Riverside California

Riverside is the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States and is also a focus city of the Greater Los Angeles Area. The city is named for the nearby Santa Ana River. As of 2006, Riverside had an estimated population of 305,255. In 2005, Riverside was the largest city in the Inland Empire region, the 62nd-largest city in the United States, and part of the 13th-largest metropolitan area in the nation.

 

Dynamic Neighborhoods -- Riverside evolved through the 20th century from a quiet agricultural colony into a dynamic, active city, a hub of higher education, technology, commerce, law, finance, and culture. Unlike some younger communities, where generic strip malls and cookie-cutter crowded housing have resulted in sameness, Riverside has preserved its rich architectural history.

Riverside has long been proud of the vast number of trees lining its streets and avenues. The Chamber's Keep Riverside Clean and Beautiful program is continually adding to the city's more than 116,000 street trees.

Riverside's Magnolia and Victoria Avenues were among the earliest tree-lined boulevards in the state. The 91 Freeway parallels and is flanked by these two major arteries, as they run roughly from the northeast to the southwest through the city, echoing the course of the Santa Ana River on the City's northern border.

Residential and commercial neighborhoods are strung like pearls along these arteries. Pockets of industrial development are largely at the northeast end and around the other edges of the city.

The City of Riverside has 28 neighborhoods within city limits. These neighborhoods include: Airport , Alessandro Heights , Arlanza , Arlington , Arlington Heights , Arlington South , Canyon Crest , Casa Blanca , Downtown , Eastside , Grand , Hawarden Hills , Hunter Industrial Park , La Sierra , La Sierra Acres , La Sierra Hills , La Sierra South , Magnolia Center , Mission Grove , Northside , Orangecrest , Presidential Park , Ramona , Sycamore Canyon Park , Sycamore Canyon/Canyon Springs , University , Victoria , and Wood Streets .

 

LANDMARKS

1. Mission Inn (3649 Mission Inn Avenue)
   Owner Frank A. Miller's Mission Inn epitomized his role as Riverside's leading exponent of the Mission Revival style. Built between 1902 and 1932, the Inn's architects included Arthur S. Benton, Myron Hunt and G. Stanley Wilson. The hotel originated on the site in 1876 as the home of Miller's parents. [http://www.californiaweekend.com ]
   
2. Riverside County Courthouse (4050 Main Street)
   Designed by Franklin P. Burnham in the style of beaux-arts Classicism, the courthouse was completed in 1903. Contractor F. O. Engstrom used brick and concrete for this building, which features Ionic columns and classic sculpture.
   
3. Unitarian- Universalist Church (3657 Lemon Street)
   Architect A, C, Willard designed this 1891 Norman Gothic Revival style church building; which was constructed of Arizona sandstone. Reverend George H. Deere founded Riverside's first Universalist congregation in 1881.
   
4. Magnolia United Presbyterian Church (7200 Magnolia Avenue)
   Architect A. W. Boggs designed and built the Gothic Revival church in 1881. It is the oldest church building in the city of Riverside.
   
5. Heritage House (Bettner- McDavid House) (8193 Magnolia Avenue)
   This Queen Anne style house was designed by John A. Walls for Mrs. James A. Bettner, widow of an early citrus pioneer. Completed in 1891, it was purchased by the Riverside Museum Associates in 1969 and now operates as a historic house museum.
   
6. First Congregational Church (3755 Lemon Street)
   Designed by well-known architect Myron Hunt, and built by the Cresmer Manufacturing Company. This concrete building is in the Spanish Colonial Revival style with Churrigueresque elements. The first services were held on December 24, 1913.
   
7. First Church of Christ, Scientist (3606 Lemon Street)
   Designed by architect Arthur S. Benton and completed in 1901, this church is Riverside's oldest surviving example of Mission Revival style architecture. It is also the church that introduced Christian Science to Southern California.
   
8. Victoria Avenue (from Myrtle Avenue, southwest seven miles to Boundary Lane)
   This landscaped divided avenue was developed to connect the 1890 Arlington Heights subdivision to downtown. Grading was completed in 1892. Landscape architect Franz P. Hosp supervised the original planting; the avenue now includes over 90 species of trees as well as numerous shrubs.
   
9. Union Pacific Depot (3751 Vine Street)
   This Mission Revival style depot was built in 1904 by the San Pedro, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake Railroad, which became part of the Union Pacific in 1921. Passenger service was discontinued in 1971.
   
10. Bandshell at Fairmount Park (Market Street at Fairmount Blvd)
    The original bandshell Was designed by Arthur S. Benton and constructed in 1920 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the founding of Riverside's Military Band. It was destroyed in a fire in 1992 and rebuilt in 1995.

LINKS

• City of Riverside
• Riverside City Data page
• Riverside History
• University of California, Riverside
• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates : 33.948065 -117.396127
  • Street map from Google Maps , or Yahoo! Maps , or Windows Live Local
  • Satellite image from Google Maps , Windows Live Local , WikiMapia