3633 Market Street – De Anza Chevrolet

2010
3633 Market Street

2009
3633 Market Street

Forthcoming parking garage

While driving down Market Street last month, we stumbled upon a bit of local history. Standing alongside downtown’s Fox Performing Arts Center was an uncovered facade revealing what once was the former home of long-time Riverside car dealer De Anza Chevrolet (one | two). City permits indicate the building (and its adjacent twin) housed a number of businesses over the years, including automotive, printing and antiques. A 1924 building permit gave the two buildings an estimated value of $35,000.
Currently, the buildings are undergoing demolition as part of the next phase in the Fox Performing Arts Center development. This past week, workers began dismantling the interiors of the twin buildings. Their facades are being secured (one | two) for use as an arcade that will partially shield sidewalks and a new outdoor plaza from the street. Once completed, the project will include a 400-space parking garage, small “black box” theater and a few commercial spaces.

Back to De Anza Chevrolet … we’re not exactly sure when the dealer opened shop within the Market Street building, but city permits show them at the location by the late 1940s. In the early 1960s, however, 7 new car dealers downtown — including De Anza — came together to build the Riverside Auto Center. When it opened alongside the 91 Freeway at Adams Street in 1965, this new “auto center” was the first of its kind in the U.S., garnering attention even from Detroit’s automakers. Though it remains today, De Anza Chevrolet is now known as Singh Chevrolet.

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• RaincrossSquare.com – Inside the Fox Performing Arts Center (Jan. 2010)

2009
3633 Market

2010
3633 Market

2010
3633 Market

2010
3633 Market

2010
3633 Market

2010
View south
from Sixth Street

2009
3605 Market

2009
3605 Market

2010
3633 / 3605
Market

Sources: City of Riverside, Riverside Auto Dealers Association