Before the Freeway ran down the middle of the city, the divide was the train tracks, and Commerce Avenue was the industrial heart of the city on the edge of town. On the other side of the tracks was the Eastside. Part of the story of Riverside's citrus heritage can be told in the dozens of surviving mansions that belonged to the citrus barons of the 19th and 20th centuries. We can still learn from what little remains of the industry's infrastructure. Thousands of stories are held in the streets and structures of the Eastside neighborhood.
People's History Inland Empire and the Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California have installed, on Commerce between Mission Inn Avenue and Third Street, a series of banners and two plaques that demarc the location of the historical citrus industrial district and honor the workers in the groves and running the machines of that industry. This is part of a multi-city project, Live From the Frontline, that honors and brings dignity to the men and women who labored to keep the Industries that built Southern California running.
The display on Commerce is simple, even austere. There is no museum door protecting the banners. Not many of us drive down Commerce, and there isn't any business going on there that concerns most Riversiders. This display is a worthy excursion. These people's histories are a valuable but often neglected part of greater histories and enrich our understanding of the lives that made our city great.
The exhibit can be seen at 3501 Commerce (approximately).
