Riverside City Hall
Century-old County Court House
Historic Mission Inn, front view
Mission Inn, side view
Simple Simon's, one of several sidewalk cafes in downtown Riverside near the Mission Inn
Riverside County, with a population of over 1.3 million people, borders densely populated Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, and San Bernardino Counties. The county was formed in 1893 from almost 7,200 square miles of fertile river valleys, low deserts, mountains, foothills, and rolling plains, that extend from within 14 miles of the Pacific Ocean to the Colorado River.
The City of Riverside, once known for its many citrus groves, palm lined avenues, and a wide array of subtropical shade trees, remains a pleasant oasis in the inland region of Southern California. Its "Mediterranean image" derives from the many examples of fine architecture in the California Mission Revival and Spanish Colonial styles that dot its landscape. One of the most famous of these landmarks is the Mission Inn, built between 1902 and 1932 by Frank A. Miller and his partner Henry Huntington. This splendid old hotel — with its rich decor, fine dining, marvelous chapel, and other amenities — continues to draw visitors and guests from around the world. evoking a slower, more livable time in California when rows of orange trees and palms caressed its sprawling landscape.
The city was founded in 1870 by John W. North and the Southern California Colony Association. The land had long been inhabited by Native Americans, but was later divided into several large Spanish land grants that gave way to gradual settlement by other Europeans, Chinese, and Mexicans. The region became famous for its citrus and horticultural industries that over time gave way to military and industrial growth, and education.
Today, the city is a vibrant, culturally diverse center of commerce, finance, industry, and education in the Inland Empire. It has libraries, art and history museums, theaters, concert venues, a convention center, fine restaurants, quaint shops, modern shopping malls, and a wide variety of sports and other recreation activities that make living here comfortable and fun. Its people reflect the same cultural and ethnic diversity found throughout Southern California, giving the city a rich, cosmopolitan feel.
In 1907, Riverside became home to the University of California Citrus Experiment Station, sponsoring wide-ranging research that greatly benefited agriculture in the region. In 1954, the site was established as a campus of the University of California, and by 1959 it had grown to become a general campus, offering a broad range of graduate and professional studies. Along the way, UCR has earned a reputation as one of pre-eminent teaching and research institutions in the world.