downtown riverside

Riverside’s Orange Blossom Festival

This weekend, Riverside — and Inland Southern California in general — celebrates its heralded citrus heritage with the annual “Orange Blossom Festival.” You can thank Eliza Tibbets for the 11th Orange Blossom Festival that will transform 30 square blocks of downtown Riverside this weekend into a happenin’ place. Organizers expect more than 200,000 visitors. Riverside Press-Enterprise –…

2005 - Connector ramp to westbound 91 under construction above Spruce Street bridge (RXSQ)

Work on Riverside interchange resumes

An apparent settlement between Caltrans and a major contractor has put workers back on site at the $318 million reconstruction of the 60/91/215 freeway interchange in downtown Riverside. The project is designed to reduce traffic at the intersection of highways 60 and 91 and Interstate 215. The job includes two new freeway-to-freeway connectors, upgraded bridges…

November 2004 - Connector to westbound 91 under construction (RXSQ)

Contract dispute halts work on ‘Malfunction Junction’

After years of waiting for reconstruction of the 60/91/215 freeway interchange in downtown Riverside — AKA “Malfunction Junction” — drivers will have to wait even longer as a recent contract dispute between Caltrans and the primary contractor (Washington-Obayashi) has halted work on the $318 million project. After a year of commitment, the contractor on the…

2004 - Mural of Harada family on the side of 3643 University Avenue (RXSQ)

History vs. growth

The old debate — new vs. old, dynamic vs. stagnant, growth vs. preservation, etc., etc. Such is always a tricky and dicey situation for any town or city. And, of course, everything is indeed subjective and relative. In other words, what exactly makes a structure “old,” “historic,” and/or “culturally significant”? In Riverside’s case, the city…

Museum digs

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…

‘Festival of Lights’

A bit late on posting this, but over 20,000 turned out last Friday to the Mission Inn in downtown Riverside for the 11th annual ‘Festival of Lights’ lighting ceremony. The Inland area offered a bright welcome to the holiday season Friday evening as the Mission Inn in downtown Riverside shot off fireworks from its roof, then was lit…