Expansion for Museum of Riverside set to begin

A ceremonial groundbreaking was held June 27th for the long-awaited and oft-delayed expansion for the Museum of Riverside, which has been shuttered for nearly eight years.

Between 150-200 members from the community joined city leaders to mark the event in front of the museum’s historic 1912 building. Speakers included Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson, Ward 1 Councilmember Philip Falcone, City Manager Mike Futrell, and Museum Director Robyn G. Peterson. Also on hand were representatives of the architects and builders as well as members from the museum’s Board of Directors and long-time support group, Riverside Museum Associates.

A few short speeches were given, thanking the community’s patience during the recent closure, reaffirming the museum’s importance as part of the community’s collective fabric, and the move to expand and secure its future. In particular, Mayor Dawson and Councilmember Falcone peppered their brief speeches with reminiscences of past visits – including a reference to the now iconic growling mountain lion that many visitors fondly remember (and that is currently in storage).

Afterwards, hard hats were donned by each as they traded swings with a silver-headed sledgehammer against a ceremonial faux wall to mark the official groundbreaking. The expansion will take place behind the 1912 building that originally housed a post office and some federal offices, and later, the Riverside Police Department. The museum, which began in 1924, joined RPD in the building in 1948, initially using the basement. However, following the completion of a new police headquarters on Orange Street in late 1964, the museum assumed full control of the building. And after a year of renovation, an expanded Riverside Municipal Museum (as it was then-known) opened in January 1966.

The current $32.8 million expansion was approved for construction by the City Council in April of this year (2025) and will include the demolition of small expansions added to the back in 1954 and 1967. Once completed, the project will have moved the main entrance to Orange Street and essentially doubled the space of the museum, allowing more room for rotating exhibits and possibly some traveling ones. It will also incorporate a temperature- and humidity-controlled environment as well as involve renovation and upgrades for the older portion, including the uncovering of a long-hidden skylight. (We’d also very much like to see an expanded – and updated – semi-permanent history section for Riverside.)

“We’ll have large, flexible galleries that change much more often,” (Museum Director Robyn G.) Peterson said of the changes coming to the museum in a phone interview. “The historic core, historic building, will be preserved and highlighted.”

The overhauled museum will pay homage to the 1912 historic structure that was initially built as a U.S. Post Office, with a new second story at the back of the building, leaving room for possible later additions. The museum will add new galleries, a Nature Lab, and an indoor and outdoor component, which will be a “beautiful roof terrace,” according to Peterson.

Riverside Press-Enterprise – April 10, 2025

Demolition of the back addition is set to start by August 2025 with framework for the new expansion appearing in early 2026 and reopening of the museum expected in the latter half of 2027. Los Angeles-based Pfeiffer Partners (now part of Perkins Eastman) are the architects with BNBuilders of Irvine the construction contractor.

The groundbreaking comes several years – and a few scuttled plans – following the then-expected temporary closure of the museum in September 2017. Previously known as Riverside Municipal Museum and more recently as Riverside Metropolitan Museum (since April 2005, but renamed Museum of Riverside in April 2020), the groundbreaking also closes out the recent expansion saga that began as far back as 1998 (even farther in some respects). Various expansion proposals, including during the city’s five-year, public works Riverside Renaissance plan (2006-2011), failed to move much beyond the initial conceptual stages.

To note, in April 2007, the City Council awarded a $2.2 million contract to Pfeiffer Partners to design a museum exhibit hall attached to an expanded library. But in January 2008, after some negative public reaction to those initial plans – which essentially built out from the front of the then-Main Library (now home of The Cheech museum) – a task force was commissioned by the city to review needs of both institutions and provide expansion guidelines. And by June 2008, the task force quickly shelved the combined library/museum expansion idea in favor of separate expansions. However, both institutions would need to regroup, thereby jeopardizing funding as part of the Renaissance plans.

In late 2009, early conceptual plans to build a 2-3 story expansion behind the current museum – leaving the original historic portion intact, but with necessary upgrades – were unveiled. But once again, construction would stall in part due to funding issues, resulting instead in $1.3 million for upgrades and repairs to the existing building (such as roof repairs, etc.).

However, the continuing delays also led to eventual closure beginning in September 2017. Originally pegged to be temporary – and a time for serious artifact review and cataloging – the three-year closure was extended in 2020, due in part to the Covid-19 pandemic. That particular pause has kept the museum closed to this day.

Finally, in October 2022, things began moving forward again with the City Council approving money to redraw plans for a back expansion (similar to the 2009 plans) using funds from Measure Z that was approved by voters in November 2016. These new plans were approved in December 2023. However, it would still be over a year later, in April 2025, before funding and signing of the construction contract would take place.

Thus, the June 27th ceremonial groundbreaking – just two months following the April signing of the construction contract – is set to culminate the decades-long expansion plans and current closure. Though, it wouldn’t be surprising to hear about residents (and some civic leaders alike) continuing to hold their breaths a bit until the museum actually reopens sometime in 2027.

Related

• Riverside Press-Enterprise – Hammers swing at Museum of Riverside to mark start of construction (June 28, 2025) | $32.8 million construction contract brings Museum of Riverside closer to reopening (April 10, 2025) | Museum of Riverside is planning ahead for 2027 reopening (December 13, 2024)
• City of Riverside | Museum of Riverside | Riverside Museum Associates
• Parker Eastman – Pfeiffer Partners

Previous

• RaincrossSquare.com – Library/museum task force produces ‘guiding principles’ for separate expansions (June 2008) | Task force favors separate library, museum expansions (June 2008) | Library-museum task force convenes (April 2008) | Museum Digs (December 2003)

Sources: City of Riverside, Museum of Riverside, Riverside Press-Enterprise (RP-19641231, PE-19660130, PE-19980311, PE-20050420, PE-20070424, PE-20070425, PE-20080607, PE-20081015, PE-20091209, PE-20100212, PE-20101006, PE-20110425, PE-20170713, PE-20190310, PE-20221006, PE-20231228, PEC-20241213, PEC-20250410, PEC-20250628); NOTE: Published dates for some online versions (PEC) of newspaper articles cited may not match their printed/archival source date.