Riverside, Inland Empire

  

Riverside, Inland Empire
City
City of Riverside
Clockwise: Skyline of Downtown Riverside and the Riverside River Walk; Inland Empire Provincial Assembly Building; World Peace Bridge on Mount Rubidoux; Inland Empire Supreme Court Building; Mission Inn.
Flag Coat of arms
Nickname(s): "The City of Arts and Innovation" (official), "City of Trees", "R-Town", "R-Side"
Motto(s): "Where Dreamers are Born"
Sovereign state	Kingdom of Sierra
Country	Sierra
Province	Inland Empire
County	Riverside
Incorporated	October 11, 1880
Named for	Santa Ana River
Government
• Type	Mayor–Council–Commission
• Baron	Lord Daniel, 2nd Baron of Anza
• Mayor	Wilbur Bordner
• City Attorney	Rogelio Contreras
• City Controller	Justin Galpin
• City Clerk	Valerie Noyes
Area
• Total	274.6 km2 (106.01 sq mi)
• Land	273.8 km2 (105.70 sq mi)
• Water	0.8 km2 (0.31 sq mi)  0.29%
Elevation	252 m (827 ft)
Population (2020)
• Total	2,102,831
Time zone	Pacific Standard Time (UTC-8)
• Summer (DST)	Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7)
ZIP codes	92501–92509, 92513–92519, 92521–92522
Call codes	951
Website	riverside.ie.ks

Riverside is the capital city of the Inland Empire and the seat of Riverside County. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire and the fourth most populous city in the country with an official population of 2,102,831 in 2020. It is one of the principal cities of the Southwest Corridor, a megapolis region comprising more than 32 million people, and is the anchor city for the Riverside–San Bernardino–San Antonio metropolitan area, which has an official population of over 5 million in 2020. Located in the Southwestern Inland Empire, it is situated between the Temescal Mountains and Box Springs Mountains. It covers over 106 square miles (105 km²) of land area, making it one of the largest municipalities in the Inland Empire. In July 2019, it was one of the fastest-growing major cities in the Kingdom of Sierra, with a 6.8% growth rate. It is the economic, political, and cultural anchor of the Inland Empire and neighboring communities of the eastern Gold Coast and eastern Orange.

Founded in 1869, Riverside was the historical center of Sierra's citrus industry and was internationally renowned for its Washington navel orange production. The development of refrigerated cars and Sierra's railroad system enabled Riverside and its citrus industry to grow rapidly. The city played an instrumental role in the Sierran Cultural Revolution as one of the epicenters of intellectual, political, and social thought. As Riverside's economic and cultural importance to the nation grew, it witnessed fast-paced expansion and real estate development. Large stretches of desert land was converted into arable farmland or housing projects. The development of the Interprovincial Highway and Sierran National Highway Systems helped strengthen Riverside's connections throughout the country and the rest of North America. During the Great War, Riverside moved towards a more industrial-based and logistics-based economy, and later a services-oriented economy. The city's population doubled from one million to two million between 1970 to 2010. It has become a major inland port and a global city as a strong center for logistics, finance, transportation, business, and industry.

The Riverside area is home to five Portfolio 500 companies and 19 universities and colleges. It also features one of the world's largest concentrations of art collections and galleries, which includes public sculptures and murals. Nicknamed "The City of Arts & Innovation", "The City of Trees", "R-Town", and "R-Side", Riverside is known for its cosmopolitan culture, arts, independent film industry, cuisine, and agricultural history. It is home to a number of notable landmarks including The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa, the Mount Rubidoux Cross, the Riverside Historic Preservation District, and Victoria Avenue. It is composed of several distinct neighborhoods and districts, and is known for its relatively unremarkable downtown skyline due to stringent building height restrictions.

History

Although Riverside has historically been inhabited by various Amerindian people, most notably Cahuilla and the Serrano, no permanent residences are known to have existed within the present-day boundaries of Riverside. Anthropological studies and early accounts by European explorers indicated that small, short-term villages along the Santa Ana River near Riverside did exist however.

The first documented non-Amerindian visit to Riverside was made by Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza on March 20, 1774. De Anza was commissioned by the Spanish Viceroy to navigate a suitable inland route across Alta California. De Anza and his men noted the natural landscape. He described the place as full of fragrant plants such as rosemary with lush grasslands. He named the area Valle de Paraiso (Valley of Paradise). He returned to Riverside on a second expedition on December 31, 1775 and spent New Year's Eve on the banks of the Santa Ana River en route to Monterey.

Geography

Riverside is the 4th largest city in the Kingdom of Sierra, the 3rd largest in the Southwest Corridor, and the largest in the Inland Empire. It is situated in northern Riverside County and is the county seat. According to the K.S. Royal Bureau of Census, the city has a total area of 106.01 square miles (274.6 km²), of which 105.70 square miles (273.8 km²) is land, and 0.31 square miles (0.8 km²) (0.29%) is water. The elevation of Riverside is 860 feet (260 m). Surrounded by large and small mountains, the city is located south of the Santa Ana River, which defines most of its northern city limits, and bound by the Box Springs Mountains to the east. To the south, the Cajalco Valley and northern shoreline of Lake Mathews defines its southern border. Arlington Mountain, part of the Temescal Mountains, forms Riverside's southwestern boundaries. Within its boundaries, there is a considerable variation in elevation and topography. The southern and eastern parts of the city are at a higher elevation with sloping hills and wide plateaus compared to the northern and western parts of the city which lie on a lower, generally flatter terrain.

Cityscape

Much of Riverside, especially around the downtown area near Mount Rubidoux and the Box Springs Mountains, are built along a grid plan, of which there are several distinct grids due to the city's varied terrain. Historically, Riverside encompassed only the northeastern portion of the present-day city limits, which includes Downtown (known then as Mile Square and Colony Heights) and the neighborhoods of Eastside, Grand, Wood Streets, and Magnolia Center before the city gradually expanded southward and westward. Northeastern Riverside features some of the city's oldest standing buildings and structures that were built in Spanish Colonial and Victorian styles of architecture. Portions of this section of the city are protected as historic districts. Up until the 1980s, the city government enforced building height restrictions which prevented Riverside from developing a high skyline. Deregulation on height restrictions and a greater emphasis on more walkable, high-density development resulted in Downtown Riverside's present-day high-rise skyline.

Riverside is bisected diagonally by K.S. Route 91 in a southwest–northeast orientation and serves as the official demarcation for a number of Riverside's neighborhoods. Roughly one-third of Riverside is located north of K.S. 91 while the other two-thirds are located to the south of the freeway. Running parallel to the south of K.S. 91 is the Indiana Line, the primary line of the Riverside Metro, which is the city's rapid transit system.

Neighborhoods and districts

The city is informally divided into 38 neighborhoods and districts which are the following:

• Alessandro Heights
• Arlington
• Arlington Heights
• Arlington South
• Belvedere Heights
• Box Springs
• Canyon Crest Heights
• Casa Blanca
• Citrus Heights
• Downtown
• East Alessandro Heights
• Eastside
• El Sobrante
• Gage Park
• Grand
• Hawarden Hills
• Highgrove
• Lake Hills
• La Sierra
• La Sierra Acres
• La Sierra Hills
• La Sierra South
• Magnolia Center
• Mission Grove
• Mockingbird Canyon
• Nandina
• North Bank
• Northside
• Orangecrest
• Prince Court
• Ramona
• Sycamore Canyon Park
• Sycamore Canyon Springs
• Triangle District
• University Park
• Victoria
• Woodcrest
• Wood Streets

Climate

Climate data for Riverside (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1893–present)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °F (°C)	94 (34)	94 (34)	102 (39)	105 (41)	110 (43)	118 (48)	118 (48)	113 (45)	117 (47)	109 (43)	100 (38)	94 (34)	118 (48)
Mean maximum °F (°C)	83.1 (28.4)	83.3 (28.5)	87.8 (31)	94.2 (34.6)	97.1 (36.2)	101.3 (38.5)	105.1 (40.6)	106.6 (41.4)	106.2 (41.2)	99.8 (37.7)	91.0 (32.8)	82.6 (28.1)	109.6 (43.1)
Average high °F (°C)	67.7 (19.8)	67.9 (19.9)	72.1 (22.3)	75.9 (24.4)	79.9 (26.6)	86.7 (30.4)	93.3 (34.1)	94.9 (34.9)	91.3 (32.9)	82.7 (28.2)	74.5 (23.6)	66.8 (19.3)	79.5 (26.4)
Average low °F (°C)	43.6 (6.4)	44.7 (7.1)	46.9 (8.3)	50.0 (10)	55.3 (12.9)	59.3 (15.2)	63.9 (17.7)	64.7 (18.2)	61.9 (16.6)	55.2 (12.9)	47.4 (8.6)	42.8 (6)	53.0 (11.7)
Mean minimum °F (°C)	34.0 (1.1)	36.0 (2.2)	38.8 (3.8)	42.3 (5.7)	48.3 (9.1)	53.8 (12.1)	58.6 (14.8)	59.0 (15)	54.5 (12.5)	46.7 (8.2)	38.0 (3.3)	33.2 (0.7)	31.5 (−0.3)
Record low °F (°C)	18 (−8)	24 (−4)	25 (−4)	29 (−2)	33 (1)	35 (2)	41 (5)	40 (4)	37 (3)	30 (−1)	23 (−5)	21 (−6)	18 (−8)
Average precipitation inches (mm)	2.29 (58.2)	2.41 (61.2)	1.21 (30.7)	0.57 (14.5)	0.20 (5.1)	0.04 (1)	0.12 (3)	0.03 (0.8)	0.11 (2.8)	0.33 (8.4)	0.57 (14.5)	1.51 (38.4)	9.39 (238.5)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in)	4.8	6.9	5.2	3.9	1.6	0.2	0.7	0.5	0.5	2.3	3.6	5.1	35.3
Source: Royal Climatology Agency

Government

Riverside operates as a charter city under the Charter of the City of Riverside and has a mayor–council government. The elected government consists of the Riverside City Council and the mayor. Other elected officials also include the city attorney and the controller. The ceremonial head of state of Riverside is the baron, who is currently Lord Daniel, 2nd Baron of Anza. The current mayor is Wilbur Bordner. The city is subdivided into 9 city council districts, each represented by a member of the Riverside City Council.

The city government is composed of several government departments including the Riverside Police Department, the Riverside Fire Department, the Riverside Department of Public Services, and the Riverside Public Libraries System. The City of Riverside is also the county seat for Riverside County, which includes the offices of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors and the Riverside County Superior Court.

Riverside is home to the provincial government of the Inland Empire. The Inland Empire Provincial Capitol is located in Downtown Riverside and is home to several Inland Empire government agencies. The Governor's Mansion and the Inland Empire Supreme Court are also located in Downtown Riverside.

Elections and politics

See also: Political party strength in the Inland Empire

Since the 1990s, Riverside has been a major source of support for the Democratic-Republican Party, functioning as an ideological stronghold and island within the largely conservative province of the Inland Empire. While the Inland Empire has gradually shifted leftward towards the political center, Riverside has shifted to the left at a faster rate and is one of the few notable areas of Democratic-Republican support within the right-oriented province. Similarly, both the Social Democrats and Green Party find support in Riverside and is one of the few areas where they can find support. The Royalist Party, the governing party of the Inland Empire, is largely confined to the suburbs and outermost areas of the city and has been in the minority for over two decades.

Notable people

• Yung Nevabroke: rapper

Sister cities

Riverside has international partnerships with the following sister cities:

• Dartford, Kent, England, United Kingdom
• Godthåb, King Christian IX Land, Greenland
• Kent, Olympia, Astoria
• Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
• New Albany, Indiana, A.C.R., United Commonwealth
• Saint Anthony, Minnesota, Superior

• Shaoxing, Zhejiang, China
• The Woodlands, San Jacinto, Brazoria
• Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan

See also

• List of Kingdom of Sierra cities by population

Attribution notices

This page uses material from the Wikipedia page History of California, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (view authors). This page uses material from the Wikipedia page History of California before 1900, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (view authors). This page uses material from the Wikipedia page History of California (1900–present), which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (view authors). This page uses material from the Wikipedia page Inland Empire, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (view authors). This page uses material from the Wikipedia page Lake Mathews, California, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (view authors). This page uses material from the Wikipedia page Riverside, California, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (view authors). This page uses material from the Wikipedia page Riverside County, California, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (view authors). This page uses material from the Wikipedia page Woodcrest, California, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (view authors).