Out & About – 12/29/2010

Main Street
A trolley strolls along Main Street near City Hall on a rainy Wednesday
in downtown Riverside.
May 2009Awaiting a lift Fifteen months after beginning construction, Regency Tower in downtown Riverside is poised to receive its crown. Sitting alongside the under-construction office building is a 45-foot high, 80,000-pound steel and aluminum dome. In about a week, the dome will be perched atop the southwest corner of the 10-story building. Developer Moshe Silagi…
Following the 1956-57 opening of the Riverside Plaza mall, downtown shopping began a slow but steady decline. In response, city leaders quickly began working at remaking the city’s civic center. Discussions took place regarding additional parking, modernized storefronts, and streetscape improvements. In June 1958, Los Angeles architectural firm Welton Beckett & Associates presented a downtown…
Sunday, September 24, 2006 – A few photos and thoughts while browsing various new home developments in both Riverside and Corona. The trip begins with the Alta Cresta development in southeastern Riverside. In most respects, Alta Cresta is the second major phase of the city’s master-planned Orangecrest development, both of which actually began as county…
A small curbside swath of University Avenue in downtown Riverside was turned into an impromptu park earlier today as part of National Park(ing) Day. Trust for Public Land What began in San Francisco in 2005 aimed at bringing awareness to the need for more parks and open space, particularly within urban environments, has grown into…
From a recent edition of the Los Angeles Times: The bronze plaque tells the tale: “The most valuable fruit introduction yet made by the United States Department of Agriculture.” And there, at Magnolia and Arlington avenues in Riverside, stands the last of California’s original Washington navel orange trees, enclosed by an iron fence, looming over…
2010Simple Simon’s Bakery & Bistro 2010Closed Simple Simon’s, one of downtown’s most popular eateries, caught fire around 2 a.m. this past Friday, causing what the owners hope will be only a temporary closure. Initial reports point to an electrical fire as the possible cause, with damage estimates of roughly $175,000. No major damage was reported…