Last month, California’s State Historical Resources Commission added Riverside’s downtown Central Fire Station to the state’s Register of Historic Resources. Currently entering its sixth decade of operation, the building has come under threat recently as the city prepares to build a new fire station on the block directly behind the current location. And though the…
Neighborhood community center opens 2008Orange Terrace Community Center Riverside unveiled the latest project from the city’s “Riverside Renaissance” initiative as the Orange Terrace Community Center opened to the public early Saturday. Located on the grounds of the Orange Terrace Community Park, the $11 million facility includes a gymnasium, banquet hall and multipurpose room. Also included…
After several months of public meetings, the 22-member Library/Museum task force held its final session this past week, producing what it calls “guiding principles” for the planned expansions of downtown’s Central Library and Riverside Metropolitan Museum. The key recommendation calls for separate expansions of both facilities, with enough space for each to meet their needs….
A City Council-appointed task force assigned with revising Riverside’s library-museum expansion plans issued its draft recommendation this week calling for separate expansions for both institutions. The recommendation, which would reverse the city’s earlier combined expansion proposal, comes after several recent public meetings on the issue. Most critics of the original $25 million proposal — part…
In the midst of planning an expansion for the downtown branch, news surfaced recently regarding the future of another branch within Riverside’s library system, this time involving the possible relocation of the tiny, but unique, Marcy Branch. Located on Central Avenue just west of the Riverside Plaza, the Marcy Branch opened in 1958 replacing the…
We’re not certain of the exact year, but this postcard appears to be sometime during the 1950s. Based upon “Int’l Airport” being used for notating Ontario Airport, it’s likely post-1946 — the year Ontario Municipal Airport was re-named Ontario International Airport. Likewise, the lack of Lake Perris means it’s pre-1974. Note also the current-day routes…
This past week saw the first meeting of the city’s newly-formed “blue ribbon” task force for the combined downtown library-museum expansion project, which stalled in recent months following public comments questioning the viability of joint-use expansion. Members of the committee, comprised of seasoned Riverside civic leaders, have been given the task of formulating a plan,…
One of the best examples of Mid-Century Modernism in Riverside is receiving a makeover. Though some — or even many — may not see this as a big deal, particularly on account it involves a parking garage, we feel otherwise. The garage in question is one of two, nearly identical parking structures that opened* in…
There’s been some chatter recently of moving Riverside’s “Central 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 edition of The…
After 35 years of being seemingly frozen in time, the mid-century facade of the old Imperial Hardware Company store in downtown Riverside is no more. The city, which recently finalized the purchase of the long-shuttered building, began dismantling Imperial’s modern false front early Monday. By midday, nearly three-fourths of the aluminum covering had been removed,…
