At the entrance to the California Air Resources Board Research Facility (4001 Iowa Ave, Riverside) is an attractive modular sculpture entitled, "Spatial Echoes of Breath", a reflection and commentary on our current environmental crisis. It was created by Tomas Saraceno in 2021.
Within the California Air Resources Board Research Facility (4001 Iowa Ave, Riverside) is an artistic representation of a future without gasoline in which gas stations have become petrified. The sculpture is the work of Allora and Calzadilla and was completed in 2021.
On the east side of the base of the Magnolia Bridge (12650 Magnolia Ave. Riverside) near the transition between Riverside and Corona, are a series of 10 tile displays providing insights into the history of the area with an emphasis on Corona. The artist was Jan K. Pratt of Riverside. More information can be found at this Historical Marker Database webpage.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
Between the Casa Blanca Library (2985 Madison St, Riverside) and the Riverside Public Utilities Customer Resource Center is a small pavilion where an eye-catching metal sculpture can be found. The artist who made the sculpture is unknown.
Castleview Elementary School (6201 Shaker Dr., Riverside) exhibits a small colorful mural showing a friendly dragon, the school's mascot, flanked by banners describing desirable qualities. It was painted in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the school. There are four sets of initials (HM, CR, EM and AL) on the bottom indicating that there were multiple artists involved in painting the mural.
In front of the Riverside Art Museum (3425 Mission Inn Ave., Riverside) are two abstract sculptures. The 2nd sculpture, twin towers constructed of salvaged chrome bumpers, was made by local artist and sculptor Paulden Evans (pauldenevans.com) and is part of a new exhibit at the Riverside Art Museum (@riversideartmusuem) entitled, Skating on Thin Ice. The artist who made the first sculpture (3 painted metal panels) is unknown but may also be Paulden Evans as it is quite similar to another sculpture found on his website. [When I rode by on Nov. 4, 2023, the chrome bumper sculpture was no longer there. It has been relocated to the Main Street Pedestrian Walkway.]
A statue memorializing Sultan, a police K-9 that was killed in action in 2015, has been erected in front of the Riverside Sheriff's Association headquarters in Riverside (21800 Cactus Ave., March Air Reserve Base). The sculpture was sculpted by Ron Pekar and dedicated in 2017. More information about Sultan and his service can be found at his Officer Down Memorial Page.
A sculptural clock tower and fountain, part of a memorial to fallen police officers, is located in front of City Hall (about 3700 Tenth Street, Riverside). On the side of the tower is a plaque that reads "In honored memory of Officers Christiansen and Teel killed in line of duty April 2, 1971."
A statue of boy scout standing with his hat in hand in a relaxed standing pose is located on Robert M. Howie Plaza at the intersection of Lemon and 10th Street (3498 Tenth Street, Riverside). The bronze sculpture was completed by R. Tait McKenzie in 1937 and represents one of the earliest remaining pieces of public art in Riverside.
A statue and memorial to Riverside peace officers who have died serving our community is entitled "Safe in His Arms" and is located in front of the Riverside Police Headquarters at 4102 Orange Street, Riverside. It was sculpted by Gary E. Coulter and completed in 1983.
The land in the area between the onramp to the Interstate 215 freeway and road connecting to Van Buren Ave., near to the March Field Air Museum (22550 Van Buren Boulevard, March Air Reserve Base, CA) has been landscaped illustrating jets in flight. The designer is unknown but presumably this was done as part of a CalTrans transportation art project. The concrete bridge and support structure are also decorated.
On the corner of University Ave. and Market Street (about 3802 Market St.) in Downtown Riverside is a sculpture entitled, Accept Difference. The sculpture was created by local artist Louie Tozser and purchased for installation by the City of Riverside. As described by the artist in a 2015 article in the Fabricator, "“I have a piece that is two human forms, in two styles, made from two different steel alloys,” he said. “It’s called ‘Accept Difference.’ They’re very different from each other—one is big and one is small—and they’re abstract, but it’s easy to see that they are human forms (see photo below). They don’t have hands, so they can’t hurt each other, and the heads are very open, like open minds. People aren’t alike, and we don’t have to embrace our differences, but if we could just accept our differences and move on, the world would be a better place.” More information about the artist and the sculpture can be found in the article in the fabricator and in a 2017 Press Enterprise article.
