Out & About – 12/29/2010

Main Street
A trolley strolls along Main Street near City Hall on a rainy Wednesday
in downtown Riverside.


After years of waiting for reconstruction of the 60/91/215 freeway interchange in downtown Riverside — AKA “Malfunction Junction” — drivers will have to wait even longer as a recent contract dispute between Caltrans and the primary contractor (Washington-Obayashi) has halted work on the $318 million project. After a year of commitment, the contractor on the…
With an expected completion date later this year, work continues on the $30 million restoration of the historic Fox Theater in downtown Riverside. Feb. 2009Fox Theater Oct. 2008Renaissance The renovation of the soon-to-be, 1,600-seat Fox Performing Arts Center includes a complete overhaul of the 1929 theater — everything from new ventilation systems, theater seats and…

Eight months after launching a new systematic parking district for downtown, the city of Riverside is again refining its Smart Park program. The program began in September 2006 establishing uniform parking zones across much of downtown (the only exception being the area around the county courthouse, which had a similar system already in place). Smart…

A roundup of local items making the news… With the announcement of a location at the Galleria at Tyler in Riverside, The Cheesecake Factory joins a growing list of upscale chains coming to Inland Southern California: “We probably received about 2,000 offers, and we will open 20 stores this year,” said Cheesecake Factory spokesman Howard…
A few weeks back, two articles in the local newspaper caught our eye, if only because they were a few days apart and both were about emerging trends within Inland Southern California’s housing market. And yet, they could not have been more diametrically opposed. The first article shows the emerging trend — even here, in…
If you haven’t already seen the new music video for “Let Em Know” by Riverside’s Alien Ant Farm, be sure to check it out as it includes several scenes filmed in downtown Riverside (intermixed with shots filmed in downtown Chicago). The song comes after a seven-year hiatus for the band and is on their new…