Photo of the 1926 Riverside Display at the National Orange Show. Note some of the names of the nations around the top, the replica plaque on the side, and several of the small floats at the base of the tower. (Courtesy of the Los Angeles Times Collection at the UCLA Library Department of Special Collections)
While Miller was out of the country in 1925, citizens of Riverside gathered funds to erect a monument as a testament to Frank Miller and his promotion of World Peace and Friendship. The tower and bridge were designed by Arthur Benton, who was also the architect of the first two wings of the Mission Inn. After Miller returned to Riverside, a special dedication ceremony was held on December 13, 1925. Guest speakers included John Stephen McGroarty, the author of the Mission Play, and David Starr Jordan, the president of Stanford University. They praised Miller and his advocacy of world peace. Miller's response was, "We love this bridge and peace monument. It is a wonderful, beautiful thing. It symbolizes the things we all believe in. I am grateful from the bottom of my heart."
Postcard of the Peace Tower and Friendship Bridge on Mt. Rubidoux. (Author's Collection)
Shortly after the dedication of the Frank A. Miller Testimonial Peace Tower and Friendship Bridge on Mount Rubidoux on December 13, 1925, Charles Rouse, owner of downtown Rouse's Department Store and chairman of the Riverside Chamber of Commerce, suggested to the Chamber of Commerce a display for the Sixteenth Annual National Orange Show in San Bernardino. Rouse proposed an exhibit consisting of a miniature replica of the Peace Tower and Bridge. E. J. Rose, a Los Angeles artist, was hired to design the exhibit. The Tower and Bridge were covered with "luscious golden Riverside oranges." Charles Rouse headed the committee planning the exhibit and was assisted by J. H. Wilson, J. R. Bowden, Ray Wolfe, and Fred Schweitzer.
From a postcard from the 1926 National Orange Show. (Author's Collection)
The replica Peace Tower and Friendship Bridge, constructed from cement blocks and standing 25 feet high, was covered with oranges. Large boulders represented Mount Rubidoux, and a road was recreated to represent Huntington Drive as it leads up the mountain. Seven miniature mechanically operated floats traversed the road, symbolizing a "Pageant of Peace." The floats moved along the roadway and under the bridge, then looped around the tower. The seven countries represented were the United States, Japan, France, Italy, England, Belgium, and Germany. An imitation of the bronze plaque on the Peace Tower contained these words: "This bridge was built by neighbors and friends of Frank Augustus Miller in recognition of his constant labor in the promotion of civic beauty, community righteousness and world peace."
Although the judges favored Riverside's display, an issue with the tower's lighting prompted them to award Los Angeles first prize, and Riverside earned second place in the Grand Sweepstakes. The second-place award earned the Riverside Chamber of Commerce $400.
The 1926 National Orange Show took place from February 18 to 28, with a total attendance of 253,000 people who visited the various exhibits and displays over the eleven days. This was the Sixteenth Annual Orange Show. The Orange Shows were opportunities for communities to showcase their citrus crops through citrus samples and displays that promoted their communities and their citrus products. News about Riverside's new Peace Tower on Mount Rubidoux was well promoted at the 1926 event, with the Peace Tower and Friendship Bridge of Oranges.
The people of Riverside, through the efforts of Charles Rouse and the Riverside Chamber of Commerce, once more honored Frank A. Miller, Riverside's great promoter of World Peace and Friendship.
Adapted from "On Peace and Friendship," a book about the history of the Peace Tower and Friendship Bridge, written by the author and published by the Friends of Mt. Rubidoux, to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Tower and Bridge.
Glenn Wenzel is a board member of the Riverside Historical Society, the Friends of Mount Rubidoux and the Riverside County Heritage Association. He is the author of two books on Mount Rubidoux.
The tenor soloist who sang at Booker T. Washington's memorial service traded his Mission Inn post for the battlefields of World War I, earning a place on Frank Miller's banner of heroes.
Riverside's longest-serving fire chief modernized the department, survived smoke inhalation and a bicycle crash, and never asked his men to face dangers he wouldn't confront himself.
A century ago, the city issued more than $2 million in building permits for the third straight year, transforming downtown with structures that still shape our landscape.
