Palm Springs CA - Best Attractions In America

The famous Aerial Tramway in Palm Springs has been chosen by a consumer survey on StoodThere.com as the Number 5 Greatest Place to Stand in America.

This is fifth place out of 100 beautiful or thought-provoking places chosen by vacationers while snapping shots of locales around the nation.

The top 100 places were chosen by votes from the public, who tagged the most interesting, thought-provoking places in their experiences in the USA. Interestingly, these 100 places are not only great cities for camera shots, but also good places to visit and to work. Many are fantastic places to retire, and a good number have some of the top colleges and universities in the country..

A few visitors added their photos to that city's site on the Stood There web page, so if you have one to add, it would be in good company.

The Top 5 Greatest Places out of the 100 are:

1. Greatest Place: Carlsbad New Mexico
2. Philadelphia – Travel, History, and Life
3. Great Places to Visit and Work - Hoover Dam Arizona/Nevada
4. So You Want to Work at Niagara Falls…
5. Great Travel and Jobs in Palms Springs, California

According to Census2010, Palm Springs was home to over 48,000 people, incr4easing nearly 13% since 2000. This is a sizeable increase in residents. Two things are sure to be seen in and around Palm Springs - palm trees and wind farms. It's a desert resort town that concentrates on sustainability as well.

This tramway biils itself as the home of the world's largest rotating tram car. It began as a struggling vision of an elecrical engineer in 1935, but was not opened until 1963, almost 30 years later.

This forward looking engineer was Francis Crocker and the local media ridiculed his idea of a tramway up the Chino Canyon wall in 1935. Not only that, but the then-Governor of California vetoed two bills that would make the tramway possible.

In 1950, the opportunity arose for the tramway to be funded by a private sale of bonds, rather than by using public tax money. Begun in 1961 with the help of helicopters, the route was designated as a Historical Civil Engineering Landmark around 1981.

Read more about the Tramway and purchase tickets online at the link below.

The tram runs every half hour from the Coachella Valley floor near Palm Springs Canyon Drive up to Mt. San Jacinto State Park, which is a wonderful California State Park that has survived staewide park budget cuts and threats of shutdown in the 2000s and 2010s.

This widerness park includes 54 miles of hiking trails and 14,000 acres of landscape, native plants, and wildlife. A Natural History Museum is located near the tram's Mountain Station and a variety of summer and winter activities are always scheduled.

The name for Palm Springs is thought to original for local Native American words for "hot bubbling water", which would be hot springs. The Indigenous people are now the Agua Caliente Reservation. In fact, the people of these combined groups form the largest single landowner in Palm Springs.

One of the oldest operating hotels here is the Agua Caliente Bathouse ("Hot Water Bathhouse"), opening in the 1880s.

In addition to this place, dozens of resort hotels are open for business, most having been constructed in the 1930s.

• Agua Caliente Cultural Museum Festival of Native Film & Culture - At the popular Camelot Theater.
• Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival - In May annually at the Camelot Theater. Film Noir is becoming quite popular.
• Modernism Week films - Architecture is shown off in a 10-day event that includes many films. Held in October and February.
• Palm Springs International Film Festival -- This is the official site of the Palm Springs International Film Festival, founded by Mayor Sonny Bono in 1990.
• Palm Springs Internation Festival of Short Films
• Palm Springs VillageFest :: The Official Site for Downtown Palm Spring's Street Fair Every Thursday -- The fun VillageFest happens every Thursday night as a Downtown street fair with fine arts, music, crafts, food, and entertainment.

• Palm Springs Air Museum -- Large collection of WWII aircraft. 745 North Gene Autry Trail Palm Springs, California 92262. CALL (760) 778-6262.
• Palm Springs Art Museum -- George Caitlin' s famous depictions of the West and Nativ e American life have been a popular traveling exhibit. 101 Museum Drive, Palm Springs CA 92262 and 72-567 Highway 111, Palm Desert CA 92260. CALL 760-322-4800.
  

The Agua Caliente ("hot water") Band of Cahuilla Indians is indigenous to this area of 2,000 square miles of California, actually made up of the remnant descendants of nine groups or bands of Native American Peoples. They settled around a hot springs that eventually brought some of the first medical tourism to California in the early 1900s. From there, the area became a resort and a Hollywood film locale.

The larger band of Agua Caliente is a full-fledged government recognized Tribe or Nation that owns two successful hotel-resorts, one golf resort, and a concert theater recognized throughout the southern part of the state and called The Show. Lands on this reservation comprise many upscale retail and residential properties, while plans for future development and historic preservation assure ongoing creation of wealth in a large tourism center.

The band operates a free museum with an extensive research library, but a new 110,000 sq. ft. museum is under green construction in the center of Palm Springs in the 2010s. A number of indoor and outdoor activities and events already occur in conjunction with the current museum and a dedicated annual film festival is very popular. Development seens endless and the area is well worth a visit.

HQ Location: 5401 Dinah Shore Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92264

• College of the Desert -- This is quite a picturesque name of a school located in Palm Desert and Palm Springs near the Palm Desert Zoo and Living Desert. In this way, it not only possesses useful educational programs to offer students, but is also located near popular travel destinations and fun. College of the Desert is a Community College that offers Vocational Certificates and the degrees of A.A., A.S., and AA-T. Adult Education includes ESOL and GED training. Brick and mortar and online classes are both popular within this school; and international students are welcomed. A number of men's and women's sports are offered at College of the Desert under the mascot Roadrunner - even a football team.

Other Great Schools

• California State University, Palm Desert Campus
• Mayfield College
• Mount San Jacinto College
• Palm Desert Graduate Center

Many job openings in the Palm Springs market area are in Travel and Trouism and Healthcare. These were largely in licensed Healthcare positions and Tourism activities like retail sales, food service, and hotel-resort jobs that include the hotels of the local Native American business enterprises of the Agua Caliente. This area of the country is also popular for retirees that require the same healthcare, sales, food, and related services.

Approximately 9,000 job openings were listed, with the following employers the major hiring companies:

1. Hilton Worldwide
2. Marriott Hotels
3. Eisenhower Medical Center
4. Desert Regional Medical Center
5. Wyndham Hotels
6. Tenet Healthcare
7. Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, KFC, Starbucks, McDonald's
8. Swift Transportation
9. Wells Fargo Banks
10. Gordon Trucking
11. Staples, Home Depot, CVS/Pharmacy
12. Morongo Resort and Spa
13. Securus
14. HCR Manorcare
15. Safeway - Groceries

1. Physical Therapists & Asst
2. Occupational Therapists & Asst
3. Salespeople
4. Licensed Vocational Nurses (LVNs) - Outpatient
5. Dental Assistants
6. Treatment Coordinators - Healthcare
7. Front Desk Staff
8. CDL Truck Drivers
9. Shift Supervisors - Retail, dining, and other.
10. Faculty Positions

Additional High Demand Jobs

• Dental Hygienists
• Cashiers and Baristas
• Assistant Store Managers
• Pizza Hut Team Members and other casual and fast food dining jobs