Riverside's Mission Inn

The story of the internationally famous Mission Inn Hotel, and its predecessor, has been intertwined with the city of Riverside's history since both began. As the slogan once said, Riverside is a "City with a Mission Inn its Heart." For more than a century, the Mission Inn and its eclectic collections have intrigued visitors, artisans, architects, and dignitaries who have come to Riverside for a myriad of reasons. The Mission Inn, founded by colorful entrepreneur Frank Miller, was integral to the city's turn-of-the-20th-century tourism as wealthy Easterners flocked to Riverside and its famous hotel, lured by a Mediterranean climate, investment opportunities, and vast navel orange groves. Unlike other grand hotels of the time, the Mission Inn, with its Mission style architecture, was a luxury hotel that was uniquely Californian.

Steve Lech is the author of Along the Old Roads: A History of the Portion of Southern California That Became Riverside County, 1772–1893 and other books. His coauthor, Kim Jarrell Johnson, wrote Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America: Jurupa. Together they have combed the archives of the Mission Inn Foundation/Museum and the Riverside Metropolitan Museum to superbly illustrate the storied past of this National Historic Landmark and internationally famous resort.