Out & About – 01/21/2007

Sunday, January 21, 2007 – If one visits downtown Riverside, as we did today, they will notice the historic Fox Theater is now fenced off, awaiting a $30 million renovation. As one of the centerpieces of the $780 million Riverside Renaissance Initiative — which outlines 25 years worth of citywide projects in about 5 — the Fox will receive a complete makeover, transforming it into 1,600 seat performing arts center.

Opened in 1929, the Riverside Fox was once a favorite place for Hollywood studios to screen movies prior to their release. Studio executives felt the area better represented American audiences more so than patrons in Hollywood. One such sneak preview was “Gone With the Wind” in 1939.

Across the street from the Fox Theater is the Stalder Building, which is actually three buildings unified into a single facade via a 1926 renovation. A portion of the building once housed the city’s first permanent fire station (1890s).

Over the years, the configuration of the building has been significantly altered, resulting in as many as 8 storefronts along Mission Inn Avenue plus a few along Market Street. Recently, it has become a mix of mostly small antique shops, including the popular Mr. Beasley’s.

Come March 1st, however, the stores will be fully vacated in preparation for Fox Plaza, a mixed-use development planned for the site that includes residential and commercial with underground parking.

Expected to break ground in 2007, Fox Plaza is a $200 million development that when fully built will add 500 residential units and 65,000 square feet of retail space along two blocks of Market Street from Mission Inn Avenue to Fifth Street. Also included in the 2-phase plan is a 130 room, full-service hotel.

Though it’s difficult to see one of Riverside’s oldest buildings come down, we’re eagerly anticipating Fox Plaza, which no doubt will be a significant and unique addition to downtown. If Riverside truly hopes to have a more balanced and more lively downtown, particularly after 5 p.m., developments such as Fox Plaza and m’ Sole that include residential units are indeed necessary.

(2025 UPDATE: The Fox Theater reopened as the 1,600 seat Fox Performing Arts Center in January 2010 following a 3-year, $32 million renovation. However, across the street, the only portion of the Fox Plaza mixed-use plan that was built was a five-story, 125-room Hyatt Place hotel that opened in April 2012 on the southeast corner of Sixth and Market streets. Today, the mixed-use Mark occupies most of the remaining site of the former Fox Plaza (and Villaggio before that). Containing 165 residential units with three levels of underground parking and 20,000 square feet of commercial storefronts along Mission Inn Avenue and Market Street, the three- to seven-story Mark is essentially a moderately scaled-down version of Fox Plaza and opened in early 2023.)

Related

• Riverside Renaissance
• Flash: Out & About slideshow
• Photo Gallery: Stalder Building

Update

• Riverside Press-Enterprise – Stalder tenants want more relocation help from Riverside (Feb. 09, 2007)

Sources: City of Riverside, Riverside Press-Enterprise (PE-20060419, PE-20070209, PE-20120419), MetroPacific LLC, CinemaTreasures.org, RaincrossSquare.com.

2025 PAGE UPDATE: Removed outdated web links and photo gallery links; added 2025 update.