Discover 15 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Riverside (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Castle Park, March Field Air Museum, and Mount Rubidoux. Also, be sure to include Museum of Riverside in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Riverside (California).
Table of Contents
Castle Park
Amusement park in Riverside, California. Castle Park, formerly Castle Amusement Park, is a 25-acre amusement park and family amusement center located in Riverside, California. The park utilizes a medieval "castle" theme and includes attractions such as a miniature golf course, arcade, and 22 amusement rides including two roller coasters such as Merlin's Revenge, a junior rollercoaster, and Screamin' Demon, a spinning Wild Mouse rollercoaster. The main "castle" themed building, houses the arcade as well as its only dark ride, "Ghost Blasters", an interactive attraction, designed by Sally Corporation, which can also be found at other amusement parks throughout North America. The park was designed, built and operated by Bud Hurlbut, who designed several rides at Knott's Berry Farm. Castle Park is currently owned and operated by Palace Entertainment.[1]
Address: 3500 Polk St, 92505-1824 Riverside (West Riverside)
March Field Air Museum
Museum in March Air Reserve Base, California. The March Field Air Museum is an aviation museum near Moreno Valley and Riverside, California, adjacent to March Air Reserve Base.[2]
Address: 22550 Van Buren Boulevard, 92518-2400 Riverside
Mount Rubidoux
Mountain in California. Mount Rubidoux is a mountain just west of downtown in the city of Riverside, California, United States, that has been designated a city park and landmark. The mountain was once a popular Southern California tourist destination and is still the site of the oldest outdoor non-denominational Easter Sunrise service in the United States. Many historic markers and memorials have been placed on the mountain, the most prominent being the cross at the summit dedicated to Father Junípero Serra. A majority of Mt. Rubidoux is owned by the City of Riverside, while 0.43 acres at the peak is owned by Rivers & Lands Conservancy after the cross attracted a potential lawsuit and the city decided to sell it at auction it to a private organization.
The Santa Ana River flows at the base of the mountain, marking the boundary between the city of Riverside and the Rubidoux neighborhood of the City of Jurupa Valley.
The mountain was named for Louis Rubidoux, who established Rancho Rubidoux in 1847, after purchasing a portion of the Rancho Jurupa from Benjamin Davis Wilson, the second elected mayor of Los Angeles.[3]
Address: 4706 Mt Rubidoux Dr, 92501 Riverside (North Riverside)
Museum of Riverside
Museum in Riverside, California. The Museum of Riverside is a museum of regional history and culture, Indigenous culture, and natural history located in the historic Mission Inn District of Riverside, California, United States. The museum, formerly known as the Riverside Metropolitan Museum, is a department of the City of Riverside, but is supported by the Riverside Museum Associates and the Harada House Foundation, two independent 501 nonprofit organizations. Its mission is: "As a center for learning, the Museum of Riverside interacts with the community to collect, preserve, explore, and interpret the cultural and natural history of Riverside and its region."[4]
Address: 3580 Mission Inn Avenue, 92501 Riverside (North Riverside)
Riverside Art Museum
Museum in Riverside, California. Riverside Art Museum is an art museum in the historic Mission Inn District of Riverside, California. The museum is a non-profit organization which focuses on addressing social issues and offers art classes as well as other events in order to inspire and build community.
The building was originally design by Julia Morgan to serve the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) in 1929. YWCAs provided important spaces for women to a part of the urban environment. The Riverside YWCA was purchased by the Riverside Art Association in 1967. The Riverside Art Association wanted to expand their collection and include more classes to be more accessible for the public. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.[5]
Address: 3425 Mission Inn Avenue, 92501 Riverside (North Riverside)
First Congregational Church of Riverside
Church in Riverside, California. The First Congregational Church of Riverside is a historic church at 3504 Mission Inn Avenue in Riverside, California. It was designed by Myron Hunt, and built in 1913. It was added to the National Register in 1997.
It is a two-story Spanish Colonial Revival building with a Latin cross plan with a 125 feet (38 m) Churrigueresque style corner tower.
visit the home page of the First Congregational Church of Riverside: http:fccriverside.org/wp/[6]
Address: 3504 Mission Inn Avenue, 92501-3307 Riverside (North Riverside)
Harada House
Museum in Riverside, California. The Harada House is a historic house in Riverside, California. The house was the focus of a critical application of the California Alien Land Law of 1913, which prevented foreigners who were ineligible for citizenship from owning property. The state of California attempted to seize the property from the family in California v. Harada, but the Haradas ultimately won the case and retained ownership of the house. The house, created in 1884 and built upon by the Harada family, was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1990 and is currently overseen by the Museum of Riverside.[7]
Address: 3356 Lemon St, Riverside (North Riverside)
Fox Performing Arts Center
Theater in Riverside, California. The Riverside Fox Theater, also known as the Fox Performing Arts Center, was built in 1929, and is a Spanish Colonial Revival style building in the heart of downtown Riverside, California. The theater is the centerpiece of Riverside's Arts & Culture initiative and underwent a major renovation and restoration to become a regional performing arts facility. Renovation was completed in the Fall 2009, with a grand-reopening in January 2010.
The theater is best known for being the first theater to screen the most successful film in box-office history when adjusted for inflation, the 1939 film Gone With the Wind.[8]
Address: Riverside, 3801 Mission Inn Avenue
Washington navel orange tree
The Parent Washington Navel Orange Tree is a tree grown by Eliza Tibbets in Riverside, California, in 1873. The Riverside County tree was designated a California Historic Landmark on June 1, 1932, at the corner of Magnolia Street and Arlington Street, Riverside. The Bahia, Brazil, Washington navel orange was brought to the United States by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1870. The Department of Agriculture imported twelve trees; from these trees, some buds were grafted on to California sweet orange trees. The Washington Navel Orange is also called California Navel Orange.
The navel orange is a mutation of regular sweet orange. This mutated orange was discovered in a monastery orchard in Brazil in 1820. In 1870 a cutting from the navel orange was sent to Washington, D.C., thus was called the Washington navel orange. The name "navel orange" is from the mutation at the bottom blossom end of the orange. The bottom of the orange has a depression looks somewhat like a human belly button. The mutation gives the navel orange no seeds. The Washington navel oranges were shipped all over the United States. As oranges cannot withstand freezing weather, the climate of Southern California is good for the Californian citrus industry and the navel orange.[9]
Saint Andrew Orthodox Christian Church
Eastern orthodox church in Riverside, California. Saint Andrew Orthodox Christian Church is a parish church of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, an archdiocese of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East. The church is dedicated to Saint Andrew, the First-Called Apostle, is near the intersection of Canyon Crest Drive and Martin Luther King Boulevard in Riverside, California, across from the University of California, Riverside.
The church building, modeled after a 13th-century World Heritage Site in Thessaloniki, Greece named for St. Catherine of Alexandria, was completed in 2011 as the first Byzantine-style Orthodox Christian church in Riverside.[10]
Address: 4700 Canyon Crest Dr, 92507-6014 Riverside (East Riverside)
Riverside Municipal Auditorium
Auditorium in Riverside, California. Riverside Municipal Auditorium and Soldiers' Memorial Building, also known as the Riverside Auditorium and Events Center is an entertainment venue in Riverside, California, United States. It is owned by the City of Riverside, but is privately managed and available to rent for meetings, conventions and social functions. Opened on November 12, 1928, it also serves as a memorial to the 87 servicemembers from Riverside County who died during World War I. This reinforced concrete Mission Revival style building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
The building was designed by architect Arthur Benton and continued by G. Stanley Wilson after Benton's death. Both architects also worked on the historic Mission Inn. Surrounded by gardens, fountains and a waterfall, it was built on land donated by Mission Inn proprietor Frank Miller.
Events at the 1,400 seat auditorium range from charity art shows to orchestral performances by the Riverside Philharmonic. George Lopez, Margaret Cho, The Whispers, Jimmy Cliff, California Riverside Ballet, Frankie Beverly and Maze, David Copperfield, The Dickens Festival, Los Lobos, Children's Theatre, and Industrial shows have all headlined the facility.
Renovations began in October 2011 to upgrade the historic facility. The $9.5 million construction included a complete seismic retrofit, as well as new electrical, plumbing, heating and air conditioning systems. An improved sound system, a new wooden floor in the main theater, and restored historic auditorium seats were also completed in the one-year construction.[11]
Address: Riverside, 3485 Mission Inn Ave
Riverside International Automotive Museum
Museum in Riverside, California. The Riverside International Automotive Museum, or RIAM, was a non-profit corporation, located in Riverside, California, dedicated to "Preserving the memory of California's rich motorsports heritage". Primary museum exhibits included memorabilia and artifacts from the Riverside International Raceway, the Ontario Motor Speedway, and local racing champion Dan Gurney. In June 2016, the museum closed following the death of Doug Magnon in 2015, one of the founders. The vehicle collection was sold in two different auctions in 2016, based on a decision by the Board of Directors.
The museum housed several history-making race cars, and the largest and most comprehensive collection of Maserati road cars in the United States, including an example of every Maserati model that has been made available in the U.S. since 1951.[12]
Address: 815 Marlborough Ave Ste 200, Riverside (North Riverside)
Universalist Unitarian Church of Riverside
Unitarian universalist church in Riverside, California. The Universalist Unitarian Church of Riverside, previously known as the All Souls Universalist Church, is a Universalist Unitarian church located in Riverside, California, United States.
It was built during 1891-92. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as "All Souls Universalist Church" in 1978. Also it is listed as Riverside city landmark #3.
It is a rare and elegant example, perhaps the only example for its era, of architecture in California using the Permian age Supai sandstone of the Arizona plateau area.[13]
Address: 3657 Lemon Street, 92501 Riverside (North Riverside)
Riverside National Cemetery
Cemetery. Riverside National Cemetery is a cemetery located in Riverside, California, dedicated to the interment of United States military personnel. The cemetery covers 1,250 acres, making it the largest cemetery managed by the National Cemetery Administration. It has been the most active cemetery in the system since 2000, based on the number of interments.[14]
Address: 22495 Van Buren Blvd, Riverside
First Church of Christ
Church in Riverside, California. First Church of Christ, Scientist, built in 1901, is an historic Mission Revival-style Christian Science church located at 3606 Lemon Street in Riverside, California. It has been called: "the church that introduced Christian Science to Southern California." It was designed by noted Los Angeles architect Arthur Burnett Benton. On September 22, 1992, First Church of Christ, Scientist, was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It is still listed in the Christian Science Journal as an active Christian Science church.
Christian Science was discovered by Mary Baker Eddy in 1866. October 24, 1900, was the occasion of the laying of the cornerstone for First Church of Christ, Scientist, Riverside. Notice of completion of the construction of the building was filed February 10, 1901. The dedication and first regular Sunday service were held on February 24 of that year.
Christian Science had actually been publicly introduced in Riverside some nine years previous, and the Christian Science Journal for October 1891 has listed: “Regular Sunday Services of Scientists.” They met in the home of Emma Stanton Davis, a student of Mrs. Eddy, who had moved to Riverside in 1887 and began healing work. Records in the Archives of the Mother Church in Boston, Massachusetts, show that Riverside was the first location in California where a class-taught student lived.
The architectural style of this church is primarily Mission Revival due to the influence of the renowned architect, Arthur Benton. Just one block from the church is Benton's Mission Inn, which is internationally known. He also designed the Riverside Municipal Auditorium which borders on the south end of the church property. The interior of the church was designed in the craftsman tradition with natural or lightly stained wood, with vertical and horizontal beams exposed. In the 1950s, all wood and ceiling rafters were covered and painted white with a blue decoration. This reflects a more classical tradition which may have been preferred by the congregation.[15]