The historic Mission Inn which occupies several blocks in downtown Riverside California is the largest Mission Revival building in the United States.
The Inn was built in 1902 by an engineer named Christopher Columbus Miller. His son Frank expanded his father’s original efforts, and added wings, rotundas, chapels, museums and galleries.
The building contains a mixture of Spanish Gothic, Moorish and Mediterranean revival architectural styles. There is a Spanish Wing, an Alhambra Wing, and flights of fancy everywhere you look.
Frank Miller traveled the world collecting museum quality treasures to fill the inn, including what some say is the oldest bell in in the new world dating from 1247.
There are two chapels on the property including the one pictured dedicated to St Francis of Assisi.
Louis Tiffany designed two of the mosaics in the chapel.
The Rotunda Wing features a five story open air staircase.
The rotunda tops a suite dedicated to the writer Anne Rice.
Presidents, world leaders, and many famous folk have stayed in the inn over its history and the inn has a presidential lounge dedicated to the many presidents who have stayed here.
The Inn began a period of slow decline in the 1960’s where ownership changed hands multiple times and bankruptcies occurred, eventually forcing the city of Riverside to purchase and close the property for eight and a half years. In 1992, The Historic Mission Inn Corporation purchased the property and reopened it in all its former glory.
I will show you more details and the interiors of this amazing building in my next post. Until then, cheers to you from The Mission Inn in Riverside California~
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What a magnificent building and you have captured it in all its glory. Thank goodness it was rescued from ruin and reopened.
I am so happy to hear from you Pauline! It is quite the architectual curiousity shop and I love it.
I feel jinxed to say that we may be heading to Oz soon, last time I told you, we couldn’t go.We won’t be in the Gold Coast, all in NSW. I’ll let you know when we go.
Hope you are Jack are happy.
Love to you both.
I’ll keep my fingers crossed that you make it this time.maybe we can meet up if you are any where near NSW border. And we always have a bed you can use….
How lovely! I will keep in touch…. <3
🤗
What a beautiful building. Fortunately, it didn’t succumb to urban renewal during the 1960’s and 1970’s that demolished many fine historic buildings in downtown Albuquerque and other cities around the country.
It was so disgusting that happened. And more modern architects led the way towards destruction of their more truly artistic predecessors.
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Wow…what more can I say Cindy. It is a beautiful place, very pleasing to the eye 😀
It is quite an amazing place. You can stay in the old rooms and hear the old clock chime. It makes you feel, while you are here, that life seem safe somehow.
I’m intrigued Cindy, in the last picture (and in a couple of others) there is at the top, left of the picture what appears to be a ‘chimney’ or for want of a better word, a ‘tower’ with its own miniature roof and slots, up on the roof. If it is in fact a chimney the architecture for something so ‘out of sight’ so to speak is really telling the story of the love that this architecture brings to even the smallest of details 😀
I know the tower you speak of and there is something in it, although I don’t know what. They are towers, cupola’s, domes, this place is an architectural wonderland. There are even catacombs. Everywhere you look is this incredible attention to the smallest details. Many of the doors to the rooms are handcarved and had inset stained glass.
Absolutely amazing! Thank you for sharing dear lady, it was a wonderland 😀
Yes, I felt like Alice staying here!
You’ve finally traveled to someplace I’ve been! 😄
Your beautiful photos bring back great memories of times spent there with my late husband when our children were small. Thank you! ❤
I am so glad you have visited here but I am very sorry about the loss of your husband. I am glad you visited here with him and you have these memories. I have no idea why I have never been here before. It was just never on my radar.
Such interesting history, Cindy! Gorgeous images!
Thank you and be well Terri <3
Thank you Terri & cheers my friend <3
How gorgeous! I’m so glad to see that it wound up in the right hands. I can’t wait to see more!😍
It is really an incredible place. It has so many wings and nooks and crannies and road overpassing walking bridges, that all I can say is, I need to spend more nights here!
This is a real treasure.
Cheers back, and I look forward to the details! This is Fabulous.
Why don’t you come down here Resa? I’ll book us rooms. Bring your sketchbook. We can stay two nights, tour the whole place, and the museum. You can see the Anne Rice suite where she stayed. And the restaurants rock.
….. eventually…. xo
🙂
What stunning architecture! I never knew it was there on all my trips through that area. Of course, it’s not somewhere I would frequent but I love all the detail. I hope you are weathering the firestorms out that way and out of harm’s way.
Riverside is a place I never visited, I say with embarassment since I have lived in the region all my life, now that I am here in the place, I was clearly wrong. I should have visited here before. You should see their antique street clocks. I am going to come back.
And thank you, said it right Marlene. Firestorms. This is what they are. Hurricane winds carrying fire with their furious winds. They are scary. The winds carry sparks for miles, and since everything is dry it is forced to ignite.
Mother Nature is speaking as loudly as possible but no one is listening. I’ll keep good thoughts for you.
I can understand that a complex building such as this would require considerable upkeep to maintain its full glory. It looks an interesting place to visit.
It boggles the mind that this engineer, en famille, had the finanicial, and artistic resources, to build, and create, something like this.
I’ve never visited the Inn, but have wanted to for a while… after all, it’s just up the road a ways. Beautiful pictures… perhaps this is just the push I needed.
Just like you, I never went, and now that I have been here, I will come again. There is still so much more to see. It amazes me.
I am glad that a building of such historic significance has been rescued. Looking forward to your next post, Cindy.
I share your appreciation for protecting such beautiful architecture from the past Peter, thank you!
Wow. Just wow. So much eye-catching detail. Amazing.
Hope that Jurupa fire, the 46 Fire?, is not too close.
I am just chagrined I had never heard of it before this.
And thank you for your accurate concern. The Jarupa fire is close.
Fascinating place Cindy, I look forward to hearing more about it.
Thank you Sheree, I look forward to sharing more with you <3
I’m glad they’re restoring it. So beautiful.
It is utterly unique.
Such a lovely place Cindy. Glad to know it is well preserved.
Cindy, this is such a glorious building. So much beauty and art has gone intro creating it. I so wish to see it. Meanwhile I will go through your pictures again.
Thank you.
Miriam
Reblogging this to my readers at sister site Timeless Wisdoms
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Such a beautiful place and many interesting little features…As I was looking through the images my thought was how lovely it would be lit up and then I saw the image with the lighted windows as always superb images, Cindy 🙂 x
So vibrant and full of life
Love all your photos. This place has definitely a Spanish character. With some guitars and flamenco this will be it 😉
Wow-what a beautiful building!
how amazing is this building?! what a treasure –
What a glorious building Cindy. I am so glad it has been restored.
A very interesting inn. It does not seem to appear as inn but more of living mansion rather to me. Each floor has different outside designs. If it was a type of inn or hotel today, they all will look similar giving guests similar access , perhaps except one or two floors. I also love how the two side meet too. The place invites to explore through out.
Great picture tour from the outside of this interesting inn.
liebe Cindy, das hat mir sehr gefallen, mir geht es gut, ich hoffe, es geht dir wie mir, Klaus
Wow..this place is impressive Cindy! Thanks for sharing!
“. . . Flights of fancy everywhere you look.”
You’re not kidding. A very cool building.
It’s fabulous !!
This place looks amazing. Like something you would see in Europe.
Fascinating history, Cindy! I particularly loved the Tiffany windows…
What a beautiful looking mission and inn. I’m glad it was restored and preserved.
Thank you, Cindy for showing us this magnificent Historic Mission Inn! Looking forward to seeing the details.
Splendid – both photographs and subject.
It’s beautiful! I lived in CA for most of my life and never knew this place existed! I am looking forward to seeing the interior from your viewfinder.
Great captures! 💕
Ahhh…it’s Mission Innpossible (Photography series) ♡( ⁼̴̤̆ ꇴ ⁼̴̤̆ )♡
Thanks for sharing this place Cindy, then we are many able to enjoy your visit there 😀
The architecture is so European. Takes me to another continent!
What a great building! So California!
Wow! Obviously built as a labor of love. I’m glad it’s been restored. These photos are amazing!
Thank you Jacquie & I am happy you enjoyed it my friend <3
It’s beautiful, Cindy! Based on the captioned photo, I thought the inn was somewhere in Europe. It’s so close to home, I have to check it out one of these days.
It is close to me too and I basically never even heard of it. I was missing a lot. The holiday lights are said to be amazing.
Wow, it’s so Old World, magnificent!
Yes and it also has such whimsy. It is hard to take it too seriously which makes it even more fun.
Kind of like an elaborate movie set!
They have filmed a bunch of movies here and Anne Rice set two of her books here.
Truly a beautiful place. Looking forward to more pictures.
Thanks much Darnell. They will be coming soon. Be well my friend.
And the same to you
<3
It’s beautiful how your pictures capture the magnificence of the architecture and still retain the details that make it feel “homey”. Like the grand fountain of the lions softened with the greenery and the pumpkins. Beautiful duality!
I can see why it was chosen as a film site. Have you been able to experience any of the amenities?
Thank you for such thoughtful perceptions. We stayed a night and toured durying the day. We ate dinner al fresco which was delightful. I hear the spa is wonderful. We do want to return as the holiday lights are said to be incredible.
I’ll be near there in early December. Looks as though I should extend our stay if rooms are available. Thank you, Cindy, for this excellent re-introduction! (Visitted once, but only for lunch.)
The Christimas lights were just going up and and look to be truly spectacular. We stayed Halloween night. You might want to add an extra night.
A marvelous mix, Cindy!
Fascinatingly eclectic!
♥
Now I am interested in traveling to Riverside!
I think this is why I missed this place entirely. I never really wanted to come to Riverside, which turned out to be a big mistake. The old town is pure charm. They have art deco buildings and even those old street clocks. Very quiet nice back in time vibe.
Charm ! I agree. I looked up the location, and expected it to be more rural and farther north.
Quite a pleasant surprise to me too!
Gorgeous.
I want to come back and stay in the Anne Rice room.
Fantastic, and I’m so glad it’s been saved and restored
Thankfull a glass high rise didn’t replace it.