Riverside

Riverside lies beside the Santa Ana River in Southern California east of Los Angeles. The community received its name from its location beside the riverbank when founders platted the original town site in the early 1870s. The city became the birthplace of the California citrus industry following the introduction of Brazilian navel orange trees, which flourished in the inland valley climate.

Abolitionist John W. North established the Southern California Colony at the location in 1870 to promote agriculture, music, and education. Resident Eliza Tibbets planted two imported Brazilian navel orange saplings in the 1870s, which yielded sweet seedless fruit that launched a statewide commercial citrus boom. Wooden flumes and paved canals diverted water from the Santa Ana River to irrigate extensive orange orchards across the surrounding plain. Riverside incorporated as a city in 1883 and became the county seat in the 1890s.

The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa displays eclectic Mission Revival architecture developed by Frank Miller over 30 years, incorporating flying buttresses and vaulted cloisters. Mount Rubidoux provides walking trails to a summit cross that hosted the country's first outdoor Easter sunrise service. California Citrus State Historic Park preserves working navel orange groves with interpretive wooden packing sheds. The Fox Performing Arts Center held the initial public preview for the motion picture Gone with the Wind in the 1930s. The Riverside Art Museum occupies a Mediterranean-style building designed by architect Julia Morgan.

Bourns, Inc. manufactures precision electronic components, automotive position sensors, and circuit protection modules. Performance automotive air filters and cold air intake systems originate at K&N Engineering for vehicle markets worldwide. Aluminum Precision Products produces closed-die aluminum and titanium forgings for commercial aerospace assemblies, defense aircraft, and motorsport equipment.