A series of murals have been painted on the walls adjacent to and behind the Smoke & Dreams Shop at 3648 Central Ave., Riverside. Some are works in progress while others appear to have been completed. Three of the more completed ones are shown below. They are unsigned but I believe that one of the artists was Mano Mirande @_mano_man_. Please note, I went by on May 1, 2024 and the murals below had been replaced. The new ones can be seen in this later blog post.
The wall adjacent to the Office of Timmothy M. Kelly, CPA and Attorney (3911 Merrill St., Riverside) has been painted with a mural showing an alpine meadow with flowers, trees in the distance and a partly cloudy sky. It is signed Sportelli, who I believe is George Sportelli, who reportedly painted quite a few murals in Hemet before moving to Los Angeles.
The Fallen Soldier/Veterans' Memorial in the Riverside National Cemetery (22495 Van Buren Boulevard, Riverside) contains, as described on the Riverside National Cemetery Support Committee website, a dark statue of "an unknown lifeless body of a soldier in which the boots and hands are the only things visibly distinguishable, sits atop a 12-foot pedestal. As the face of the soldier and most of the body is hidden with a large cloak. The unknown soldier represents any man or woman, any rank or division and stands as a silent memorial of every American who has given their lives in combat." It was sculpted by Thomas Schomberg and donated to the Cemetery by Thomas and Judy Kane in 2000.
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The Medal of Honor Memorial at the Riverside National Cemetery (22495 Van Buren Boulevard, Riverside) is a simple, beautiful and solemn site. The principal designers were Jeff Crumbaker, of The Patrician Group, and Tim Maloney, of the Community Works Design Group. The memorial was dedicated in 1999. Below are photos of the memorial, some of its artistic features, and at this link a short video showing the interior of the memorial.
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A Memorial to American Indian Veterans is planned for the Riverside National Cemetery (22495 Van Buren Boulevard, Riverside). The site, by the lake near the entrance and the POW/MIA Memorial, has been selected and fundraising is ongoing. The sculpture entitled The Gift has been made by sculptor A. Thomas Schomberg and is at the cemetery waiting for the memorial to be completed. The twice-life sized statue shows a dignified and resolute native American wrapped in a Continental flag holding a Jefferson Medal - the gift given to the native American tribes in the early days of our country as a token of peace and friendship. It is shown here as a representation of the service of American Indian veterans. One of the groundskeepers showed me the statue which is currently in a maintenance yard. More information about the statue and memorial can be found here and a series of videos about it can be found through the Schomberg studio website.
Within the MIA/POW Memorial in the Riverside National Cemetery (22495 Van Buren Boulevard, Riverside) is an emotion-evoking statue of a prisoner on his knees in captivity. According to a US Department of Veterans Affairs website, "The Prisoner of War/Missing in Action National Memorial was designated as a national memorial by the U.S. Congress in 2004 through Public Law 108-454. The memorial was dedicated on September 16, 2005. Vietnam veteran Lewis Lee Millett, Jr., sculpted the bronze statue which depicts an American serviceman on his knees with hands bound by his captors. The statue is surrounded by black marble pillars that evoke imprisonment."
In the walkway in front of the Medal of Honor Memorial at the Riverside National Cemetery (22495 Van Buren Boulevard, Riverside) have been placed mosaics in recognition of the five major divisions of the US military - Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard. The artists that made them are not identified.
A new sculpture of two hands holding a representation of an orange can be seen at the intersection of La Sierra Ave. and Hole Ave (11096 Hole Ave, Riverside). On Google maps it is entitled, Riverside - City of Oranges. The artist who designed the sculpture is unidentified.
On the back of Duke's Bar and Grill (3221 Iowa Ave, Riverside) is a striking mural that identifies the establishment against a black background with gray palm trees and a orange-gold sun. The muralist is unidentified.
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Between St. Catherine of Alexandria Church and Shamel Park at about 3674 Arlington Ave., Riverside, is an attractive gold-colored modern sculpture. The artist who designed the sculpture is unknown.
In 2006, the Art Alliance of the Riverside Art Museum held its Giant Orange Artventure to raise money for the museum. The painted orange shown below was painted as part of this competition by Durre Waseem @waseemdurre and is entitled, The Life of Riverside. It depicts key activities taking place in Riverside from classical music and jazz to a wedding and dining at the Mission Inn. The orange is located in the lobby of SchoolsFirst Credit Union (1209 University Ave.) in Riverside.
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In front of the Fine Arts building on the University of California, Riverside campus (near where Canyon Crest Dr. intersects with University Ave.) is a thought-inducing art installation entitled, Change Things or Things Change. As described in an InsideUCR article, "The piece by San Diego artist Roy McMakin is titled “a circular sculpture about usefulness amongst other things.” It features more than a dozen steel poles with aluminum signs on top that read either "Things" or "Change". The words are also affixed to a rotating turbine amid the Cottonwood trees, green and yellow plants, and concrete benches and seats." The message can be read as either Things Change or Change Things depending on one's perspective.
