A ceremonial groundbreaking was held June 27th for the long-awaited and oft-delayed expansion for the Museum of Riverside, which has been shuttered for nearly eight years. Between 150-200 members from the community joined city leaders to mark the event in front of the museum’s historic 1912 building. Speakers included Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson, Ward 1…
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…
On the heels of March’s initial information gathering meetings with the public and library/civic stakeholders, Riverside began conducting followup public meetings late last week on the proposed renovation of the downtown Central Library (a.k.a. Main Library). As such, the city has released four early conceptual drawings of the proposed exterior makeover, which the city is…
After several recent attempts, Riverside officials have now scrapped expensive plans to construct a new downtown library in favor of a more modest renovation of the existing building. We realize this new directive from the city council may not serve all interests and parties involved, and we do agree a modest renovation/refurbishment is warranted. However,…
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…
