Then & Now

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Postcard: Greetings from Riverside, Calif.

Featured here is a 1961 postcard for Riverside. Pictured is the Carillon Tower at the Mission Inn, the Peace Tower on Mount Rubidoux overlooking downtown and the Buena Vista Bridge crossing Seventh Street (now Mission Inn Avenue). The back of the card, which was produced by Western Publishing & Novelty Company of Los Angeles, reads:…

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Expansion project underway for Riverside Freeway into downtown

Drivers using the 91 Freeway in Riverside of late have noticed construction barriers, closed bridges and the removal of large swaths of landscaping along six miles of the freeway from Adams Street into downtown Riverside. The changes are part of a $232 million HOV lane project that began this past Spring. Expected to be completed…

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Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour returning to Riverside

Update – July 19: We’ve added an artist depiction of the new Riverside location Get ready to ring the bells and sound the sirens for “The Zoo” and the “Pig’s Trough” as the much beloved Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour is returning to Riverside! The recently relaunched chain announced plans a few days ago that it…

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Forever 21 completes move — and makeover — at Galleria at Tyler

Following 5 years of vacancy — and several months of renovation work — the former Broadway / Macy’s department store at Riverside’s Galleria at Tyler mall is once again occupied. Last weekend, the doors to the distinctive building reopened as Forever 21 relocated its smaller inline mall store into the much larger pad located at…

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3333 Arlington Avenue – Gemco / Target

Currently undergoing an extensive remodel, 3333 Arlington Avenue is one of three Riverside locations for retail giant Target. City permits indicate the building was originally built in 1970 for Gemco membership department stores. The value for the original 99,200 square-foot building was listed as $950,000. The architect was listed as Maxwell & Starkman Associates and…

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Photos: Riverside’s citrus legacy

Photo Gallery: Riverside’s Citrus Legacy Two weeks back, we featured an item on the recent unveiling of a downtown statue honoring Riverside citrus pioneer Eliza L. Tibbets. In the early 1870s, Eliza secured two small navel orange trees from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for test planting in Riverside. Originating as a mutation in Bahia,…

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3801 Market Street – Hotel Holyrood/Plaza

One of downtown Riverside’s oldest buildings dating from the late 1800s will soon disappear as a plan for an arts school for Riverside Community College District moves forward. Located at the southwest corner of Market Street and University Avenue, the building in question was originally built as a sanitarium by Dr. Clark Whittier, a wealthy…

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William Lee Gates – 3770 Elizabeth Street

R.P. Small Building3770 Elizabeth Street, Riverside(William Lee Gates) Tucked away on a side street off Magnolia Avenue near the Riverside Plaza is the R.P. Small Building, a stylish, mid-century modern building designed by local Riverside architect William Lee Gates. City permits from 1956 show Russell E. Walling as the contractor with an estimated value of…

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Postcard: Downtown civic buildings

Late 1950sTop: Carnegie Library and Riverside County CourthouseBottom: Municipal Auditorium and U.S. Post Office We thought we’d start the new year off with an old postcard showing a few of downtown Riverside’s civic buildings. Dating from the late 1950s / early 1960s, the images show the 1903 Carnegie Library, the 1903 Riverside County Courthouse, the…

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Riverside’s Galleria at Tyler mall turns 40

In a fanfare of Spanish fashioned pageantry, Riverside’s new Tyler Mall will be trumpeted to a formal opening tomorrow morning, the 64-acre shopping center adding $40 million stature to the city’s retail sphere. It is the first mall-under-roof in the city. That’s how the local newspaper — The Press-Enterprise — described the city’s new retail…