3900 Market Street – White Park Building

Pictured is a B&W photo form 1926 of the then newly-built Potter Hotel located on the southeast corner of Market Street at Ninth Street in downtown Riverside.

The photo comes to us courtesy of Peter Weber, son of Peter J. Weber who was the chief designer for the Riverside architectural firm of G. Stanley Wilson. Both Weber and Wilson played a role in many of Riverside’s significant buildings of the early- to mid-1900s, including portions of the Mission Inn. (We have a few other photos graciously supplied to us by Weber that we hope to spotlight in the coming months.)

Built by Sidney E. Potter of Stahlman and Potter Construction Company, the Potter Hotel was one of several similarly-sized hotels built in downtown during the early 1900s. Its architecture appears to be a mixture of Spanish and Italian Renaissance with a hint of Beaux Arts thrown in for good measure. An excerpt from the book “Riverside in Vintage Postcards,” states “it is more like a home than a hotel … every room [has] a bath, fine light, and ventilation.” And indeed, as the postcard to the right suggests, “Air Cooled” was a big selling point for the hotel.

Over the years, the building also housed various businesses, beginning with the Citrus Belt Building and Loan Association in 1926 (which may have been an early forerunner to Citrus Belt Savings & Loan). And according to the 1955-56 Criss-Cross directory for Riverside, the building had already been renamed as the White Park Building. Tenants at the time included Watts-Laivell General Insurance and attorneys S. Thomas Bucciarelli, Rex Estudillo (3900 Market), L.B. Mathis Realtor (3910 Market), Fox Beauty Salon (3930 Market), Potter Hotel (3940 Market), David Miller Realtor (3942 Market), First Thrift of California (3944 Market) and Fairman & Company Brokers (3946 Market).

By 1967, the building’s southern portion had been replaced with a small parking lot (we’re uncertain as to when and unclear as to why). Today, the remaining building is still known as White Park Building with Riverside Mission Florist as its primary (and longtime) tenant.

* Courtesy of Peter Weber

Sources: Riverside Public Library, “Riverside in Vintage Postcards” (Steve Lech), “Riverside – Then & Now” (Glenn Edward Freeman), 1955-56 Criss-Cross City Directory