The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1913-12-16
JAMES AIKEN WRITES TO OLD FRIENDS
OF CALIFORNIA; NUMEROUS CHARMS

and interest a number of my old
friends in The Gazette family with
few rambling observations about
this unique place.
So many progressive cities have
appropriated the title of "The City
Beautiful" that the Riverside boosters
have adopted the slogan, "The City
that's Different" And they can make
good on that. Perhaps the Glen
wood Mission Inn Miller-started
things in the direction of a revival of
interest in the romantic story of the
early California Missions, perhaps
some other leader. Every one has
heard Of the Glenwood Inn, inclosing
large city block, with restful look
ing courts decked with palms, trees
and flowers; quaint bell towers with
real chime of mellow bells which
ring out the old familiar hymn tunes
on Sundays, and other special occa-
sions; tagged floors, low-beamed
roofs and foreign looking colonnades;
a completely equipped Chapel for
guests inclined to be devotional Any
way the court house, School build
ings, Churches, public library, Y u.
C. A, building, and innumerable mer-
camille and private structures through
out this city reflect the mission spirit.
Even the concrete lamp posts on the
main streets suggest wayside crosses,
hung with bell-shaped shades for the
electric lights. And best of all, the
result is not homogeneous. but broad
ly speaking, beautiful. The wall of
mountains encircling the city at almost
every point, the towering palms along
streets and public parks, and the
orange trees loaded with green and
gold in almost every vacant lot and
yard, everywhere harmonic with the
old Spanish style of architecture.
But to turn to the practical instead
of the romantic, Riverside looks good
in some other ways. Not saloon
in the city and few specimens of the
kind of men who frequent drinking
joints. The secretary of the Chamber
of Commerce told me the other day
that the progressive business men of
the place were endeavoring to make
a strong appeal to the class of peo-
pie who are seeking ideal homes. The
stranger will find a great many of
that kind of homes, at least in out
ward aspects, already in evidence.
The residence sections on many streets
suggest many Minneapolis beauty
spots, translated into Spanish. An
other point of resemblance to our
Minnesota City Beautiful, is the fact
that Riverside has extended its bor-
ders On prodigal scale and inclosing
fifty-six square miles in its limits
No pent up Utica contracts Riverside
in the matter of taking everybody in.
Of course Riverside can boast of
other things beside beauty and civic
progress. Her citizens claim the
front place in orange shipments 5000
carloads yearly, with thirty-six large
packing houses, employing a small
army of employees during nearly half
of the year. Also one of the largest
cement factories, with mountain of
material to draw from. This concern
claims to turn out 5000 barrels every
"a hours. And with this road ma
terial, the city also boasts over 200
miles of shaded, oiled and macada-
mixed drives. Without trying to ver-
ify this last claim, am bound to say
that | never saw so large proportion
of good roads in any other city.
Perhaps as an outgrowth of these
good roads, perhaps as the cause, it
looks to a stranger as though this
city had gone auto crazy. Monster
garages are more plentiful here than
saloons used to be in the heyday of
New Ulm and Sleepy Eye. And if
l should remain in Riverside there
would be no escaping the temptation
to go broke by adding to my liabili-
ties instead of my assets, as an auto |
man told me the other day was the |
ultimate effect of buying an auto.
Anyway, Southern Californian,
tempted eleven months of the year by
broad drives through scenes of beauty
and grandeur, has more justification
for harboring the auto bug than any
other mortal.
To prolong this talk about River
side might lay me under suspicion of
being hired booster. So l must adj
NIT that the freeze of last winter put /
something of crimp on the pros
perity of Riverside, in common with
most cities in the orange country.
And as the Thermometer indicated 80 |
above last night hereabouts, no doubt
many growers of the golden fruit
are tonight nervous over weather pos