Riverside

^{Located in the Inland Empire metropolitan area, 60 miles east of Los Angeles, Riverside is a city in Riverside County and is known for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It was first given the name Jurupa as it began its strides toward becoming a silk-growing colony. Before the city was established, there were no known permanent settlers to the area but artifacts and grain grinding holes provide evidence that there was Native American activity. Juan Bautista De Anza led an expedition searching for a good land route connecting Southern Mexico to Alta, California. It was during this expedition that they came across what is now known as Riverside. They described it as being beautiful with lovely scents rosemary and other herbs in the air. Riverside had potent grasslands for their cattle and horses to graze. De Anza called it “Valley of Paradise” and his discovery was the first official record of this land existing.}

^{Riverside is also known for two firsts in Southern California – first polo field and first golf course. This was influenced by its investors from England and Canada. It’s home of the navel oranges, where the citrus industry came to life in 1869. Around that time, Eliza Tibbets was sent two Brazilian navel orange trees by her friend who worked at the Department of Agriculture in Washington. The climate of Southern California was more than ideal for these delicious fruits and from there a whole new industry was born. There were more than 600,000 orange trees planted and thriving by 1882 and half of those were just in Riverside alone. By 1895, refrigerated railroad cars and ground-breaking irrigation systems made Riverside the richest city per capita. And, as the city grew, the popular Mission Inn was established as a small guest hotel that gave comfort to many presidents, movie stars and even royalty.}

^{Complete with 100 city landmarks and 24 nationally registered historic sites, this city has so much flavor and vibrance to it. If you ever get to engage in the downtown walking tour in Riverside, you’d get a clear understanding of what it means to experience Riverside, California. The city was founded by John North and was established on what used to be a Spanish rancho.} 

^{The median household income is $73,260 as of 2019.}

^{Population: Approximately 326,414 as of 2019}

^{Well Known Places in Riverside}

^{Mount Rubidoux Park}

^{March Field Air Museum}

^{Mission Inn Museum}

^{Whitewater Preserve}

^{Lake Hemet}

^{Fact Sheet}

^{Etta James was a Riverside resident.}

^{It’s the 12th biggest city in Southern California.}

^{Riverside is the cultural and urban hub of the Inland Empire.}