About Frank Bogert
Mayor of Palm Springs for 14 years, he was born Jan. 1, 1910, in Mesa, Colo.
His father knew the famed fugitive Butch Cassidy.
A master equestrian, Bogert was the first Caucasian cowboy to be distinguished in Mexico as a Charro.
Arriving in Palm Springs in 1927, he was once a publicist for the El Mirador Hotel.
He was the Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce's first manager in 1938.
A former manager of the famed Racquet Club that hosted the stars of the silver screen, he served on many tourism-related commissions.
A statue of Bogert riding a mighty steed cast in bronze stands in front of Palm Springs City Hall.
Bogert, who predicted in 1961 that the valley would be developed from Windy Point to Point Happy in La Quinta, told Palm Springs Life years ago that the Alexander spec building boom was just the beginning. "That was the boom that made us jump,'' he said.
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Editor's Note: This story was originally published on February 21, 2007.
PALM SPRINGS - It was pure, unadulterated Frank.
The man who arrived with Haley's comet in 1910 and rode into Palm Springs in 1927 packing a six-gun, bullwhip and the best spurs money could buy, didn't give the more than 150 people attending a Modernism Week 2007 interview Tuesday any flimflam.
Longtime Palm Springs Mayor Frank Bogert spoke with humor, political brawn and heart.
No highfalutin talk, either.
Bogert, 97, who started as a publicist for the El Mirador Hotel, managed the famed Racquet Club, rubbed elbows with purveyors of gambling halls and served as mayor from 1958 to 1966 and 1982 to 1988, shot from the hip in the near two-hour interview with Peter Moruzzi on a wide range of topics - not all architectural.**
Jerri Doctor, a new resident of Palm Springs who moved here from Portland, said of Bogert afterward, "He's like a national treasure. I was thrilled to hear him speak."
Here's what Frank Bogert had to say on:
Nellie Norton Coffman: A pioneer who saw the city as a healing font for tourism. "She was almost a saint. ... I was mayor almost 100 years ago, and there was nothing you almost did without Nellie, because if you did something wrong she'd chew your tail off."
Pearl McCallum McManus: Jealous of Nellie, she built the Oasis Hotel. "She'd say, `I should be queen,' but she was the worst miser I've ever seen. ... When she up and died, she left $12 million to the city," and the fountain in front of Palm Springs International Airport - hewn from stone mined in Mexico - is one of many tributes in her name.
Illicit gambling: It happened at the Dunes Club, where locals were shut out as tourists were waved in via a door with a peephole. "It had the best food in town, and was the first time I saw New York steaks." Next came the Thirty-Nine Club, and it was as "corny as the Dunes was fancy."
On May 11, 1953, the Los Angeles Times wrote an article criticizing Palm Springs for harboring mobsters and racketeers who lived in luxury and masqueraded as citizens. What did he think of that? "I thought, `I hate the L.A. Times.' "
Alexander Construction Co. homes: The Alexanders built 1,000 spec houses and a second builder followed to put up another 1,000. "We were a little town before then, and the homes changed the dynamics of the city." "They sold for $20,000 like hot cakes. But they were cheapest, lousiest houses ever built (because) they had no insulation. ... Now, they're selling for $400,000 and $450,000 for a genuine, Alexander house. They are something really hooper-dooper. Guys spend $200,00 just fixing them up."
Sonny Bono, who bested Bogert in a cantankerous race for mayor: The best thing he gave us was Mary Bono. ... She's a brilliant gal," the best Congressional representative the valley's ever had.
President John F. Kennedy: "I loved the guy, even though I hate Democrats."
The legend of Two Bunch Palms, Desert Hot Springs: "There's a misnomer about the place; and that is, Al Capone stayed there. It's phony as hell: Al Capone was in Joliet State Prison when it was built."
Riding a horse, Charro-style "My hind legs are giving out. When I get off the horse I can hardly get to the tack room ... (but) I can still do a three-hour ride."
Palm Springs' future: "You can't stop growth. And the growth has been good. There are all kinds of condominiums and all kinds of builders looking for land, but I think we're going in the right direction ..."
