Preserving Riverside

Riverside is a historic city. With over 3,000 Structures of Meritt, 153 City Landmarks, 13 Historic Districts, 4 California Landmarks, and 2 National Historic Landmarks, the significance of these sites and structures extends beyond brick and mortar. A physical manifestation of Riverside’s diverse story and local pride, these locations are treasures to be protected for future generations.

The 1976 American Bicentennial was a nationwide, 200th-anniversary celebration that acted as a cultural healing mechanism, boosting morale and fostering unity, patriotism, and nostalgia following national and international turmoil. It transformed the national mood from cynicism to a sense of pride and renewed hope. Part of President Ford’s message at the time was for cities to look insular at their own local history to build pride and ignite nostalgia. In Riverside this led to a renewed interest in local history and historic preservation—increasing the desire to be good stewards of historic sites.

Today, in America’s Semiquincentennial—or 250th anniversary, Riverside seeks to reignite the love of local history and passion for preserving it for the future with the work of “Preserving Riverside’s Treasures.” This local initiative is inspired by “Save America's Treasures,” a federal government public–private partnership between the U.S. National Park Service and the National Trust for Historic Preservation to preserve and protect historic buildings and monuments.

With Preserving Riverside’s Treasures local dollars are raised to address unfunded capital improvements to historic sites or to install interpretation of the site to explain its respective significance to Riverside. Multiple sites have already received notable preservation in the months leading up to the launch of this initiative, others are in planning stages, and many remain on the list of future locations needing attention.