In 1955 Harold Hicks, real estate developer and Palm Springs City founding father, commissioned E. Stewart Williams to design the Harold Hicks Real Estate and Insurance building at 1345 North Palm Canyon Drive.

 

The stunning architecture inspired Julius Shulman to photograph it in 1959. Mr. Hicks and his brother Milton went on to open the Desert Water Company and in 1960 hired the award-winning architectural firm of Lundgren and Maurer to expand on Mr. Williams’ original plan.

 

The building stayed much the same until it was sold in 1978 and with a few alterations, used as real estate offices and eventually an art gallery. The building currently houses a design collective called The Shops at Thirteen Forty-Five and the owners are working to keep the architectural integrity intact.