Out & About – 12/2/2011
A short visit to UC Riverside on Friday afforded us some time to take a few photos.
Initially established at the base* of Mount Rubidoux in downtown Riverside in 1907, the seeds for present-day UCR began when the Citrus Experiment Station — forerunner to UCR — relocated a few miles east to the base* of Box Springs Mountain in 1918.
In 1948, the University of California Regents voted to fund planning and designs for the formation of a liberal arts college in Riverside. In 1954, the new campus — dubbed the “Swarthmore of the West” — began accepting students. In 1959, its mission was expanded and UCR was declared a general campus of the UC system. In 1960, the University’s Graduate Division was established.
In October 1966, UCR’s signature “bell tower” was dedicated. The 161-foot tower — one of only five true carillons in California — was designed by the noted architectural firm of A. Quincy Jones and Frederick E. Emmons. The tower’s 48 chromatically-tuned bells located at the top were cast by Paccard Foundry of France.
Today, UCR hosts nearly 20,000 students in a park-like setting spread over 1,200 acres in northeastern Riverside.
Related
Photos courtesy: *UC Riverside, **Historic Aerials
Sources: UC Riverside
