3 Best Sights in Riverside, The Inland Empire

The crown jewel of Riverside is the Mission Inn, a Spanish-Revival hotel whose elaborate turrets, clock tower, mission bells, and flying buttresses rise above downtown. Taking his cues from the Spanish missions in San Gabriel and Carmel, architect Arthur B. Benton designed the initial wing, which opened in 1903. Locals G. Stanley Wilson and Peter Weber are credited with the grand fourth section, the Rotunda Wing, completed in 1931.

You can climb to the top of its five-story spiral stairway, or linger in the Courtyard of the Birds, where a tinkling fountain and shady trees invite meditation. If a wedding isn't taking place, you can also peek inside the St. Francis Chapel, where celebrities such as Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, and Richard and Pat Nixon tied the knot before the Mexican cedar altar. Ten U.S. presidents have patronized the Presidential Lounge, a bright, wood-panel bar.

Docents of the Mission Inn Foundation, whose museum contains displays depicting the building's illustrious history, lead guided tours. On occasion, Friends of the Mission Inn ( www.friendsofthemissioninn.com) host silent movie nights with music played by the pipe organ in the Ball Room. 

Hearst Castle architect Julia Morgan designed this museum that houses a significant collection of works by Robert Williams, Takashi Murakami, Shag, Käthe Kollwitz, James Gurney, Marc Chagall, Millard Sheets, Shepard Fairey, Corita Kent, and Don O’Neill. In 2022, the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture joined the museum to showcase Chicano art in the form of paintings, drawings, photographs, and sculptures by artists including Patssi Valdez, Sandy Rodriguez, Carlos Almaraz, Frank Romero, and Gilbert “Magú” Luján.

With a collection that includes thousands of Kodak Brownie and Zeiss Ikon cameras, this museum—the centerpiece of UCR ARTS—surveys the history of photography and the devices that produced it. Exhibitions, some of contemporary images, others historically oriented, are always top-notch and often incorporate photographs from the permanent collection of works by Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham, and other greats. The museum also hosts films, performances, and other cultural events.