“The City Beautiful”
RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA
IF THE spirits of the pioneers who are gone could come back to this sphere they would be amazed at how fully their visions have come true in the development of Riverside. They could sense it more fully than the few yet among us, for close and constant contact often and in large measure obscures the unfolding process.
Here in a little more than half a century since the first permanent settlers came there is now established one of the most beautiful cities to be found upon the American continent, set in the midst of a rich valley, with all the glories of profligate nature strewn about by the hand of the Creator.
The city was founded in 1870 and its development since then has been in a most marvellous manner.
Here prophecy and fulfillment are happily blended; and what was foreseen in early manhood has come to pass in the' maturer years of the same generation. There has been a magical development that has amazed the world. Riverside, typical of Southern California, has literally exemplified the magic seed of the Indian juggler that grew, blossomed and bore fruit before the eyes of the spectator.
The miraculous results of establishing here a prosperous and happy community has been accomplished by the union of three forces. These are a grateful climate, a fertile soil and an abundance of water. The combination of these three natural resources has wrought a city of superb beauty and where the joy of living is supreme.
Riverside has a most charming setting. It is in the midst of a broad valley through which flows the Santa Ana, fed by lesser streams, on its way from near-by snow-clad summits to the sea. It was not a desert through which this river wound even in the early days, for the rains though far between invariably left behind succulent grasses and the rich hues of a riot of flowers than which no more fascinating sight ever greeted the human eye.
However much the commercial and industrial spirit may have now possessed the citizenship it is fail* to state that heretofore Riverside has been pre-eminently a residential city. In its earlier development the prevailing purpose was to make it an arboreal city. There was enchantment in the thought that homes should be ensconced in the midst of orange groves, where the air was redolent with rich perfume and where golden globules hung in abundance in the foliage of deep-green trees.RIVERSIDE, "The City Beautiful"
Paite Five
To that idea Riverside has more or less insistently clung. The city is one of magnificent distances. Though at present possessing something less than 25,000 population it covers an area of nearly fifty square miles. There is, therefore, much breathing space, no crowding. Neighbors are distant enough to remain good friends. There is a high degree of amiability and esprit de corps.
Here, perhaps more than at any other point in Southern California, has been caught and preserved the spiritual romance of the early fathers whose sacred missions brought them into this promised land, carrying the torch of civilization among the natives. The impress of padres and priests has been here preserved in a remarkable manner. On every side is mission architecture and tokens of Spanish contact and possession. Rubidoux’s cross-crowned summit is a perennial benediction upon all who sojourn in the valley below. This reverent touch of an interesting past has moulded the character of the city perhaps more than is generally realized. It has been one of the causes that have induced a high-class citizenship. For it is conceded that Riverside is in this particular plainly distinctive. It is popularly referred to as “the city that is different.”
Another differentiating feature is the long and intelligent attention that has been paid to its trees. The city was the first in the United States to employ the services of a tree warden, a public official whose duty it is to look exclusively after the trees lining its streets. There is not a hodgepodge of kinds and colors. There is a regularity that lends a peculiar charm. The broad streets in the very heart of the business district are lined with palms that give the city a touch of rare beauty.
There are 200 miles of paved streets within the municipal boundaries. All these, with their umbrageous pepper and umbrella trees; their stately eucalyptus, their oriental palms and their endless hedges of roses, grip the attention of the visitor and constitute an asset of inestimable value.
Riverside is well represented in all lines of trade. Its merchants are, as a class, of a high order. The city is well provided with stores and shops that cater to the trade in such a way as to merit patronage. Its citizens can always buy at home to good advantage. This is a consideration worthy the attention of those who are seeking a new place to live.RIVERSIDE. "The City Beautiful”
Page Seven
The Magic of Water
IN AN especial manner is Riverside blest with the abundance of its water supply and with its quality. Resting as a community does in an arid country so completely upon its water sources these are obviously of vital consequence.
This favored valley is surrounded by the loftiest peaks of the mountain ranges in Southern California. “Old Baldy,” “Grayback,” San Jacinto and their fellow peaks are the highest of the ranges of which they are a part. These mountains are the cloud-piercing eminences that arrest the vapors that are wafted in from the Pacific Ocean and cause precipitation of moisture. The rain and snow from these heights rush in torrents down the steep slopes, constituting a volume that ministers to the welfare of thousands. Riverside’s supply comes from what is known as the San Bernardino basin and it is an inexhaustible one, of the purest waters. Nature has wisely provided a great subterranean dam bisecting the valley and impounding the waters that debouche in floodtime from the canyons. A conservation scheme has been worked out whereby through diversion dams this surplus water is spread out over a broad debris cone of many hundred acres. It sinks into the earth and is held in reserve by the natural dam. Into this great reservoir wells are sunk and there is an artesian flow so strong and perpetual that not only is Riverside provided with an ample quantity to meet the domestic needs of all time, but there is a larger volume that irrigates 50,000 acres of land within and adjacent to the city.
Every land owner is a holder of water stock sufficient to insure him his fullest requirements. There are no profits absorbed by water companies. Cost of irrigation is therefore reduced to a minimum. An ample supply for this purpose is had at a cost ranging from $7.50 to $9 an acre for a season. There is enough of unused water now to guarantee a sufficient quantity for every acre of land that will ever be available for cultivation in the territory served.
Fine Community Hospital
Through a remarkable spirit of co-operation the citizens of Riverside have provided a community hospital that is conducted on a no-profit basis. In this refuge for the sick and injured every member of the community may be cared for at actual cost. This hospital, now being enlarged to one hundred beds, is soon to occupy one of the finest and most complete plants of the kind on the coast. It will be equipped with the latest devices in the healing and surgical arts. Its character reflects the spirit of altruism that pervades the community.Poultry Production
RIVERSIDE is rapidly becoming one of the leading poultry centers of the state. Poultry ranches are multiplying everywhere in and about the city. The climate is so well adapted to this industry that it is one of great promise. There are no more inquiries made of the Chamber of Commerce about any other feature than concerning poultry and egg production. By co-operation of the Farm Bureau and other organized agencies this line is becoming so well stabilized as to give intelligent producers reasonable assurance. Suitable property for ranches can be had so cheaply and the demand is so strong for the output that poultry raisers have better prospects than ever before. Local hatcheries, grain production and other advantageous features are here.
This business is one showing tremendous growth. Climatic conditions are so favorable fox1 chicken growing that what the industry will ultimately be can only be conjectured. An investment of from $5,000 to $10,000 is sufficient to provide a home and engage in the chicken business.RIVERSIDE, "The City Bwnitiful”
Poge Nine
Municipal Water and Light
THE CITY owns and operates the system whereby the people are supplied with water for both domestic and fire purposes. Gravity flow fills ample reservoirs, so the cost of service is kept at a minimum. A central power plant, however, is maintained for emergency demands. This is equipped with the latest and best machinery so that every demand can be met. At the end of the year 1922 the city had invested as fixed capital in its water system the sum of $1,293,000. For that year there was a net profit of $35,905 in operation. The daily per capita consumption of water was 239 gallons. The city is only partly metered, the schedule of rates being: First 300 cubic feet, 30c; next 2700 feet, 10c; all over 3000 feet, 6c. The flat rates are: Family of five, 90c a month; each additional member 10c; water closets 35c; lots, lc a front foot a month; horses and cows 25c each a month.
The city owns and operates its electric lighting and power system in which it has a fixed investment of $1,306,000. Its current is bought under contract with big producing corporations and it distributes to consumers. The rates are such as to give the public the advantage of wholesale prices. The service is excellent in all respects. The rates for lighting are: 150 kilowatt hours a month, 8c an hour; next 100 hours, 7c; in excess of 250 hours, 5c an hour. For industrial power: first 500 hours in one month, 3^ic an hour; in excess of 500 hours, 2x/tc an hour; for incubators, 234c an hour. For pumping; first 1000 hours, 1.9c an hour; for next 1000 hours, 1.7c an hour; in excess of 2000 hours, 1.6c an hour.
For domestic heating Riverside’s main dependence is upon natural gas, though in many instances oil and gasoline are used. For heating purposes but little fuel is required in a section of such a mild winter climate. The natural gas is piped to the city from the coast oil fields and is delivered at a low rate. The schedule runs from $1.25 per M cubic feet a month to 75c per M cubic feet a month for all over 50,000 cubic feet.
The transportation facilities of the city are supplied by a street railway and by private autobus lines. The former is owned by the Pacific Electric Company, a strong corporation with hundreds of miles of interurban trackage in Southern California. These facilities serve the public in a satisfactory manner.Riverside Parks ■are Beaut/ Spots.RIVERSIDE, "The City Beautiful”
Page Eleven
Riverside Has Beautiful Parks
THE BEAUTIFUL parks of Riverside are proof of the wisdom and the foresight of those who have planned for it. These are breathing places and beauty spots dedicated to the public health and pleasure. The extensive use made of them, growing from year to year, shows to what extent they are appreciated. In this country, where the great outdoors is a constant lure to all, parks are especially attractive. Those of Riverside are constantly filled with merry throngs of the city’s own people and they afford a delightful objective for citizens of other cities who may wish to come for a day’s outing where pleasure and happiness are infectious.
Fairmount park is the most pretentious one of the system. It is accessible and spacious, embracing an area of 73 acres. It may be appropriately called the city’s playground. Nature has done much to give it a charm that never fades. Nestling at the foot of a towering cliff it is filled with trees that afford an inviting shade for summer’s heat and protection for the cooler months of winter. An ample lake provides opportunity for boating that appeals to the holiday spirit. Rustic bridges in many places give it an artistic effect. Flowers and shrubbery everywhere lend enchantment. Ample provision is made for the joy of the children. Swings, slides, merry-go-rounds, wading pool, arbors and other things alluring to childhood’s happy impulses, are in evidence.
White park, which is near the business section of the city, is one of rare interest. It occupies two blocks, but is not greatly used for holiday gatherings. It is the scene of a beautiful Christmas “tree” on every recurring anniversary of that Christian festival. The attendant ceremonies on this day are under municipal jurisdiction and attract thousands of people. Gifts are distributed to children and a giant tree is brilliantly illuminated with hundreds of colored lights, furnishing a most spectacular and impressive occasion. This park is famous for its collection of cactus. There are gathered in it hundreds of varieties of this kind of plant and shrub life indigenous to the desert.
Evans’ athletic park contains ten acres and is devoted largely to sports. It is conveniently located and is the scene of many interesting contests of various kinds.
Arlington park is also becoming a beauty spot.
Chemawa park of twenty-three acres is one of the oldest of the city. It has of recent years been devoted to sports, for the most part baseball, football and polo.RIVERSIDE, The City Beautiful"
Page Thirteen
There are numerous odd nooks and corners about the city that are kept filled with colorful flowers and foliage plants that lend greatly to the decorative scheme of Riverside.
Worthy of mention in this connection is the famous Magnolia avenue. It is a parked thoroughfare that has gained a wide reputation for its great beauty. It is about five miles in length and is bordered with palms, pepper and eucalyptus which densely shade it. On each side are highways for vehicles, while in the center is a trolley line and park. Ragged Robin roses give this avenue a scarlet fringe that greatly enhances its beauty.
In the Spiritual Realm
The high spiritual development of Riverside seen in the presence of the cross everywhere and in the reminders of the days of the missions, is more fully envisioned in a multitude of churches and in the strong religious life that supports them. The denominations represented are Methodist Episcopal, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Universalist, Baptist, Church of Christ, Christian, Church of Christ Scientist, Congregational, United Brethren, Holiness, Free Methodist, Japanese Federated, Naz-arene, Roman Catholic, Seventh Day Advent, Seventh Day Baptist, Swedish Evangelical Lutheran, English Lutheran, United Presbyterian and Salvation Army.
Besides all of these there are strong allies in the Young Men’s Christian. Association and the Young Women’s Christian Association. The former has a commodious and finely equipped building, representing a cost of more than $150,000. In every department it functions efficiently and has a creditable record of achievement. The “Y.-W.” occupies commodious rented quarters and ministers to the needs of the young women of the city in excellent fashion.
The presence of thirty churches in the city shows how largely the religious life prevails. It is precisely what might be expected to be found in a community that has so fully emphasized the early impress of the church.RIVERSIDE, "The City Beautiful"
Page Fifteen
Riverside’s Financial Institutions
THE BANKS of a city constitute an accurate index of its financial condition. Judging by this criterion Riverside was never in so strong a position as now. The city is well supplied by these essential bulwarks of trade. They are provided with ample capital and their readiness to finance every legitimate enterprise affords a conspicuous community asset. They are now in the hands of the most trustworthy and capable managers they have ever been. Their commanding strength was disclosed in their public statements made on the last day of 1922 when they showed capital and surplus of more than $1,500,000, deposits of more than $10,000,000 and total resources, including those of other financial institutions, of more than $14,000,000. That the city has kept growing in population and industrial importance at a time when other sections of the country suffered serious relapses proves how strongly entrenched it is.
In addition to the commercial and savings banks of the city are other institutions that invite attention. There are three growing investment companies and a flourishing building and loan association, all of which serve their particular purposes in an admirable way.
Excellent Newspapers
THE CITY of Riverside has two creditable daily newspapers, one published in the evening and the other appearing in the morning. No guardians of the public welfare are more vigilant or valuable than are aggressive and honest newspapers. In the possession of such as these Riverside is particularly fortunate. The Daily Press serves the evening field and it is recognized as one of the leading dailies and as among the most prosperous in Southern California. It is ably edited and finely equipped. It carries the full leased-wire telegraphic report of the United Press Association. The morning Enterprise is a high-class newspaper in which the best interests of the city have an able and enthusiastic advocate. It supplies the news of the world through the Associated Press telegraphic reports. The Citizen is a weekly publication devoting itself chiefly to social and local matters.RIVERSIDE. “The City Beautiful”
Page Seventeen
The Home of the Orange
THE FAME of Riverside has been carried far and wide through its production of oranges. For Riverside is in a peculiar and particular sense the home of the orange industry. Thousands of acres of beautiful and prolific groves spread out over the valley in a forest of green. Here for more than forty years has been met the increasing demand for its delicious and succulent fruit. Year after year thousands of carloads of this delectable product have been sent into the markets of the world. Its “Sunkist” brands have become familiar and popular wherever connoiseurs are found. Here the favorable combination of sunshine, air, water and soil, all coupled with scientific skill of the grower have continually produced the best in the citrus line. In every competition, whether at home or abroad, Riverside fruit has captured the greater share of the honors. The first nation-wide recognition was at the Cotton Exposition at New Orleans thirty-five years ago. Since that date Riverside oranges have literally held the center of the stage at every exposition, state or national. In 1922 at the National Orange Show Riverside oranges took nearly one-half of all the prizes and at the same show in 1923 Riverside county was awarded 58 per cent, of all.
Riverside is the home of the Navel orange in America. It was here they were first grown. More than forty years ago the first two trees ever brought to America were planted in Riverside and from these two parent trees all the Navel oranges of the country have sprung. They were brought from Bahai, Brazil. One of these two original trees still survives and occupies a place of honor, within an iron-picketed enclosure at the head of Magnolia avenue. From that early beginning orange growing speedily became the chief industry of the valley, which importance it has steadily held to the present day. The production now of all citrus fruits in the Riverside district is from 4,000 to 5,000 carloads a year. This industry is at the base of Riverside’s prosperity. It brings an annual return of approximately $5,000,000.
The process of growing, picking, packing and shipping the citrus crop requires the employment of hundreds of men, a good many of whom must possess the highest technical skill. Fifteen or more packing houses are devoted to the work of sorting, preparing and shipping. These are veritable hives of industry in the orange season, beginning a little before Christmas and lasting for three or four months.
The inquirer wants to know concerning the profits of the orange industry. Is it profitable? he asks. That can beRIVERSIDE, "The City Beautiful”
Page Nineteen
answered by both yes and no. It is precisely like any other business in that it requires knowledge and application. A five or ten-acre tract may be both an ideal home and income producer. Romance and beauty may be about the home embowered in an orange grove. If such grove be carefully ’tended, faithfully cultivated, irrigated, fumigated and fertilized it will yield amazing returns. On the other hand neglect is sure to bring disappointment if not disaster. But on the whole there is no more agreeable vocation than citriculture. Good groves may be bought in the Riverside district at prices ranging from $1,000 to $2,500 an acre, depending upon their age and condition. A ten-acre grove properly cared for will support a family in comfort.
Growing Deciduous Fruits
THERE is a plain revival of production of deciduous fruits of all kinds in Riverside. This branch of horticulture may be said to be a little less intensive and technical than growing citrus fruit and it appeals to many who feel more familiar with it.
Better prices for the fresh fruit have prevailed in the more recent years and this important feature has stimulated production to a large degree. These prices have ranged all the way from $50 to $125 a ton, depending upon quality to a large extent and upon peculiar market conditions.
The establishment at Riverside of a mammoth canning factory by the California Growers Association has given an impetus to the raising of this kind of fruit. This is a co-operative concern with strong financial backing. It takes the fruit from its members and patrons, processes it for the market and gives back to the growers each his full share of the proceeds, less only the cost of handling.
La Sierra Canning Company, located at the outskirts of the city, is also an important factor in the conversion of the raw material into finished products. In the busy season these concerns give employment to more than 500 persons and add substantially to the industrial character of Riverside.
The principal deciduous production is of apricots and peaches and these under Riverside brands find their way into all the markets of the country, ranking high in the estimation of the trade. Other deciduous fruits like pears, figs and plums are also produced in abundance, but they are of less importance as commercial factors.
Good peach and apricot orchards may be had at prices ranging from $700 to $1,200 an acre.RIVERSIDE, "The City Beautiful"
PageTwenty-one
An Agreeable Climate
THE character of the climate here has been and must necessarily remain one of the most important factors attracting homeseekers. Its semi-tropical character is its lure for those who have tired of the extremely low temperatures and rigor of winter in other climes. Here where the frost line is seldom touched the winter season is a great joy. Flowers bloom in the open the whole season through and with all kinds of fresh vegetables on the market during all the winter months the new-comer is impressed with the agreeable fact that he is living in a favored spot. Until he becomes used to his new surroundings they give an impression of unreality; they seem too good to be true. The winter season is remarkably free from fogs that hang over communities nearer to the coast. A flood of grateful sunshine nearly always prevails. The average rainfall is about 11 inches a year, so there must of necessity be some cloudy days, but they are comparatively few.
The summers are to many even more agreeable than the winters. It is true there are some high temperatures, but the absence of humidity make these peaks quite endurable. There is just enough of this to put the high quality into the orange, lemon and grapefruit crops that make the section famous and rich. Even on the hottest days the maximum temperature holds only for a brief time in the middle of the day. The minimum is almost invariably around 60 degrees, more often below that point than above. The afternoons, evenings, nights and mornings are always enjoyable, their refreshing breezes and cool temperatures being a joy forever.
When the official thermometers at Riverside register their highest there is no suffering, no heat oppression. It is actually 10 degrees cooler here than at other places in the east and midwest when the record shows the same.
A careful analysis of the official records at Riverside for a period of ten years, from 1910 to 1920, covering 3652 days, maximum temperatures of over 90 degrees F. were recorded 946 times; in excess of 100 degrees 186 times. Of these 3652 days only 315 were “cloudy,” a cloudy day being one when the sky was seven-tenths obscured. Always, it must be remembered, the nights are pleasantly cool. The average minimum temperature for every month over a long number of years is 46 degrees.RIVERSIDE, ’‘The City Beautiful"
Page Twenty-three
Building a Home
THE cost of obtaining or building a home is in Riverside lower than in most other cities. This is for the reason that lots are cheap. The city has so large an area that building sites are so plentiful they may be had on the most reasonable terms. Lots well located may be had from $500 up. The regulation building lot is 50x100 feet and such may be had on paved streets, with water and sewerage as low as $800.
Building costs are lower in this country where the rigors of climate are not to be provided against. Many comfortable little homes with their vines and perennial flowers are established at a cost not exceeding $2,500. A pretentious bungalow may be built for $5000, including cost of lot.
The costs of living are aS low in Riverside as they are at any place in the country, for here garden stuff grows the year ’round and all other food products are obtainable in abundance.
Riverside’s Accessibility
FROM Riverside every point of interest and importance in Southern California can be conveniently reached. From it there radiate in every direction an unsurpassed system of highways, besides the numerous tracks of steel. From it by motor or by electric or steam railway in two hours the metropolis, the beaches, mountain resorts or the ever-compelling desert may be reached. So thoroughly developed are Riverside’s systems of transportation that there are 156 public conveyances of all kinds, running on regular schedules, leaving the city every twenty-four hours.
These conveniences, besides affording a distinct advantage to the tourist and pleasure seeker, likewise give Riverside a commanding position in the field of trade. Situated as the city is, sixty miles from the greatest jobbing center it has advantages to offer, and that are being filled, in the way of manufacturing and wholesaling. Distribution to the smaller inland towns is quick and cheap. The city’s railroads are the Union Pacific, the Southern Pacific, the Santa Fe and the Pacific Electric. In addition to these there are many lines of motor busses and motor trucks going into every portion of the surrounding territory.RIVERSIDE, "The City Beautiful"
Page Twenty-five
Riverside’s Industrial Appeal
RIVERSIDE’S industrial appeal is made through the number and the prosperity of its present establishments and through the obvious advantages that are here for other manufacturing institutions of all kinds.
It is important to know that labor conditions are excellent here. The laboring man can more easily acquire a home here than elsewhere and he can live in close and convenient proximity to his work. The relations between employer and employee have always been the best. Such things as strikes and violence are almost unknown in the industrial history of Riverside. So favorable are these important features that the Riverside Chamber of Commerce stresses its willingness and its readiness to assist in every way possible in locating here all enterprises of merit that will build up the industrial character of the city.
In the matter of power the city’s municipally-owned distributing system offers a low rate to all users, with a regular minimum schedule of 1.6c a kilowatt hour.
A survey of the city shows that what may be called the “dinner bucket brigade” now numbers aproximately 4,000 persons, with an annual payroll of .$4,000,000. The largest factor in this item is the production and packing of the citrus crop. The biggest manufacturing institution is the Riverside Portland Cement Works, giving employment to something like 500 men and sending its product into all markets. There are also extensive foundries, and machine companies, a big planing and wood-working mill, a capacious flouring mill, ice factory, creamery, balloon factory, printing establishments, wholesale bakeries, candy factories, three canning factories, and a number of smaller but promising concerns.
Excellent Postal Facilities
The postal facilities of Riverside are first-class in every way. The federal government has provided a commanding and commodious building that is one of the striking structures of the city. Besides housing the postoffice this building accommodates local Internal Revenue Officials, Indian Agents and representatives of the U. S. Bureau of Horticulture. The city is thoroughly covered with free delivery mail service. The postal income reached the $100,000 mark for the year 1922.RIVERSIDE, “The City Beautiful”
Page Twenty-seven
Entertaining Strangers Within Our Gates
VISITORS to Riverside are comfortably, even luxuriously, cared for. It has one hotel that is more than a hotel; it is an institution. This one, the Glenwood Mission Inn, is so distinctive, so different that its fame has gone throughout the world. Frank A. Miller, its founder and builder, present “Master of the Inn,” has imbued it with an atmosphere that makes it a hostelry always to be remembered by every guest. Its 350 “rooms” are by no means a measure of its significance. It is the surroundings that count. Reminders of the old missions are everywhere. The beautiful “Court of the Birds,” a capacious art gallery filled with products of the genius of America and Europe, a vast embowered patio, with ferns and palms and flowers and where gurgling fountains play; a cloister where symphonies flow from an unexcelled cathedral organ; endless grottos filled with curios from the far ends of the earth— all these are here in entrancing interest.
There are other hotels, the Tetley, the Reynolds, the Anchorage, that extend a genuine hospitality and a warm welcome to all guests. Besides there are numerous apartments and rooming houses of high quality where may be found every comfort and convenience.
Cross-Crowned Rubidoux
ONE OF the conspicuous attractions of Riverside is Mount Rubidoux. It stands sentinel over the city with its summit 800 feet above the level of the adjacent valley. It' is privately owned but is dedicated to the use of the public by its patriotic proprietors. An encircling highway of easy grade leads to the top and no visitor has seen Riverside until he has stood on that eminence and viewed the incomparable panorama that speads out before him. Mountain and valley views with their rugged grandeur and their prismatic colors give entrancing beauty. On the pinnacle of Rubidoux has been erected a great cross that stands as a symbol of the crucifix carried by Fr. Serra, the pioneer priest whose spiritual zeal led him into this wilderness a hundred and forty years ago to conquer it for Christ and for civilization. At the foot of this cross annually for fifteen years have been held Easter Sunrise Services that have come to be of nation-wide interest. In the saddle of the mountain near the cross is a great amphitheater where these impressive services take place. Here tens of thousands render their devotions and pour out their peans of praise.RIVERSIDE, “The City Beautiful”
Pa/je Twenty-nine
The Public Schools
RANKING high in its educational facilities among the cities of a state in which educational standards have been brought to the highest development in the United States, Riverside properly boasts of its public school system. Its buildings and equipments represent a present worth of a million dollars. The school enrollment in January, 1923, was 5,312, with a daily average attendance of 4,394.
The Riverside school system includes eight kindergarten schools; twelve elementary schools; manual arts school, two high schools (at present) ; part-time school; junior college.
To the pupils who enter the kindergarten school at the age of five, there is the possibility of fifteen years of schooling, ending in the completion of junior college work which puts him into the upper division of the university, that is full standing in the junior year at the university.
The high schools, one “opportunity school” and the junior college have vocational departments and give instruction in such varied subjects as agricultural, business, garage work, home economics, engineering, industrial management, etc.
At the Polytechnic High School there ar classes in agriculture, automotive repair, carpentry, drafting, electric shop, machine shop and printing, in addition to the commercial department.
The State of California has at Riverside a fine Citrus Experiment School, with a strong faculty and every provision for advancing scientific knowledge concerning the growing of citrus crops. The state has also purchased the site for a farm school, soon to be erected, which is to be a part of the State University. A Seventh Day Advent Academy, a Catholic parochial school, a business college, a Montessori school are other institutions of learning.
A Noteworthy Library
Riverside’s Public Library has been developed on liberal lines. It occupies a beautiful building of the Spanish renaissance type, the whole plant representing an expenditure of $200,000. There are seventy-two county branches to extend its use. In connection with the institution there is a Library Service school which trains librarians. This is largely attended by pupils from all parts of the country. The magnitude of the Public Library and its liberal patronage indicate the high intellectual plane of our citizenship. It contains 100,000 volumes.Our Source? of Wealth
Riverside County Production, Year 1922
Oranges ................$4,000,000.00
Lemons ................  1,250,000.00
Apples.......................... 195,000.00
Apricots ................. 558,000.00
Cherries .................. 24,000.00
Peaches........................  1,500,000.00
Pears ..................... 80,000.00
Prunes ...................  22,000.00
Almonds .................. 132,000.00
Walnuts .................. 137,500.00
Berries .................... 7,500.00
Dates ..................... 35,000.00
Figs ...................... 10,000.00
Grapes ................... 350,000.00
Plums .................—.	6,250.00
Olives and Oils..................... 14,700.00	$8,321,950.00
Cotton .................$1,320,000.00
Sorghum ................    30,000.00
Onions .................... 34,000.00
Tomatoes ................. 800,000.00
Watermelons ............$3,450,000.00
112,500.00
Beans ..................... 16,000.00
Beets ..................... 50,000.00
Grain .................... 900,000.00
Hay ....................... 54,000.00
Potatoes .................. 15,000.00
Corn .................. $6,781,500.00
Cattle ................$ 900.000.00
Pigs ..................... 175,000.00
Dairy Products............ 750,000.00
Sheep ..................   150,000.00
Poultry .............     1,500,000.00	$3,475,000.00
Honey ..................$ 200,000.00
Cement ................. 1,750,000.00
Clay Products ............. 85,000.00
Citric Products
(citric	acid)........ 601,600.00
Rock ...................... 450,000.00	$3,086,600.00
$21,665,050.00