Let’s make the Palm Springs Mirror House a permanent thing

The big, dumb battle over the Palm Springs Mirror House has me thinking (for once!), why not try to keep the cool looking thing around for a while?

The house, named simply “Mirage,” was originally built by artist Doug Aitken for Desert X. And while the the other installations such as the bomb shelter, a store full of pennies and cig butts, and Indio’s infinite hole have been taken away, the house still stands giving everyone who visits Palm Springs a cool spot to visit and take a million photos for the Gram. In fact, did you know the house has been featured on 27 million Instagram posts? You probably didn’t – and that’s because that is a statistic I just pulled out of my ass. But, here’s the the thing, it sounds like it could be true – because the house is really cool and it’s the perfect place to take photos.  And all those photos sure are a pretty great marketing campaign for the Coachella Valley, yeah?

I mean, look at some of these!

Just another day in the desert ????This house of mirrors is covered entirely both inside and out and seemlessly blends into the surrounding landscape. With faceted mirrors inside, it feels like you're walking around a real life kaleidoscope with ever changing reflections. Check my Stories for more! @_desertx @dougaitkenworkshop

A post shared by Wendy | Nomadic Fare (@nomadicfare) on Sep 13, 2017 at 7:49am PDT

Where the heck is this house at?!? #dadjoke #miragehouse

A post shared by dgoltiao (@dgoltiao) on Jun 10, 2017 at 10:22am PDT

This. #mirrorhouse #miragehouse #naturemeetsdesign #desertbeauty #WuTineClan #salonenswimmingupstreamtomurphy #hitmesalonentime

A post shared by Alexis Brookes (@mrs._brookes) on Sep 9, 2017 at 12:59pm PDT

Doug Aitken's Mirage. . . . #palmsprings #california #coachellavalley #desertx #desertx2017 #desertxmirage #miragehouse #dougaitken #dougaitkenmirage

A post shared by Brandon Davis (@brandonewingdavis) on Sep 4, 2017 at 7:56am PDT

I could post pics like that all day. Because they are cool as shit. And this is why we should keep the Mirage House around a lot longer.

Now, I get it. The house is currently located in a housing development that will soon have construction popping up everywhere. So yeah, it’s going to have to be moved. But, that’s ok. There are plenty of other spots in town for it. And yes, there is going to be a cost to move it and maintain it. So how about we sell a sponsorship? Mirage – Presented by Instagram sounds good. Mirage – Brought to you by The Mirage Casino will work.  The Cactus Hugs House of Mirror Selfies sounds even better (oh, if only I had Instagram money).

And yeah, there are other challenges – I mean, who is going to clean all those mirrors after a rain storm – but, I am sure Palm Springs can figure it out.  Hell, maybe we just tell them it’s a Wessman project. That usually seems to get them motivated.

Mirage is a symbol of everything new and exciting about Palm Springs. It’s fresh, it’s unique, and it’s something that, unlike the Marilyn statue, has only Palm Springs ties.

It should be a permanent, or at least a long term, fixture in the Coachella Valley. Please, someone, get this done.