Commercial Buildings

The post-war building boom of the 1950s and 1960s increased the population of the Coachella Valley as returning veterans and their families looked for affordable housing. The population of Palm Springs increased from 7500 in 1950 to over 20,000 by 1970. This increase required more businesses to support construction, transportation, and tourism in the region. 

In addition to designing the office buildings for Calor Gas Service company, White also designed the graphics and the interior of a company airplane. The corrugated sheet metal, steel beams, and walls of glass gave the buildings a modern, industrial look. 

For the Pearson, Scott & Company building, White worked with architect Leopold Fischer to design the offices for the mortgage company. The building was located in Indio, a town southeast of Palm Springs, a popular site for building residential homes for White, John Outcault, and Albert Frey. 

For small commercial buildings like the Calor Gas, Pearson realty, and the Safari USA buildings, White utilized corrugated sheet metal, steel beams, and glass walls to make good use out of relatively inexpensive materials. The overhanging roofs both drew in the passing customer's eye, as well as provided needed shade from the desert sun.

Walter White began designing homes in Colorado in the early 1960s, but it wasn't until 1968, when he received his Colorado architect license, that he was able to work on larger civic and commercial projects. The First Assembly of God Church in Colorado Springs was one of those commissions. The building utilized White's patented Hyperbolic Paraboloid Roof Structure, with its sweeping upward tilt and dramatic downslopes.