A statue of Frank Bogert that was removed from Palm Springs City Hall in 2022 could be placed in another part of the city following a decision by the Public Arts Commission slated for Thursday, Jan. 8.
The Palm Springs Historical Society has requested the statue of the former city mayor be placed at the Village Green in downtown Palm Springs, a location surrounded by multiple local history museums run by the society.
“The Village Green—long regarded as the heart of our city’s heritage—would provide a fitting and publicly accessible setting that aligns with the Historical Society’s mission to preserve and interpret Palm Springs’ unique history,” Historical Society President Tracy Conrad wrote in a letter to the commission.
The commission is scheduled to take up the issue at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, at Palm Springs City Hall, which is located at 3200 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way.
The meeting has the potential to reignite a debate over Bogert’s legacy that stemmed from a nationwide reckoning with controversial statues that began in the wake of the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in May of 2020 in Minneapolis.
In 2021, the Human Rights Commission recommended the statue be removed from its place in front of city hall, largely due to Bogert’s supposed role in evicting residents from a plot of land owned by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians that was being redeveloped throughout the 1950s and 1960s known as Section 14.
The Palm Springs City Council approved the statue’s removal in 2021 and later paid $5.9 million to former Section 14 residents and their descendants to settle a claim against the city.
The statue’s removal also prompted an unsuccessful lawsuit from the local group Friends of Frank Bogert.
Throughout it all, Bogert’s role in the evictions has been disputed, with local historians saying the former mayor worked to help residents who were displaced.
“Frank Bogert was the champion of people in Section 14,” Conrad said in a phone interview with The Desert Sun. “He did more than anyone else to help people who were being displaced by the development of Section 14, and he was falsely blamed.”
During the interview, Conrad focused on Bogert’s importance to Palm Springs history. He first arrived in the city as a teenager in 1927 and was instrumental in growing its reputation.
“You cannot write the history of Palm Springs without Frank Bogert coming up over and over again,” she said.
Bogert was first appointed to the city council in 1958 and served as mayor for eight years. He was then reelected in 1982 and served a further two terms as mayor. He died in 2009, at the age of 99.
Many local residents still have memories of interacting with Frank Bogert and they fiercely defend his reputation. At the time when Bogert came to Palm Springs, the city was mostly a small Western town and he helped transform it into a worldwide tourist destination.
It may have been the city council’s intent to relocate the statue at some point. In a press release sent out in July 2022, the city said the statue would be placed in storage until another location could be identified.
Arts Commission Chair Gary Armstrong said in a text to The Desert Sun the council had directed the commission to consider the Historical Society’s offer when it was received in the fall of 2025.
“To me, the Commission’s role is procedural,” he said in a text, “to evaluate the proposed site, ensure compliance with City guidelines for public art placement, and take action consistent with City direction.”
The decision will not need another approval from the council, making Thursday’s meeting potentially the final word.
The Historical Society has committed to funding the relocation fees and annual maintenance costs for the new site.
Sam Morgen covers the city of Palm Springs for The Desert Sun. Reach him at smorgen@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Commission to decide new site for Frank Bogert statue in Palm Springs
Reporting by Sam Morgen, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
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