Please Please keep posting new blogs. I love that someone has captured the hidden gems in Riverside. Riverside is such a wonderful place to live at. I love that the old buildings are still there.

John

Certainly post-WWII suburban spaces can embody the three good criteria you mention. To be completely fair about my example, I live in a streetcar suburb a mile or two from the Magnolia Center (and a mile or two from downtown). My husband bikes to work there every day. The area is pedestrian and bike-friendly to several thousand surrounding Riverside residents living in neighborhoods constructed from the 1920s-1960s, though it is still very suburban in scale and separation of uses. I like it that way and would hate to see the area insensitively densified. Is there room for higher commercial and even residential density? I think so, but the suburban character that makes the area such a pleasure to live, work, and shop in must must must be preserved.

The more difficult examples are more like the 1967 subdivision I grew up in, where there is a profound separation of uses that challenge anyone without a car to accomplish basic feats of commerce. I remember as a kid pedaling several hilly miles to buy candy at the nearest drugstore. What will be fascinating to figure out is whether/how we can make those kinds of post-WWII suburbs more “urban” in function while retaining the suburban character integral to their historic integrity (assuming we’re talking about historic examples).

Thanks very much for your thoughtful post. This is the kind of discourse that I think will really help tease out these important issues.

1. historic architecture
2. pedestrian centric (and) urban design more generally (how cities were laid out during the Walking City and Transit City eras)
3. history, identity and authenticity.

So you can have this in postwar places. But you might not necessarily have walkable places. Those are different issues.

Anyway, you likely would appreciate the NR bulletin on the residential suburb (not to mention the books by Richard Longstreth on the development of automobile-centri places–his two books on Los Angeles).

The NR bulletin is particularly well written:

http://www.nps.gov/history/nR/publications/bulletins/suburbs/index.htm

Note also that center cities have suburban neighborhoods, trolley and railroad “suburbs” as well as areas developed during the time of the automobile. I live in such a neighborhood within DC myself, although I used to live in the more typical rowhouse neighborhoods in the core of the city.

Thus, we agree with Tanya, now is the time to speak up and show support for keeping the architectural style of the existing library — before it’s too late. With that said, probably the most effective and wide-reaching method in helping sway public opinion is the good old fashioned letter to the editor.

In short, environmental review is complicated and generally takes about a year to complete. If there are delays for any other reason (such as funding or continuances by the commissions overseeing the process) it could take longer. I will follow the process and post on this website when new steps in the process take place, explain (the best I can) what is going on, and what you can do to make yourself heard.

Right now, I think it’s important to get the people who are crafting this project used to the concept that the main library is a historic landmark and make the reasoning clear and compelling. I’ve noticed that it is a lot easier to convince a person/group/City to re-imagine their project in the beginning, before any one vision has a chance to solidify. Solutions that involve drastic changes to the plan are less likely to become “obstructions,” and you can stay away from the “this project or no project” false dilemma that often gets thrown at people who wait for the public comment period to raise concerns.

I love the idea of featuring a parody for the library in your friend’s ‘zine. Now is a great time for people to be up on what’s at stake downtown. Don’t forget that this project also endangers the Downtown Fire Station also - they want to knock that gem down for McMissioninn-style retail space and parking. You can also sound off with the Press Enterprise, the City Council, the Mayor, and the Library Board. My suggestions for contacting them is to be courteous and clear - they will generally dismiss angry, disorganized comments, even if it brings up a good point.

Thanks for reading! I’ll do my best to keep you posted.

Man, I wish I was already in Riverside, but I’m doing what I can from here. As a 31 year old Riverside native, living in DC, and an AVID architecture buff, I can say that Kathy A’s remarks were way off the mark. I am not a boomer (quite far from it thank you) and I can say that MANY in my generation fall precisely into the category you describe - this is the architecture of our youth and our hometown. Mid-Century Modern IS Riverside.

I don’t understand the southern California psychosis that everything over 50 years old is “BAD” and needs to be put down like an old dog. The library can be modernized AND renovated without losing its unique face.

I’ve propositioned a friend of mine who publishes and distributes a local ‘zine, called Digress, about a “Save The Clock Tower” parody edition: “Save the Mid-Century Modern Downtown Library”. Still really rough, but would you be interested in getting the world out through the underground? Don’t underestimate the power of the punk kids.

How much time do we have? Last I heard, the committee recommended to the Council that the Chinese pavillion be saved, but no real word on the facade.