The new Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza features a new Agua Caliente Cultural Museum and The Spa at Séc-he (open). The Cultural Plaza celebrates the sacred Agua Caliente Hot Mineral Spring and includes a Gathering Plaza, gardens, and an Oasis Trail.
The Cultural Plaza’s design is inspired by Agua Caliente traditions, including basket weaving, pottery (ollas), and natural elements, including desert landscapes. It also includes the Andreas Canyon rock formations, stream, and Washingtonia filifera palm trees.
JCJ Architecture of Phoenix is the project designer. Penta Building Group is the general contractor. JCJ Architecture’s design concept for the cultural center reflects the Tribe’s values and ongoing commitment to the Agua Caliente people.
The Cultural Plaza includes numerous outdoor activity spaces, including a Gathering Plaza adjacent to the Agua Caliente Hot Mineral Spring. It was originally known as Séc-he (the sound of boiling water) and served as a commemorative focal point for the new development. Here, tribal members and visitors can celebrate community and history and pay respect to the life-giving waters that helped shape the Palm Springs region. Visitors can readily access the Gathering Plaza along landscaped terraces and pathways.
An interpretive green belt, the Oasis Trail, meanders through the property. It provides an interactive cultural learning environment. This trail recreates the distinctive character, geology, flora, and beauty of the nearby Indian Canyons. This is one of the ancestral homes of the Agua Caliente tribe.
The new Museum is approximately 48,000 square feet. It features collections in a main gallery, changing gallery, and art gallery. A repository for cultural artifacts, stories, and history is included in an education center and garden.
The water from the Agua Caliente Hot Mineral Spring is estimated to be over 12,000 years old and is truly unique as it contains a mineral makeup that has not been found anywhere else in the world. The Tribe has shared the healing water with visitors for more than 120 years, and the hot spring was the first tourist attraction in Palm Springs. This new spa will be the fifth bathhouse or spa at the site, with the first one operating in the late 1880s. Read more here.
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Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza - Visit Palm Springs
