Riverside has been a vital center of agriculture and government throughout the growth of Southern California. Postcards sent from this city to those far away usually depict it as a resort, situated on the western edge of the Colorado Desert, where the historic Mission Inn has been a vacation destination for generations. Illustrating many facets of this world-renowned, garden-like gathering spot, these attractive images also showcase Riverside’s Main Street, public buildings, parks, broad avenues, the sharply rising Mt. Rubidoux on the edge of town, and the influence of the citrus industry.

Riverside in Vintage Postcards (CA) (Postcard History Series)

Arts & Photography

Lech, Steve

Photography & Video

Arcadia Publishing

For all the faults attributed to the San Andreas, its one very soothing aspect has been an enormous spiderweb of cracks spreading throughout the geologic formations of what became Riverside County. These fissures yielded springs and grottos of warm waters to which thankful pioneers and snake-oil salesmen alike attributed curative powers. In the 20th century, vacationers seeking relaxation, together with those afflicted with a myriad of maladies, came to Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs, Glen Ivy, Murrieta Hot Springs, and a dozen other wide places in the road to bathe in the balmy waters beneath desert breezes.

Resorts of Riverside County (CA) (Postcard History Series)

History

Americas

The story of the internationally famous Mission Inn Hotel, and its predecessor, has been intertwined with the city of Riverside’s history since both began. As the slogan once said, Riverside is a “City with a Mission Inn its Heart.” For more than a century, the Mission Inn and its eclectic collections have intrigued visitors, artisans, architects, and dignitaries who have come to Riverside for a myriad of reasons. The Mission Inn, founded by colorful entrepreneur Frank Miller, was integral to the city’s turn-of-the-20th-century tourism as wealthy Easterners flocked to Riverside and its famous hotel, lured by a Mediterranean climate, investment opportunities, and vast navel orange groves. Unlike other grand hotels of the time, the Mission Inn, with its Mission style architecture, was a luxury hotel that was uniquely Californian.

Riverside's Mission Inn (Images of America)

Business & Money

Johnson, Kim Jarrell

Biography & History

The thousands of acres of navel orange groves that once blanketed Riverside, California, were one of the most recognizable icons of the state’s early citrus industry and also the origin for California’s nickname, “The Golden State.” Founded as a utopian colony in the wake of the Civil War, Riverside soon began to lure wealthy foreign and eastern investors who turned their sights towards Riverside where the perfect combination of sun, soil, and water turned the opportunity of citrus growing into a multimillion-dollar industry. Twenty-five years after Riverside’s founding, millions of dollars of investments had transformed the small agricultural outpost into the wealthiest city per capita in the nation. The city’s “Orange Barons” invested their money by building stately Victorian mansions and imposing brick commercial buildings. Others lured additional investors by creating parks with tropical plant gardens, formal avenues landscaped with rare and beautiful trees, and a carefully designed downtown area with beautiful churches, hotels, and civic buildings.

Riverside: 1870-1940 (CA) (Images of America)

Crocker's Folly

The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway has been a fixture in Riverside County's Coachella Valley for 60 years. Its history, both official and otherwise, has until now been a vastly oversimplified story of one man's desire to make a quick getaway to the mountains in 1935, followed by its opening in 1963. Crocker's Folly shines a light on the fascinating history of this unique tourist attraction, mostly from the standpoint of the groundswell of opposition to the project. Seeking to turn Long Valley and the upper San Jacinto Mountains into a winter sports wonderland, the backers of the Tram battled a varying group of conservationists who sought to stop what they perceived to be the commercialization of a State park and Federal wilderness areas. What ensued was a 15-year campaign that became Riverside County's first large-scale conflict based on environmental issues - one of hundreds to play out over the next decades.

Steve Lech

This book is a historical reference about how many of Riverside California's streets received their names and what they mean.

Riverside's Street Names: The Stories Behind the Names of Riverside California's Major (and Some Minor) Streets

A history of the settlement and formation of Riverside County, California (Volume 1 of 2)

Along the Old Roads, Volume I

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

A history of the formation and settlement of Riverside County, California (Volume 2 of 2)

Along the Old Roads, Volume II: A History of the Portion of Southern California That Became Riverside County 1772-1893

A compendium of the Back in the Day newspaper articles authored by Steve Lech and Kim Jarrell Johnson from July 1, 2012 to July 1, 2014.

Back in the Day: The Sunday Press-Enterprise Columns of Steve Lech and Kim Jarrell Johnson

Jarrell Johnson, Kim

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Lech, Steve. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Lech, Steve

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Lech, Steve. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Riverside in Vintage Postcards (CA) (Postcard History Series)

Resorts of Riverside County (CA) (Postcard History Series)

Riverside's Mission Inn (Images of America)

Riverside: 1870-1940 (CA) (Images of America)

Crocker's Folly

Crocker's Folly

Riverside's Street Names: The Stories Behind the Names of Riverside California's Major (and Some Minor) Streets

Along the Old Roads, Volume I

Along the Old Roads, Volume II: A History of the Portion of Southern California That Became Riverside County 1772-1893

Back in the Day: The Sunday Press-Enterprise Columns of Steve Lech and Kim Jarrell Johnson