We are fortunate to have incredible buildings in Riverside. From the grandest hotel to the tiniest cottage, from awe-inspiring to cozy charm, from adobe to stucco, Riverside maintains the full range of scale and genre. The Old Riverside Foundation (ORF) is dedicated to preserving, restoring, and, when necessary, salvaging historic homes. Their advocacy helps ensure that Riverside’s history is to be lived in and among and not just told.
Each year, the ORF organizes the Vintage Home Tour. This year, five homes in five styles will be shown. The curated selection of homes will be open for walk-through tours. I asked Dave Stolte, President of the Old Riverside Foundation, about the home tour and what makes Riverside such a unique architectural city.
“Riverside is one of those towns where history and circumstances crossed paths at just the right moment. Around 1900, this was the wealthiest city per capita in the United States due to the navel orange industry that began here. It was coincidence that this happened during the Golden Age of American architecture, so we’re fortunate to have such a concentration of styles ranging from Victorian to Craftsman, through all the Revival styles of the ‘20s and ‘30s, and into post-war Midcentury Modern. These homes are all irreplaceable treasures, and it’s such a pleasure to have generous homeowners share them with us for this event.”
This year, five homes in five different styles will be shown. The curated selection of homes will be open for self-guided tours, with docents at each location to answer questions. Participants can visit the homes in the order they choose and stay as long as they want. Finish your day at the Peter J. Weber house, headquarters of the Old Riverside Foundation, for a faire and mercantile.
