Cathedral City, California- What I Learned Today

Cathedral City California- What I learned Today while writing an info page for my Wordpress blog......

Cat City as we call it has a lot more history going for it than I once thought.  We think o f it as a multi-cultural ethnic mix, gay straight and whateever else may come along.  It has a strong working community, work-ethic background that is hard to come by now-days.

The city’s name was taken from “Cathedral Canyon” to the southof the city

so named in 1850 by Colonel Henry Washington because its rock formations were reminiscent to that of a cathedral. The city began as a housing subdivision around  1925 and was incorporated in 1981.  The city grew rapidly in two decades as the 2006 population estimate is 48,000 and with the latest census numbers bringing it up to around 52,000.

Ideally located between Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage it is one of the cities in the Coachella Valley (Palm Springs area) of southern California.  Cathedral City has the second largest in population in the Coachella Valley, second only to Indio.

Here are a few Factoids:

The city was the teenage home of actress Suzanne Somers (she still maintains a second home in nearby Palm Desert), and a winter residence for actors Robert Duvall and Martin Landau in the 1960s, and TV show host Monty Hall in the 1990s.

Forest Lawn – Cathedral City Cemetery and Desert Memorial Park are located in Cathedral City. The city is also home to the only Gay Veterans Memorial. These parks are across Ramon Boulevard from each other. The cemeteries are visited by many tourists because of those who are buried there among them are Frank Sinatra, Congressman Sonny Bono, Alice Faye, Phil Harris, “Papa” John Phillips, Jane Wyman, Dinah Shore, George Montgomery, Cameron Mitchell, Harold Robbins, Busby Berkeley, William Powell, Betty Hutton, Guy Madison, Buddy Rogers and many more.

Palm Desert is home to CSU San Bernardino at Palm Desert, CA and The College Of The Desert.  Both schools are well recognized for their curriculum that are useful for continuing and degree education and schools for the trades.

Cathedral City, CA Area Arts, Culture & Entertainment

The greater area is rich in arts, entertainment and culture.  The following are all withing a short drive of Cathedral City and are shared by all of the desert communities.

• The McCallum Theater has gained acclaim as one of the country’s finest presenting theaters by audiences, entertainers and peers alike.  It is a state-of-the-art performing arts center whose vision it is to enhance and enrich the lives of desert residents by making the performing arts available to as many people as possible.  This is a must see venue.
• Art Galleries-  The area is rich in art and artists.  This has created the need for lots of art galleries.  A list can be found HERE.
• Theater- Palm Springs is home to wonderful small theater.  From The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies to The Palm Canyon Theater and The Camelot Theaters for Indy Films, Cat City and the surrounding area has it all.  And don’t forget the great movie venues including an IMAX that hosts the best in large format films.  Also well known is the Annenburg Theater at the Palm Springs Art Museum.

 So check it out next time you're in our desert paradise..... you'll love it!