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This site explores the past, present, and future of downtown Riverside, California — one of Southern California’s truly historic downtowns, and indeed, a nice surprise within the suburban sprawl that is Greater Los Angeles.
The name Raincross Square comes from a downtown civic plaza of the 1970s and 1980s. It is also a derivative of “Mile Square,” the original 1870s street grid for the City of Riverside.
Within the Mile Square district of downtown are numerous historic homes and buildings, a handful of museums (including The Cheech), a four-block pedestrian mall, and the magnificent Riverside County Courthouse as well as the eclectic Mission Inn. Many stand as testament to the riches attained from Southern California’s once-mighty navel orange industry, which originated in Riverside in the mid-1870s.
Latest Posts
- Before digital and high-def, it was just ‘AUTO CENTER’
Recently, we came across newspaper images of the original sign for the Riverside Auto Center – images that had thus far eluded us. The sign was nondescript and simply comprised… - UNBUILT: Motel planned for University Avenue had Mid-Century flairProposed in 1961 for a triangular-shaped site on the north side of Eighth Street (now University Avenue) at its junction with Highway 395/60 (now I-215/Hwy 60), the Kon Tiki Restaurant…
- Downtown police headquarters closes, to be replacedPublic notice was given recently regarding the closure and planned demolition and replacement of the 1965-era, downtown headquarters for the Riverside Police Department. Located at 4102 Orange Street, the 33,000…
