1 historic site designation, recognizing its significance as an example of New Formalism architecture and its role in the city’s post-war financial district.

The board’s decision came after a thorough review of the building’s architectural features, historical context, and landscape elements during its Sept. 3 meeting. The nomination was submitted by property owners Scott P. Timberlake and Anne Krizman, represented by the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation.

Located at 415 S. Palm Canyon Drive, the former Merrill Lynch Building was designed by renowned architect Don Wexler. Board member Janet Hansen emphasized the building’s importance beyond its architectural merits, stating, “I would really like to see… a sentence added from the report that talks about this building’s contribution to the financial district.”

The building’s distinctive features include a portico supported by columns, which Steven Keylon, who prepared the historic resources report, noted were designed to align with pre-existing palm trees along Palm Canyon Drive. “There’s a deliberate rhythm to those palm trees as they progress down Palm Canyon,” Keylon explained.

Board members discussed the inclusion of landscape elements as contributing features, a departure from typical designation practices. Hansen advocated for adding “the olive trees and the mature California fan palms on the property into the list of character-defining features.”

Keylon supported this approach, stating, “The olive trees create this really nice sort of compression and expansion as you come off Palm Canyon Drive. And what better tree to represent ancient Greece than old olive trees?”

The building’s integrity was a key factor in the board’s decision. Despite its adaptive reuse as a medical center, the structure retains much of its original design.

“It’s just a wonderful building that’s almost completely extant on the exterior and serves a great purpose now too,” Keylon commented.

The board’s recommendation will now go to the City Council for final approval. If designated, the Merrill Lynch Building will join three other financial institutions in the area as Class 1 historic sites.

Chair Jade Nelson noted the building’s popularity among architecture enthusiasts, saying, “It truly is that temple, which is the only bank we have, other than the Chase Bank, that has that temple-like quality.”