Preservation board continues decision on removal of Palm Springs Frank Bogert Statue

The Palm Springs Historical Preservation Board is continuing a decision on whether or not the statue of Frank Bogert can be removed from City Hall, which is considered a landmark.

The next meeting will be on December 7th and the board is requesting more information and a historic resource assessment of the statue as an artwork, its artist, among other things.

Tonight's meeting comes after public outcry and a petition that accused Frank Bogert, a former Palm Springs mayor, of being part of the removal of hundreds of people from Section 14.

Related Story: Palm Springs to apologize for Section 14 destruction; moves forward with the process to remove Frank Bogert statue

In September the City of Palm Springs voted in favor of the removal of the statue, and to issue a public apology for the city's involvement.

Now it's up to the Palm Springs Historical Preservation board to decide whether or not the city can follow through on this move.

This is because Palm Springs City Hall is considered a class one historic site after being deemed a landmark back in October 1996.

The statue itself was installed in 1989, a few years before City Hall was considered a landmark.

The argument is that the Bogert statue is not part of the defining historic characteristics of the city hall. But because the removal would be making an alteration to this historic site, which involves the restoration of the turf the statue currently lies on, it needs to be approved.

The public was invited to attend the meeting via zoom only.

Anyone willing to submit a written comment can do so at ken.lyon@palmspringsca.gov.