The Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce is proud to announce that Herbert W. Burns, a pioneering architectural designer, will posthumously be honored with the 480th star on the Palm Springs Walk of the Stars in the category of Architect/Artist/Designer. The star will be unveiled at 300 S Palm Canyon Dr. on Friday, October 17 at 2:00 p.m. The public is invited to attend.
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Herbert W. Burns was one of Palm Springs’ earliest architectural visionaries, credited with helping shape the desert city’s iconic midcentury character. Entirely self-taught, Burns worked in a distinctive “Late Moderne” style that blended sleek modernism with the desert landscape, giving Palm Springs its reputation for the seamless indoor–outdoor lifestyle. His very first project in town—the Town & Desert Apartment Hotel (1947), now The Hideaway—garnered international press, and many of his subsequent works, including the Village Manor (1955), now Orbit In, the Gillman Residence (1948), and the Crockett Residence (1951), have been recognized as Class 1 Historic Sites by the City of Palm Springs. His portfolio also includes the Desert Hills Apartment Hotel (1956), The Four Hundred (1955), and The 500 West (1970), all of which reflect his lasting impact on Palm Springs’ built environment.
Burns’ influence extended far beyond architecture. After serving as an officer in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II, he moved permanently to Palm Springs in 1945 and quickly immersed himself in civic life. He served on the Palm Springs Park and Recreation Board, helped oversee the planting of more than 300 palm trees along Palm Canyon Drive, and sat on the steering committee for the creation of the 22-acre Tamarisk (now Ruth Hardy) Park. He was elected to the Chamber of Commerce in 1948, became president of the Village Hotel and Apartment House Managers Association, and even ran twice for city council.
Burns was also a familiar face in the community, active with the Tennis Club, the Palm Springs Shrine Club, and later as a member of the newly formed Police Aero Squadron. His professional and civic life reflected a deep love for Palm Springs and a vision for its future as both a resort town and a community.
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