There’s been some chatter recently of moving Riverside’s Central Library (a.k.a. Main Library) from its current downtown site on Mission Inn Avenue to a location east of the 91 Freeway. We feel this would be a big mistake. The notion began with a seemingly innocuous letter to the editor that appeared in the June 19th…
This past Thursday, the city of Riverside held a “Restoration Celebration” open house for the Fox Theater in downtown. Over a thousand people showed up to take a sneak peek inside the long-shuttered theater prior to its forthcoming $30 million renovation into a 1,600 seat performing arts center, which is expected to be completed in…
Following 2 1/2 hours of public debate last Tuesday, the Riverside City Council approved initial plans for an aggressive, $780 million capital improvement plan. The citywide plan, designed to complete 20 – 30 years worth of municipal facilities and infrastructure projects in as little as 5 years, includes $384 million in mostly “underground” projects —…
In a proposal city officials say will produce long-planned projects and make up for previously deferred upgrades, the Riverside City Council is set to vote this week on the initial plans for a $780 million citywide proposal for municipal facilities and infrastructure. Called the “Riverside Renaissance Initiative,” the spending plan outlines funding for new parks,…
Last month, one of Southern California’s notable post-war architects, Herman Otto Ruhnau, passed away at the age of 93 in Riverside, a city in which he left a distinctive architectural legacy. A German by descent, Ruhnau was born September 1, 1912, in Santa Barbara, California. Ruhnau would eventually move with his family to Pasadena before…
Considered one of the finest examples of Beaux Arts Classical architecture in the nation, the Riverside County Courthouse is a gem among civic buildings. Designed by Franklin Pierce Burnham of the architectural firm of Burnham and Bliesner of Los Angeles, the 1903 courthouse is patterned after the Grand Palais (Grand Palace) from the 1900 Universal…
The Riverside City Council is set to take up a proposal on relocating and rebuilding the city’s long-cramped Municipal Museum, currently located in the historic, former post office (1912) building on Mission Inn Avenue at Orange Street in downtown. A museum panel recently selected three sites as the front runners (in order of ranking): Of…
