Spoon: DOHRCO PIONEER topmarked LA PALMA

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A fool and his mule are soon parted in the desert sun. But another kind of gold seeking ores-man may drop anchor in the sand and set up a hotel only a wagon ride from a rail station. And so we come to Palm Springs California around 1915. At that time their was only the one-story original 1880's era Palm Springs Hotel located on a dirt road. But just south of that site up went a two floor structure with a dining room (even advertising avaialble ice cream) known as LA PALMA. In 1916, a road all the way from Los Angeles was started to cover the distance that previously required a train trip. By the 1920's, the road was paved all the way to Indio but still took nearly four hours of driving. The LA PALMA seems to have been renamed Desert Rose Hotel in that period, and appears to become the El Rey Hotel with a lot of improvement work to at least the facade. And now the spoon in question.

This is a soda/ice tea produced by an unknown source with the pattern being re-named Pioneer for the Dohrman Hotel Supply Company on their Dohrco brand name. Unfortunately, until it can be matched to an existing pattern there is no way to give an "earliest possible" dating to it. To be sure, there could be other La Palma named users, but they would have to be located west of the east border of Texas to be in the known Dohrmann operating area. The name would need to be in capital letters. And the dating would have to fit, so the La Palma Chicken Pie Shop & Bakery in Anaheim (a restaurant 1957-2015) near Disneyland might not fit here with their mid-century furniture (bent plywood chairs etc.). Dohrmann was using the Dohrco name rather early on and was operating in Los Angeles as Dohrmann-Parmelee from an early merger until a name change after the complete takeover. I've checked several usual suspect lines and have not spotted the design, although I may have overlooked it, being an idiot and all. TIA Here's the object:

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After having checked every silverplate pattern sample on SterlingFlatwareFashions site, I find no matches for Pioneer seem to be known (and even that one is not on the site). This has caused me to review photos of the hotels to see if the assumed dates might be somewhat off. Dohrmann claimed in the 1947 patent filing on the Dohrco name that it had been in actual use since 1/1/1928. From all those pattern images it seems to me highly improbable that any pointy terminus tri-tip designs would have been introduced after 1929....they began blunting handle ends although a single rounded point might exist. If the photos do support the use of the LA PALMA name to at least 1928, then this Pioneer Pattern may well have been first introduced around that January dating of the Dohrco name. And thus it may have been supplied to the Palm Springs hostlery.

Early photos of LA PALMA...note addition of balcony occurred sometime later than the 1915 opening. A dining room is noted in the windows behind the group. The upper floor may be flat ceilinged, but it might also be a false frontage wrapped around to hide an angled roof..hard to be certain with grainy photos. The pillars are interesting as they will determine the future look.

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Later photos. Still named LA PALMA and just south of the surviving original Palm Springs Hotel (no name name change yet), with 1920's cars that could be in use near the end of the decade. Road is paved, but little else has changed on Main Drive (later to become Palm Canyon Drive). The famous Desert Inn would be growing near here but closer towards the mountain faces. The second photo shows the frontage of the new Palm Springs Hotel, and just beyond is the upgraded Mission look for the El Rey Hotel with colums in front. Here we have skipped any images if the inbetween period when both hotels had other names that did not last...that was the Depression era (images do exist in historic pdf documents on-line). Here, the cars are later-half of 1930's when the photographer was known to be working (circa '36-'37).

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Final Images: Both of the new (replacement) hotels which sat almost adjacent to each other. Some Palms might be visible to the back which might relate to the name first given to LA PALMA. Seems unlikely that anything here has survived intact by this point. Again, late 1930's shots. And that's this week's spoonful of history encased in silverplating. Fact or fiction? You decide.

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A check of Worthpoint records indicates a set of 3 spoons in the Pioneer pattern described as "demitasse" and measuring 4 1/2". This would be about the length of "coffee" (after dinner) between "demi" and "five 'o clock tea" sizes. More importantly, it helps to confirm this pattern was likely carrying the range of items needed for basic restaurant service, beyond fountain but perhaps short of full hotel (or epicurian) settings. (The three spoons had no user marks or logos.)

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More background found: Some four miles south of Palm Springs sat the ruins of a station/hotel built by the Butterfield Stage Company which would have to be the precursor to all other lodgings in this area. The original Palm Springs Hotel is known to have been still operating with that name when the soon-to-be founder of the Desert Inn arrived around 1908. The original bungalow for that also sat on Main Avenue (Palm Canyon Drive now) just below (south of) these hotels [This would later be the gateway entrance area as the Inn was built westward toward the hills.] Oddly enough, one of the early promotions of real estate in this area around the 1920's era was conducted by "Pioneer Properties", but there is no known link to the La Palma Hotel and no other mention of the word pioneer that might relate to naming this silverware pattern.

The two images of the same view have been dated as 1921, which is reported to be the year in which the Foldesy Family did purchase the RAMONA HOTEL which they would convert into the Spanish Revival Palm Springs Hotel (said to be the second use of this name). Obviously, the LA PALMA next door is still without balcony and far from the upgraded versions seen later.





*Most images used here are likely from the Palm Springs Historical Society as relayed through secondary source material. They are presented entirely for educational/research purposes and should not be transmitted in any form for commercial useage without the consent of possible copyright holders. Thank you.

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Three final images: Two shots of the Desert Inn with the original structure on Main Avenue (Palm Canyon Drive) and newer structures set to the west. The site of the resort continued to expand but it is not clear if it absorbed the property on which the La Palma stood. [A later offshoot of the Desert Inn was called the Village Inn.] The last image is from 1934 and looks south on Palm Canyon Drive before it curves eastward in the distance. To the right is a hotel signage but not very clear for reading. The area around the La Palma site has obviously been filled in with new growth. Hollywood has arrived and the tourists too.

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BTW-The arches in front of the "Market" on the left side of the 1934 image are distinctively the same as those used by the photographer in framing the 1936-7 shot looking across to the Palm Springs Hotel. So we can surmise that the large palms on the right side are about at the frontage of the La Palma/El Rey location.

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The only knife sample (9 1/2") I found posted for this pattern was a solid one-piece with plated handle and old style blade. The edge had no indication of Stainless but was instead marked DOHRCO PIONEER over 12 DW. Perhaps this was then carbon steel with a plated blade. That might support the idea of an older product. With the rapid rise of a stainless steel base, they might have just discontinued this line which could explain the infrequency with which pieces turn up compared to their other lines. If one of the cardboard boxes (12 pieces per) ever does surface, that may be where the answers will be found.

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While there was no progress with discovering more about the flatware pattern, I did find an entire history in photographic images from the first rail station at "Seven Palms" through the hotels and right up to the changes which absorbed the site. A few images for the 1930's (held by L.A. Public Library and shared via Calisphere) were incorrectly ascribed to being part of the development of the east side of the road when it should have been the older work on the west side. All of it changed and what suvived was incorporated into the spread of the famous Chi Chi bar complex. And all that fell to the expansion of a shopping mall which is itself now gone. Interestingly, La Palma appears to be a local Cahuilla tribal description (in Spanish) of the area as The Palm of the Hand of God, with no reference to trees. (Most of the palm tree planting in these flats came later.)

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A recent find of a poorly identified photo on Calisphere has raised another remote possibility of the La Palm Patio cafeteria which turned out to be located at 615 S. Grand Avenue in dowtown Los Angeles around 1936. The building itself was dated back to circa 1926 but there is no clear evidence of when La Palma Patio went in. It was built next door to the Masonic Club, replacing another structure.There is an indication that this was a new location, however, other information that was dated for 1929 included an advert. for the eatery at that S. Grand space. ( It is the financial district and a bar named Casey’s or Kasey’s Pub has occupied the building for many years. The last major alteration was noted as being in 1975.) No interior views were found yet:

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Some extra images of the La Palma Hotel including the dining room with flatware set out: