On Hwy-215, 6 miles South of San Bernardino. In 1895, Riverside could boast of being the wealthiest city – per capita – in the U.S., a fact entirely due to the rich soils and balmy climate that made the town a centre for citrus growing, including the raising of the newly-developed navel orange, uniquely able to ripen in winter. Easily the grandest of several old buildings in the present town centre is the Mission Inn, 3649 Seventh Street, designed in flowing Spanish Revival manner by Frank A. Miller, who moved to Riverside in 1873 when his father was appointed chief engineer. The inn’s lavishly furnished bedrooms, music rooms and patios were enjoyed by several generations of the country’s rich and powerful. Discover more about the inn, and much more about oranges, at the Riverside Metropolitan Museum ( http://www.riversideca.gov/museum/), 3720 Orange Street, occupying a pretty Italianate building of 1912.

A more recent boost to civic pride was the acquisition of the California Museum of Photography ( http://artsblock.ucr.edu/Page/california-museum-of-photography), 3824 Main Street, an outstanding collection which documents the development of photography with an absorbing cache of old cameras and modern hands-on exhibits. The actual photographs on display range from the 1800s to the present day, and there are temporary shows of a high standard.

Detour – Mount Rubidoux

Named after Louis Rubidoux, an 1840s rancher whose land holdings encompassed all of what is now Riverside, Mount Rubidoux rises above western end of the town. At its 1,200-ft summit stand the Serra Cross, remembering the founder of the California missions, and the World Peace Tower, commemorating Frank A. Miller. To reach the top, take the winding lane that begins at the junction of Ninth Street and Mount Rubidoux Drive.