The City of Rancho Mirage has officially declared June as Pride Month, signaling a meaningful step toward greater LGBTQ+ visibility and inclusion—and offering a preview of what’s to come. Rancho Mirage is planning its own Pride celebration, with full details to be announced soon. In the meantime, the city marked the beginning of Pride Month with a formal proclamation, presented during the June 4 City Council meeting.
To honor the moment and provide important local context, David L. Gray, President of the LGBTQ+ History & Archives of the Desert, delivered remarks that connected the proclamation to the city’s own LGBTQ+ history. His full statement is quoted below.
Remarks – June 4, 2026
Rancho Mirage City Council MeetingGood afternoon, Mayor & City Council.
My name is David Gray, and I am President of the LGBTQ+ History & Archives of the Desert.
It is my pleasure to be here today to congratulate the City of Rancho Mirage on its proclamation recognizing June as Pride Month.
I would like to share a piece of local history that many of you and your residents may not know. The earliest gay bar currently documented in the Coachella Valley opened here in Rancho Mirage during the summer of 1964. Known as Rancho Dandy, and owned by Arthur Allen, it was located at 71-835 Highway 111, on property that today is part of the Desert European Motorcars and Jaguar-Land Rover campus.
Rancho Dandy occupies an important place in our region’s history. At a time when LGBTQ+ people often faced discrimination, isolation, and the threat of arrest simply for gathering together, establishments like Rancho Dandy provided a rare place where people could find community and friendship.
The bar was listed in the 1966 edition of the International Guild Guide, one of the earliest national directories identifying businesses that welcomed gay patrons. Interestingly, the guide listed only “Highway 111” as the address.
The omission of a real address may have been connected to a tragic event that occurred just one year earlier. On June 20, 1965, Rancho Dandy was the target of a gas-bomb attack. Fortunately no one was injured. A couple of suspects were arrested a couple of days later, but to date we have found no record indicating whether charges were ultimately filed or whether the case ever went to trial.
In March 1966, Rancho Dandy was sold to Sam D. Spellman, who continued to operate the bar until 1971. In late 1971, Spellman transferred the bar’s liquor license to the Desert Palms Inn in Cathedral City, where Rancho Dandy continued for a period within the hotel.
Today, more than 60 years after Rancho Dandy first opened its doors, its story reminds us that LGBTQ+ history is not something that happened somewhere else. It happened here. It is part of the history of Rancho Mirage, part of the history of the Coachella Valley, and part of the history of California.
As we celebrate Pride Month, we honor not only today’s LGBTQ+ community but also those individuals who came before us and helped create spaces of belonging, visibility, and acceptance during much more difficult times.
Thank you for recognizing Pride Month and for helping celebrate the diverse history of the Rancho Mirage community.
David L. Gray
President
LGBTQ+ History & Archives of the Desert
www.lgbtqpshistory.org