Museum of Riverside to conclude centennial year with exhibit, gala

The Museum of Riverside is rounding out its centennial anniversary series — “100 Programs for 100 Years” — with a special exhibition and gala celebration next month.

“Dear Riverside, a letter to our first love” explores the century-long process of assembling “a collection to reflect a community,” according to a city statement on Friday. The exhibition is visible through Jan. 5 at the Center for Social Justice & Civil Liberties, 3855 Market St.

Officials noted “100 Programs for 100 Years” involved “community cultural partners and has taken the Museum to all corners of the city.”

The centennial celebration culminates Dec. 12 with a gala at the Riverside Municipal Auditorium, 3845 Mission Inn Ave., which like the museum also originated in the 1920s. The gala is set to feature gourmet dining, world-class entertainment and a live auction.

“This event will be a celebration of Riverside’s rich history and a toast to its vibrant future,” according to the statement.

Tickets are on sale until Dec. 1 via givebutter.com/MoR100thAnniversaryGala or by emailing cdowning@riversideca.gov.

“In 1924, Riverside had an estimated population of just 25,000 people when its forward-looking city leaders founded a museum for the city,” according to the city statement. “Few cities, particularly among those in the western states, were as future-focused as Riverside.

“The museum of nature, history, and culture now known as the Museum of Riverside was founded during a period of nationwide entrepreneurial spirit, optimism, and opportunity, and it grew with the changing times. Today, its collections and programs aim to celebrate local achievements, reflect local passions, enrich generations of pre-K through 12 schoolchildren, and provide lifelong learning in a city that is a leader in providing a high quality of life,” officials said.

The museum began with seed money from Riverside resident Mary Elizabeth Rumsey in memory of her husband Cornelius Earle Rumsey. This museum’s starting collection of art and artifacts by the region’s Indigenous cultures spawned “a century of gifts donated by community members that reveal the donors’ belief that the entire community deserved to share in, learn about, and appreciate the area’s natural, cultural, and historical treasures,” officials said.

The museum’s collection highlights include natural history resources such as the Clark Herbarium, regional archives of photographs and drawings by local architects plus historic structures such as Heritage House and Harada House. 

“Enthusiasm for what our fellow human beings accomplish and value lies at the core of every great museum collection,” museum Director Robyn G. Peterson said in a statement. “The Museum of Riverside is proud to be looking forward to an expanded new downtown building where this city’s enthusiasm for its past, present, and future — expressed in what residents make, collect, know, and save — will be celebrated.”

Officials said they expect the museum to continue to grow and evolve in its second century guided by involvement from the city’s “unique and diverse community.” 

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