Following the 1956-57 opening of the Riverside Plaza mall, downtown shopping began a slow but steady decline. In response, city leaders quickly began working at remaking the city’s civic center. Discussions took place regarding additional parking, modernized storefronts, and streetscape improvements. In June 1958, Los Angeles architectural firm Welton Beckett & Associates presented a downtown…
Six months after being announced, the Riverside Plaza store of Nordstrom Rack is nearing its April 3rd opening date. The sibling of the high-end retailer will take up residence within a portion of the former Harris/Gottschalks/Forever 21 building, taking up a reported 45,000 sq. ft. on the ground level. The 3-story building underwent an extensive…
After several years of planning and 1.5 years of reconstruction, the doors swung open March 1 on the extensively renovated Riverside Convention Center in downtown. Located at the northern end of the Main Street pedestrian mall at Fifth Street, the convention center began life in 1976 as Ben H. Lewis Hall at Raincross Square. It…
Built by Frank Augustus Miller in seven major phases between 1902 and 1931, the historic Mission Inn hotel covers an entire city block in downtown Riverside. The Inn’s four “wings” — Mission, Cloister, Spanish and Rotunda — are a collection of varying and eclectic architectural styles. The primary architects of the Inn were Arthur Benton,…
Downtown Riverside’s first modern mid-rise — the eight-story Crocker-Citizens Bank building — opened in 1965. Since then, several more office buildings have popped up, adding to the city’s modest, but growing skyline. Some of these include Mount Rubidoux Manor (@1971), Security Pacific Bank (California Tower) (1973), County Admin Building (1975/2002), City Hall (1975), Riverside Centre…
Drivers using the 91 Freeway in Riverside of late have noticed construction barriers, closed bridges and the removal of large swaths of landscaping along six miles of the freeway from Adams Street into downtown Riverside. The changes are part of a $232 million HOV lane project that began this past Spring. Expected to be completed…
After about three years of planning, renovation and moving, Riverside’s Marcy Branch Library has reopened. The new location, near the intersection of Magnolia and Arlington avenues, is about 1 mile from its former spot on Central Avenue near the Riverside Plaza. The relocated Marcy Branch occupies the bottom floor of an 18,000 sq. ft., two-story…
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…
This past weekend, we stumbled upon a bit of retail archeology when we noticed the false-front of a now-shuttered Mervyn’s had been removed to reveal the zig-zag roofline of the building’s original occupant — The Treasury. (The removal is part of refurbishing the former Mervyn’s space for an incoming Kohl’s, expected to open in September…
Long-time Riverside photographer, Michael J. Elderman, has spent nearly 3 years photographing the restoration of downtown Riverside’s Fox Theater as it transforms into the 1,600 seat Fox Performing Arts Center. Riverside’s Fox Theater:An Intimate PortraitMichael J. Elderman Hired by the restoration’s project manager to visually capture the massive renovation of the Fox, Elderman soon realized…
