The 19th Annual Festival of Lights is set to begin Friday afternoon (Nov. 25) in downtown Riverside, with the official “switch-on” ceremony & fireworks taking place just after 5:00 p.m. in front of the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa. (Be sure to arrive early for the opening night ceremony!) Each year, thousands of visitors gather…
Mission Inn Restaurant by isayx3 Flickr – Raincross Square photo pool Got a great photo of downtown Riverside or the city in general? Add it to the Raincross Square photo pool. Or view what others have uploaded.
2011Downtown pedestrian mall 2011Eliza Lovell Tibbets 2011Dedication plaque 2011Pedestal(Patricia P. Ortlieb isEliza’s great-great granddaughter) Eliza and Luther Tibbets 2001State Historic Landmark 2008Parent Navel(w/ Eliza’s historical marker) 2008Eliza’s marker 2009Original location of trees(w/ Luther’s historical marker) 2009Luther’s marker 2011Riverside orange grove After 14 years of planning, a long-awaited statue honoring Riverside citrus pioneer Eliza Tibbets was…
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…
A recent trip to Palm Springs reminded us of that city’s sizable collection of mid-century modern architecture, including the former Coachella Valley Savings & Loan building pictured above. Designed by E. Stewart Williams, the building is an excellent example of modern bank design from the 1960s. We’ll explore some of these desert gems at a…
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…
The latest book documenting Riverside’s history has just hit the bookshelves. Written by fourth-generation resident of Riverside Joan H. Hall, “Riverside’s Invisible Past” is the latest in several local history books by Joan, many of which are must-haves. The 192-page book is chock full of interesting and informative histories surrounding 52 structures and sites from…
The 18th Annual Festival of Lights is set to begin Friday, Nov. 26 in downtown Riverside, with the official “switch-on” ceremony taking place just after 6:00 p.m. in front of the Mission Inn. This year’s Festival runs from November 26 through January 2, 2011 (excepting Christmas). Each year, thousands of visitors crowd the areas in…
October 2010Retro ‘blade’ signs being added 1930sOriginal ‘blade’ signs The first of two old-style neon signs went up this past week on the Fox Performing Arts Center in downtown Riverside. The signs are replicas of those that adorned the theater in the 1930s and 1940s. According to The Press-Enterprise, the signs are 22 feet tall…
Oct. 2010UCR Culver Center of the Arts Architectural renderingUCR 2008Project info 1906Rouse’s / Chapman Building***(close-up view of awning) 1953Rouse’s Dept. StoreRCC yearbook This past week marked the opening of UC Riverside’s Barbara & Art Culver Center of the Arts, adding another major arts facility to downtown. Located adjacent to the existing UCR/CMP (California Museum of…
