We visited the historic Mission Inn Hotel in Riverside, California. The property began as an adobe boarding house called Glenwood Cottage, built by engineer and surveyor Christopher Columbus Miller and on November 22, 1876, the Millers took their first paying guest. In February 1880, Miller's son Frank Augustus Miller purchased the hotel and land from his father. It became a full-service hotel in the early 1900s due to California's economic citrus boom and warm weather, attracting wealthy travelers and investors from the East Coast and Europe. In 1902, Frank changed the name to the "Glenwood Mission Inn" and started building, in a variety of styles, until he died in 1935.
With one section over another, addition upon addition, the result is a complicated and intricately built structure. It contains narrow passageways, exterior arcades, a medieval-style clock, a five-story rotunda, numerous patios and windows, castle towers, minarets, a Cloister Wing (with catacombs), flying buttresses, Mediterranean domes and a pedestrian sky bridge among many other features. During the 30-year construction period, Miller traveled the world, collecting treasures to bring back to the hotel for display.
*Information gathered from Wikipedia*
While we were in Riverside, we stopped at Casey's Cupcakes in Riverside, CA (winners of Cupcake Wars 2011 on the Food Network). These cupcakes are delicious! I had the strawberry cupcake, and the cake was moist, fluffy and the buttercream strawberry frosting was heavenly!!! Highly recommend this place when in the area or visit their Irvine Spectrum or Newport Fashion Island locations.
Historic Riverside, California is a beautiful area. It is engulfed with stunning architectural buildings and rich history. Here are some of the awesome things we saw on our daytrip. All in all, it was a wonderful time in Riverside. See you guys on the next day trip!
