Saturday, September 16, 2006 – A few photos and thoughts while strolling the Main Street Pedestrian Mall in downtown Riverside. The weather was sunny and mild as folks browsed the quaint stores or grabbed a bite to eat. Paper covers the windows of the future Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, which is scheduled to open…
This weekend marks the last time you’ll be able to see all (or nearly all) of the large “art” oranges in downtown Riverside as the very successful “The Giant Orange Artventure” is coming to an end. Last June, after many months of artistic preparation, 32 fiberglass oranges were “planted” in various locations throughout downtown. Each…
With condos on the horizon and a sizeable workforce already in place, a coffee battle of sorts may soon brew in Riverside as both Starbucks Coffee and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf prepare to open outlets within the downtown core. Their arrival marks the first significant challenge to local outfits Back to the Grind, Coffee…
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…
One of the things that most fascinates us are how places and/or buildings change — or don’t change — over time. Sometimes it’s a simple paint job on an old house or building while at other times an entire building — or entire block — is completely redeveloped. Such is the natural evolution of cities….
A handful of plans currently in the works will reshape downtown Riverside and, for the first time in a long time, include serious mixed-use development with an emphasis toward residential uses. The projects, which include a mix of condos, townhomes, lofts, commercial, and arts uses are expected to begin taking shape throughout 2006. Each will…
It’s that time of year again when downtown Riverside’s historic Mission Inn is aglow with millions of holiday lights and hundreds of animated figures. Each year, the crowds get a little bit bigger and the lights a little bit brighter as visitors stroll the downtown pedestrian mall, the tiny shops and boutiques, and streets surrounding…
A few weeks back, two articles in the local newspaper caught our eye, if only because they were a few days apart and both were about emerging trends within Inland Southern California’s housing market. And yet, they could not have been more diametrically opposed. The first article shows the emerging trend — even here, in…
So, what do you do if your suburban community of 150,000 residents suddenly realizes it has no downtown? No central business district? No Main Street? Easy, you find a large chunk of undeveloped land, begin planning a traditional enclosed mall, wait out a recession, hire one of the nation’s largest mall builders, wait some more…
A great photographic exhibit is currently on display at the UC Riverside/California Museum of Photography in downtown Riverside. The exhibit — Riverside in Pictures — takes a look at the changes in Riverside’s landscape over the past 100+ years via historic and archival photos. Among the various works used are some black & whites from…
