Downtown Challenge September 8
Challenge: Run, walk, bike or otherwise move 5K for every historic site in the challenge, for a total of 25K per challenge. Take a selfie or another picture of you and your friends at the historic sites and share it on our website with the hashtag #MissionInnRun. You can then login to your RunSignUp page and upload your results, earning real rewards for visiting more sites.
Mission Inn Hotel & Spa
3649 Mission Inn Avenue
Built in several phases between 1902 and 1932 by owner Frank A. Miller, the Inn provided a showcase for artwork and other items acquired on his world travels. Architects for the Inn included Arthur Benton, Myron Hunt, G. Stanley Wilson and Peter Weber. The architecture, as well as the hotel’s name, reflect a fascination with Southern California’s Spanish heritage. The building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is a designated National Historic Landmark.
Old City Hall
3612 Mission Inn Avenue
Used from 1924 until 1975 as Riverside’s first municipally owned City Hall, the Spanish Renaissance Revival building was restored by private owners in 1985 for office use.
Riverside County Courthouse
4050 Main Street
Constructed in 1904, the County’s first courthouse was designed by Franklin Pierce Burnham to duplicate the façade of the 1900 Paris Exposition’s Grand Palace of Fine Arts.
Museum of Riverside
3580 Mission Inn Avenue
Built in 1912 as a federal post office, the Italian Renaissance style building was purchased by the city in 1945 to house its police department and museum. The museum has occupied the entire building since 1966. The Temperance Fountain, which currently sits in front of the museum, was gifted to the City of Riverside by the Women’s Christian Temperance Union in 1907. The fountain was originally placed in front of the old YMCA building on University Avenue and Lemon Street and it is likely that the WTCU chose this location in hopes that the fountain would deter young men from visiting the local saloons.
Old Main Street
3800-3834 Main Street
This stretch of Main Street represents the heart of Riverside’s historic commercial district. The buildings at 3800, 3824 and 3834 Main St. were constructed between 1910 and 1929 and once housed department stores, banks and offices.
Source: Downtown Riverside Historic Walking Guide
