Riverside in 1924

As we enter the new year, many people take time to reflect on the past twelve months. In Exploring Riverside’s Past, we also look back, delving into the events and people that shaped Riverside’s rich history, often drawing comparisons to life today. As we begin 2025, we turn our attention 100 years back to December 1924, offering a glimpse into what life in Riverside was like during that time.

You might have started your sojourn downtown to do some car shopping. You could stop at the Glenwood Mission Garage at 762 7th Street (at the corner of 7th and Market). Inside, there was a wide assortment of used cars.

An ad from December 29 listed over 50 used autos from 1918 to 1925 for sale. The cars ranged from a used Ford at only $35 to a Studebaker Big Six at $2400! Other models were Buicks, Dodges, Chevrolets, Maxwells, Dorts, Hudson, Nashes, Mitchells, and one each of a Stutz Roadster and a Star. Quite an assortment of models and prices.

Riversiders in 1924 had to purchase groceries to eat. Several grocery stores were listed in a city directory, including H. G. Chaffees, which had two locations at 557 Main and 965 Main. 

As a shopper who went grocery shopping at the end of December 1924, you could purchase two bunches of spinach for 10 cents, a large bottle of Libby’s Catsup for 23 cents, and a pound of Chaffee’s Dining Coffee for 43 cents, a package of a dozen fancy Naval Oranges for 40 cents, a pound of bacon for 30 cents, a three-pound shoulder of lamb for 66 cents, one pound block of Kraft American Cheese for 45 cents, three packages of Jersey Corn Flakes for 20 cents, a pound package of Chaffee’s Pancake Flour for 29 cents and a two-pound package of Mothers Cocoa for 28 cents. Your total was $3.34!

With the cooler weather, how warm was your house? If you needed a new heater, Franzen Hardware was the place to go. Prices ranged from $2.45 to $30, and wood, coal, gas, oil, and electric models were available.  And they even delivered.  

There were several department stores in downtown Riverside where you could find clothes and accessories. The best-known two were Rouse’s and Reynold’s. Rouse’s Department Store was on Main Street between Eight and Ninth Streets in the building that today is part of the Barbara and Art Culver Center of the Arts. In its day, it was the place where the high-fashion-conscious would do their shopping. A December 1924 ad before Christmas (without prices) listed such items as Perrin Gloves, Chinese-designed Handkerchiefs, Elizabeth Arens toilet goods, Van Raalite pure-thread silk stockings, and Omar Pearls. You had to visit the store to find the prices if you were looking for such fancy items. 

Down the block on the northeast corner of Main and Ninth sat Reynold’s Department Store, three stories high, plus a basement of merchandise. Reynold’s was one of the largest in Southern California.

As 1924 closed, Reynold’s advertised new spring hats for $4.95, ladies' flannel pajamas for $2.95, crochet quilts for $1.49, and ladies' rayon hose for only 79 cents. This huge marketplace sold all sorts of merchandise. 

For entertainment, you could come downtown for a New Year’s Eve presentation of the play “Something Tells Me!” starring May Robson.  Seat prices ranged from 75 cents to $2 at the Loring Theatre on Seventh Street, part of the Loring Building on the corner of Main and Seventh. 

For a quick trip out of town to Los Angeles, you could jump on the Pacific Electric, leaving in the morning and returning that evening. Or you could stay over for up to ten days. The cost? One way ticket was $1.71, and a round trip was $2.80. You left from the old Southern Pacific Depot near Market and Seventh Streets.

Or you could stay in town, go to the Fairgrounds near Fairmount Park, and watch the Auto Races on Sunday afternoon. Racing had been held during the Southern California Fair season, but in 1924, the Fair Committee set up races for Sunday afternoons. The cost was $1 for adults and 50 cents for kids. However, the local ministerial associations protested the Sunday use of the grounds. Remember, most businesses were closed on Sundays, yet the races went on.

In 1924, a local architect and builder, James M. Wheeler, would build you a five-room bungalow for $1592. He used a “Super-rigid” construction system for long-lasting homes. 

Before you get too excited about all the low prices, check out the 1924 report from the IRS. The average net income per return for California in that year was $3405.72, which comes to $65.50 per week. 

If you wish to have those prices and those days, remember—there were no TVs, cell phones, computers, freeways, or many other conveniences we take for granted. Yet many days, would it not be nice to return to the early simple days of a hundred years ago?