February Opening Possible For Art Museum

The Palm Springs Art Museum's satellite location in Palm Desert could be opened as early as February and as late as March, according to city documents.

The Galen, which will be located at the former Palm Desert Visitor Center building on Highway 111 and El Paseo, will include 8,500 square feet of interior space and over five acres set aside for a sculpture garden.

The Palm Desert City Council is scheduled to consider the plans for the garden during Thursday's 4 p.m. meeting in the .

The Eric Johnson Garden will feature as many as a dozen sculptures, and some could be installed in time for the museum's grand opening, according to a city staff report.

The Palm Desert museum is named after patron Helene Galen for her contribution of $1 million.

Jerry Fogelson, a Palm Desert-based real estate developer, was one of the original supporters of the museum.

“There was no way to satisfy the need for art and culture for the residents of the east valley with the location of the Palm Springs Museum, by itself,” he said previously, adding that the east valley was growing more rapidly than Palm Springs.