Many early Riversiders moved to the new city and played an essential role in the history and development of our city. One such person was George N. Reynolds.
George Reynolds was born in Canada on November 24, 1860, and came to Riverside in 1880. After working on a ranch for five years, George invested his savings in a small mercantile store in the Dyer Block on the northeast corner of Ninth and Main.
On November 29, 1888, George married Laura Tirrell Low, daughter of Jeremiah Low and sister of Charles Low. The ceremony occurred at the bride's father's home at 471 Palm Avenue (later 6943 Palm) just north of Arlington. George and Laura moved into this home on Palm Avenue. The Low family owned two homes (Jeremiah's and Charles's) and orange groves at this location. They also owned land across the street from the homes, part of which they donated and became Low Park on Magnolia Avenue near Arlington Avenue.
Nine years after arriving in town, he moved and enlarged his store to the Castleman block. Reynolds opened the Reynolds Department Store in October 1896, building on his success. Another move was needed in 1900, and he built the three-story plus basement Reynolds Department Store on the northeast corner of Main and Ninth in downtown Riverside, the location he started at years ago. The store contained 52,000 square feet of furniture, home furnishings, clothing, and other merchandise. The store was declared the largest department store in Southern California outside of Los Angeles.
Postcard of Reynolds Department Store (Author's Collection)
Expanding his enterprises in 1903, Reynolds purchased the Casa Palma Hotel on the southeast corner of Main and Ninth and renamed it the Reynolds Hotel. The hotel had started out in 1887 as Rowell's Hotel before becoming the Bordwell in 1898 and then in 1900 the Casa Palma. George's initial plans included spending $50,000 on remodeling and an addition to make the Reynolds a first-class tourist hotel. At the same time, Frank Miller announced plans to pay $150,000 to erect a tourist hotel on the site of the Glenwood Tavern. Both sought city bonuses to help with the cost. Miller's local backers included E. A. Chase, S. C. Evans, and Charles Low, Reynolds' brother-in-law. The newspaper gleefully announced, "Tourist Hotels are Coming in Pairs." Seeing that Miller was raising the funds for his project, Reynolds withdrew his request, stating that he felt the bonuses needed for the two could not be raised. He still carried out renovation plans at the Reynolds Hotel, but not to the extent he originally planned. The hotel had prime commercial space on its corner, and in 1903, the Citizens Bank was located there.
In addition to the Reynolds Department Store and Reynolds Hotel, George owned other downtown properties, including the Virginia Building on Ninth Street. From 1903 to 1911, George Reynolds was the largest taxpayer in Riverside County.
Generous to his adopted city, he helped with many projects, including the donation in 1908 for the fountain in White Park. In early 1908, Albert White persuaded the park department to move the bandshell built for White Park to Fairmount Park, leaving a void at the front of the park. The generous donation by George Reynolds, described as a "most public-spirited citizen," filled this space.
The project was announced in the June 9, 1908, newspaper. On July 29, the newspaper reported that C. P. Hancock, who had the contract for the project, had started excavation work and expected the fountain to be finished in about one week. Government bureaucracy and building projects moved much quicker in the early years of the Twentieth Century.
Fountain in White Park donated by George Reynolds (Courtesy of the Museum of Riverside)1910 Map of White Park (Courtesy of the Local History Archives, Main Library)
Leaving in the Fall of 1909 on a six-month world tour, the Reynolds family returned with new ideas. George Reynolds quickly laid out plans for a water garden for Fairmount Lake in Fairmount Park. He paid for islands, bridges, aquatic plants, and arbors gracing the lake's one end.
Photo by E. N. Fairchild of Lily Pond (Author's Collection)Postcard of water features in Fairmount Lake (Author's Collection)
George and Laura had one son, Charles Reynolds, born in Riverside on September 18, 1889. George died on September 21, 1911. Out of respect for this early entrepreneur and philanthropist, the Riverside Business Association unanimously recommended that all downtown stores and businesses be closed for Reynold's funeral. His son, Charles, took charge of the family businesses.
For a complete rendering of George Reynold's Water Gardens with Lily Ponds in Fairmount Park, read the chapter by Glenn Freeman in the newly released book from the Riverside Historical Society, The People's Playground: Riverside's Fairmount Park. The book is available for the first time today at the Society's October 6 meeting of the historical society.
Glenn Wenzel is a board member of the Riverside Historical Society, the Friends of Mount Rubidoux and the Riverside County Heritage Association. He is the author of two books on Mount Rubidoux.
