Riverside Looks to Its Own History to Mark America's 250th

As America nears its 250th birthday on July 4, Riverside is gearing up for celebration.

While this year marks a milestone for America, city officials said they also wanted to highlight Riverside's own history.

Councilmember Philip Falcone told the Gazette that building local pride helps build national pride.

"I was kind of torn," Falcone said. "I thought, gosh, I don't know if we want to be celebrating America's 250th when there's so much tension in our country right now. We're so divided that maybe now is not a good time to be making everything about national stuff."

Falcone said the idea came to him during a visit to an exhibit at the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda.

"The exhibit had a panel with an explanation that said how in 1976, when America was celebrating its Bicentennial, the country was very divided. Nixon had just [resigned], there was the issue of Watergate, there was the Vietnam War going on, there were the tensions of the civil rights movement, and race relations were very tense," Falcone said.

Ford's response, Falcone said, was to shift the focus away from Washington and toward local history. "We're going to make this not so much about Washington, D.C. — we're going to make this about local history."

"All of these cities celebrated their local history and built pride locally, and that in turn, builds together a national pride for all that we have," he said.

Riverside was heavily invested in the 1976 Bicentennial, according to Falcone.

"We did so much in Riverside for the Bicentennial – we were actually an official American Bicentennial city," Falcone said. "We competed against other cities for that designation, and part of it meant doing celebrations, public art projects – even City Hall was an American Bicentennial project."

With sights set on celebrating local as well as national pride, the festivities are set to begin as early as May 1 with the opening of an exhibit at the Mission Inn Foundation Gallery titled "Riverside: An All-American City - A Celebration of America 250." The exhibit will run through Aug. 3 and will focus on the city's history – from the precolonial period to the Spanish settlements to today.

Throughout the summer, Riverside will host events in honor of the milestone, with the highlight being its weekly concerts in the park with additional Fourth of July-themed fun.

On June 17, the city will host a concert at La Sierra Park and see its first-ever drone show – with a fleet of luminous drones forming patriotic images. A second Fourth of July-themed concert and drone show will be held at Fairmont Park on July 1.

"We're really excited that we're kicking off the summer concert at La Sierra," said Parks and Recreation Director Pamela Galera. "We've never done that before. This summer concert has always been at Fairmont Park, so we're thrilled to be able to add La Sierra."

La Sierra Park will also host its traditional July 4 "Fireworks Spectacular" from 6-10 p.m. on the holiday, with fireworks at 9 p.m.

Riverside will also mark the milestone by casting red-white-and-blue lights across the city.

From May 1 through Labor Day, major civic landmarks such as City Hall, the Riverside Municipal Auditorium, the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art and Culture, the Riverside Public Library and the walkway along the Main Street mall will be lit in red, white and blue.

The number "250" will also be echoed throughout city streets. Riverside will expand American flags on streetlight poles from 175 to 250, and will plant 250 trees across the city in honor of the anniversary.

There will also be 250 American flags and banners across Evergreen Cemetery, where the city's founders such as John Wesley North – known as the founder of Riverside – and Frank Augustus Miller, who built the Mission Inn, are buried.

In the Presidential Park neighborhood – where streets such as Jefferson, Madison, Adams and Jackson are named for America's founding fathers – traffic signal utility boxes will be wrapped with historical images and information relating to those presidents, creating permanent "mini history lessons," according to Falcone.

America's 250th celebration year will culminate in December with the rededication of the rose garden in Fairmont Park as an "America 250 Rose Garden." The remodeled garden will also include new accessible pathways, a gazebo, a repaired fountain, new roses and American flags.

Falcone will share a presentation with more details about the upcoming 250th celebration events during the April 14 council meeting.

Riverside also commissioned local artist Juan Navarro to paint a mural on a building downtown. The mural depicts an eagle holding a ribbon featuring the national motto E Pluribus Unum – Latin for "out of many, one."

"It's a reminder that our nation began with immigrants of different religious beliefs and cultural backgrounds searching for freedom," Navarro told the Gazette. "The 13 colonies created a safe haven in the Americas, and their unity gave birth to our nation. Many immigrants still come to this country today for the same reason."

As a first-generation Latino immigrant, Navarro said, "it's a privilege to be invited to paint a national seal in our downtown."

"I understand that some people may find it difficult to celebrate our nation's 250th anniversary during such a polarized political moment," he said. "This mural is a reminder that patriotism doesn't belong to a single party or group – it belongs to everyone who actively participates in building our country. A healthy democracy should always leave room for both critique and dialogue."

By Micaela Ricaforte