About Us
Melissa Riche
Melissa Riche is a writer, researcher, preservationist and local historian. She has written about architecture for 20+ years, including recent articles for Atomic Ranch magazine, RM magazine, the Greater Palm Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau website, and history articles for the Desert Sun newspaper that have been syndicated nationwide. She has also researched and written historic nominations for two Palm Springs properties on behalf of the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation. She grew up in England in a 17th century house that still stands today, and has lived in California for half her adult life. Architecture and preservation have been important to her since she first witnessed the destruction of important Art Deco buildings in Los Angeles. Melissa Riche is the founder and president of Preservation Mirage, a non-profit dedicated to the education and advocacy for the preservation of important architecture in Rancho Mirage.
Jim Riche
Graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology (Dean’s list) with a BFA in Photography as a Fine Art. Jim Riche started work in Washington, DC as a teaching assistant at the Corcoran College of Art + Design before becoming a freelance commercial photographer. He transferred his skills to film as Director of Photography on a clay-animation feature film that led to a career in animation and visual effects. Returning to still photography in recent years, he has pursued his passion for architecture, focusing on black and white images of midcentury greater Palm Springs, as well as inspiring buildings worldwide. His Urban Abstracts series has won many awards and featured in several shows. Commissions include the cover of Palm Springs Modernism, the 10th anniversary book for Modernism Week. His photographs are also featured regularly in Palm Springs Life, in publications and promotional material for Modernism Week and have been featured in RM and Atomic Ranch magazines. He is represented by Coda Gallery, Palm Desert.