Merrill Lynch Building 415 South Palm Canyon, Palm Springs, CA 92264
The two-story 1971 Merrill Lynch Building was architect Donald Wexler’s very successful foray into “New Formalism,” a style which blended modernism and classicism. Wexler’s large building (13,000 square feet) commands a prominent site on South Palm Canyon Drive in the city’s financial district. The building’s temple-like design, rigid use of symmetry and massive columns, combine to evoke a sense of gravity, authority, stability, and permanence. All perfect attributes of a financial institution.
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On October 24, 2024, the Palm Springs city council unanimously (3-0) approved the Class 1 Historic Resource designation of the Merrill Lynch Building. PSPF board member and nomination author Steven Keylon made compelling public comment in support of the designation.
On September 3, 2024, the city’s Historic Site Preservation Board voted unanimously (6-0) to recommend to city council approval of the Class 1 Historic Resource designation of the Merrill Lynch Building.
On September 13, 2023, the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation (acting as agent for the owners) submitted the 59-page Class 1 Historic Resource nomination for the Merrill Lynch Building to the city of Palm Springs.
In June of 2021, the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation board of directors assigned the task of writing the Class 1 Historic Resource nomination for the Merrill Lynch Building to PSPF board member Steven Keylon.
