Retrofit Atlas

Gas stations · California

Tramway Gas Station

Imported, unreviewedReinhabitedRetrofit builtPalm Springs, CA

Completed retrofit (2000) as art gallery/visitor center; not a current development opportunity. · summary, model-written

Ask who owns this Download dossier (PDF) · early access Download record (JSON) API Share LinkedIn Correct this record

Solid = from the authors' map · outlined = public source · dashed = model-written, not yet reviewed by a person. Tap any value's source label to see where it came from. documented = a quoted excerpt (click to read it) · reported = a source named, no excerpt yet · no source.

Map view. No verified photo yet. Send one.

Site profile3 elements · what this retrofit is built with · tap a chip for the evidence

Place
County typical rent $2,000+This site: $2,585/mo zillow · all sites with this
Strategy
ReinhabitedThis site: …art gallery and Palm Springs Visitor Center record · all sites with this
New use
Civic and governmentThis site: …new_use field newtypes-extraction · all sites with this

All elements and lists · Trends

Now

StatusRetrofit builtnewtypes-extraction reported
StrategyReinhabitedWikipedia no source
New usescivic, otherWikipedia no source
What is there nowart gallery and Palm Springs Visitor Centernewtypes-extraction reported
Retrofit year2000newtypes-extraction reported
Redeveloperprivate interestnewtypes-extraction reported

History and original facts

Opened1965newtypes-extraction reported
CountyRiverside County
Census division9 · Pacific
NotesDraft from Wikipedia, model-extracted, unreviewed: The Tramway Gas Station, a former Enco service station built in 1965 in Palm Springs, California, closed by the mid-1990s and was retrofitted in 2000 into an art gallery, and since 2003 has operated as the Palm Springs Visitor Center.

Not yet recorded: acres, GLA, original developer. Know it? Tell us.

Planning

No zoning change, subsidy or policy tool recorded for this site.

Deals and debt

DateEventPricePartiesSource
2000Sold—private interestWikipedia

Site context

Housing permits, Riverside County (CA), 20241,439 units in 5+ unit buildings, 143 in 2–4, 8,016 single-family; 2023: 3,953 in 5+Census BPS
Other atlas sites nearby2 within 10 km, 2 within 25 km: Desert Plaza Fashion Mall (3.9 km); Tommy Jacobs Bel Air Greens golf course (4.1 km)computed
Retail trade in the county, 2025 (BLS QCEW)93,639 jobs in 5,518 establishments; average annual pay $45,718; employment location quotient 1.12; employment -0.6% on the yearBLS QCEW 2025, NAICS 44-45, private
Jobs located in the tract, 20225,238 jobs; 460 in retail trade, 3,292 in accommodation and food (workplace blocks summed to tract 06065044606)Census LEHD LODES8 WAC 2022
Upward mobility (Opportunity Atlas, 2010 tract)children of low-income (25th percentile) families reached the 41st income percentile as adults; 3.5% incarcerated at the 2010 count (375 children in the sample); born 1978–83, measured 2014–15Opportunity Insights
Food access (USDA FARA 2019, 2010 tract)low-income, low-access tract (1 mile urban / 10 miles rural); 98% of residents more than 1 mile from a supermarket; poverty rate 25.1%; median family income $85,313; 161 SNAP householdsUSDA ERS
SchoolsPalm Springs Unified School District (KG-12); 0 public schools within 1 mileNCES EDGE
Elevation676 ft above sea level at the site pointUSGS 3DEP
Storm events in the county, 2016-2025382 county-logged events: 126 flash flood, 84 flood, 67 heavy rain, 54 thunderstorm wind; $115,991,000 property damage reported; 3 direct deaths; forecast-zone events (most flood, winter and heat) not countedNOAA Storm Events
Homes for sale in ZIP 92262, 2026-09median list price $722,225 (-5.3% on the year); 366 active listings; median 81 days on market; 17% with a price cutRealtor.com Research
Retail trade in the county, 2012 to 20235,630 establishments (+13%); 111,571 jobs (+36%)Census CBP
Housing market in the countytypical home value $602,790 (+0% 1 yr, +16% 5 yr); typical rent $2,585/mo (+3% 1 yr), 2026-09Zillow Research
Traffic on the busiest road within 600 m (2024)17,350 vehicles a day on 111 (principal arterial, 4 lanes); 1,255 trucks; 8 counted segmentsFHWA HPMS

Summary, model-written

Former Enco gas station (opened 1965) purchased by private interest in 2000 and retrofitted under 'reinhabit' strategy. Now operates as art gallery and Palm Springs Visitor Center. Listed on National Register of Historic Places (2015).

Why. Retrofit completed in 2000 (not a current opportunity). Current use confirmed by after_notes and events. Median rent $1,814 noted in opportunity reasons.

Where it stands. Status: built. No active development. Located near Desert Plaza Mall (3.9km, built) and closed golf course (4.1km).

For a planner

  • Historic designation (2015) confirms preservation value.
  • Traffic: 17,350 ADT on Route 111 (principal arterial) nearby.

For a developer

  • No current opportunity (retrofit already built).
  • Median rent $1,814 reflects current market for similar uses.

What we do not know yet

  • No data on current occupancy or revenue.
  • No details on preservation restrictions beyond National Register listing.

Generated by qwen3-30b-a3b-64k:latest on Dell 5820 RTX 3090 (Ollama, qwen3-30b-a3b) from the fields, parcels, deals and context layers on this page, with no outside knowledge. It is regenerated when the record changes and has not been checked by a person. How it is made.

Similar sites

  • 100 Oaks Mall, Nashville, TN · Malls · opened 1967; same strategy: reinhabit
  • Blue Hen Mall, Dover, DE · Malls · opened 1968; same strategy: reinhabit
  • Shepherd Mall, Oklahoma City, OK · Malls · opened 1964; same strategy: reinhabit
  • Sharpstown Mall, Houston, TX · Malls · opened 1961; same strategy: reinhabit

Elsewhere on the web

Search images: Google · Bing · Commons · references: ULI case studies · Google Scholar

Multifamily screen

  • retrofit already built
  • median rent $1,814

Inputs: record fields (size, status) and county Census ACS 2018–2023 figures (growth, rent). How the points work. Not a recommendation.

Background

The Tramway Gas Station is a landmark former Enco service station in Palm Springs, California, United States, so named because of its location at the foot of Tramway Road, the lone road leading to the base of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. It was intended to be the first Palm Springs building visitors saw when approaching the city from the north via California State Route 111. The building, with its distinctive, cantilevered, wedge-shaped canopy (referred to as a hyperbolic paraboloid on a historic marker mounted on the building) was built in 1965 and designed by Albert Frey and Robson C. Chambers.

Excerpt from Wikipedia (authors and history), CC BY-SA 4.0. May be older than the record above.

Timeline

  1. 1965 Opened
  2. 1990 Station closed
  3. 2000 Purchased and converted to art gallery
  4. 2000 Retrofit: reinhabit
  5. 2003 Operated as Palm Springs Visitor Center
  6. 2015 Listed on National Register of Historic Places

Sources

  • Tramway Gas Station · CC BY-SA 4.0
    5 quoted sentences
    The Tramway Gas Station
    The station had closed by the mid-1990s
    its 2000 purchase by a private interest, who erected a wall around the property and converted it into an art gallery
    Since 2003 it has been operated by the Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism as the Palm Springs Visitor Center

More in California

Desert Plaza Fashion MallPalm Springs, CA · 2013Redeveloped · Redevelopment: mixed use, restored street gridDowntown PlazaSacramento, CA · 2017Redeveloped · Redevelopment: arena, retail, hotel, restored streetsIndian Hill MallPomona, CA · 1995Reinhabited · Reinhabitation: education and officeLa Mirada MallLa Mirada, CA · 1990Redeveloped · Redevelopment: retail, entertainment and residentialLong Beach PlazaLong Beach, CA · 2017Redeveloped · Reinhabited · Redevelopment: retail, entertainment, restored street grid Partial…Mayfield MallMountain View, CA · 2013Reinhabited · Reinhabitation: office