In the mid-1800s, people traveling through a desert landscape in present-day California stopped at an oasis to rest and refill their canteens. Soon afterward, a way station along a stagecoach route was built there.
Fast-forward to 1915. The producer of a silent motion picture chose the place to film “Peer Gynt,” a fantasy adapted from a drama written by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. Soon the locale attracted other moviemakers along with Hollywood stars who acted for them since they could easily get back to Los Angeles if the studios needed them. Today, the resort towns of the greater Palm Springs area retain their connection with motion-picture luminaries and other celebrities.
