The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway constructed in the rugged Chino Canyon on the north edge of Palm Springs did not just happen. It required foresight, planning, financing and most of all vision. As a young electrical engineer, Francis Crocker’s dream began in 1935 while he was on a trip to Banning, California, with newspaper publisher Carl Barkow. Mopping his brow in the heat of the day, Crocker gazed on longingly at the still snow-capped peak of Mount San Jacinto, 10,834 feet high and longed to “go up there where it’s nice and cool” At that moment, “Crocker’s Folly,” as it was soon dubbed by one newspaper woman, was born – a tramway up the sheer cliffs of Chino Canyon. Construction of the Tramway was an engineering challenge and was soon labeled the “eighth wonder of the world.” The superlative was earned because of the ingenious use of helicopters in erecting four of the five supporting towers. Twenty-years later, the Tramway was designated an historical civil engin eering landmark. In 1998 the Tramway announced that it was embarking on an ambitious modernization program that would see the construction and installation in 2000 of new cars and updating of its facilities. Beginning in September 2000, passengers rode the world’s largest rotating tramcars constructed. Since 1963 nearly 18 million people have traveled the 10-minute, 2.5-mile ride, which begins at the Valley Station – elevation 2,643 feet and ends at the Mountain Station – elevation 8,516 feet. Visit their website
