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Historical Riverside
The Riversider | October/November 2021
From the Mists of Time: The History of Mount Rubidoux Native legend and Miller myth-making merge on the mountain
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WORDS: H. VINCENT MOSES, PHD
Mount Rubidoux, standing proud at the western edge of Riverside’s downtown, is undoubtedly the most popular hiking site in the city. The summit rises 1,331 feet with an elevation gain of 500 feet, providing ample steps to a strong heart. Made famous as a singular prominence of myth and legend, the Mountain is second only to the famous Raincross emblem as Riverside’s symbol. The ancient and the modern merge on its slopes and its summit to create the ideal place for sacred ceremonies and myth making, elevating the status of Riverside and its world-famous Mission Inn. It’s easy to understand why the Mountain took on such standing to the city. Indigenous peoples around the world, since the dawn of human consciousness have recognized certain sites as imbued with spiritual significance. Climb Riverside’s popular high, detached hill one crisp dawn and find yourself in contact with one of those special sites. In that morning air, if you’re open to it, the ancientness and serenity of Mount Rubidoux will fill you with a sense of respect for this special place.
The Riversider | October/November 2021
The original rustic campanario (bell stand) across from the summit, c1915. It later fell into disrepair and eventually taken down. For 27 years, Ike Logan, who lived on Seventh Street near the Buena Vista Bridge, climbed the Mountain every morning at 7am to ring the bell. He was known in town as the Mount Rubidoux Bell Ringer. Postcard image from the Chris Napolitano Collection.
The great, the near great, and ordinary have felt the Mountain’s embrace. They include Frank A. Miller, Master of the Mission Inn and paramount Riverside myth maker; President William Howard Taft; social reformer Jacob Riis, Henry Huntington, Booker T. Washington, Marcella Craft, Carrie Jacobs Bond, Major Hiram Chittenden, Charles Loring, Charles Lummis, Huell Howser, and legions of ordinary citizens. According to local legend, the indigenous Cahuilla and Luiseño peoples considered the Mountain sacred—a place of ceremony for the sunrise, and for promoting peaceful coexistence with neighboring tribes. Little Mount Rubidoux—the adjoining lower hill offers physical signs of a long Native American presence, including grinding basins in low points on granite boulders, and hand shaped cupules in those same boulders. In addition, freshwater springs flowed at the northern base of Little Rubidoux, providing ample supplies of water.
The Huntington Park Association and Arts & Crafts Era Myth Making
When the white men came in the nineteenth century, the Mountain fell silent. In the beginning of the 20th century, however—1906-09 to be exact—Anglo American Riversiders led by Frank A. Miller, Master of the Mission Inn, industrialist Charles Loring, and Pacific Electric Railway magnate Henry Huntington took control of the Mountain and quickly made it an artifact of the Arts and Crafts Movement. They purchased the mountain and its immediate surrounds in 1906, named themselves the Huntington Park Association, coopted the Cahuilla legends of the sacred hill, and with pomp and ceremony reinterpreted them in the name of Christianity—populating the Mountain with Christian symbols and rustic plaques to Loring, Huntington, and others. Shortly after the purchase, the partners built a road to the top of the mountain, hiring Major Hiram Chittenden (builder of Yellow Stone National Park roads) to engineer and oversee road construction. Immediately upon the completion of the road in 1907, Miller erected a large wooden cross at the summit dedicated to Fra Junipero Serra. On April 26, 1907, Miller brought the right Reverend Thomas James Conaty, Bishop of Monterey and Los Angeles to consecrate the cross in a public ceremony. Huntington, Loring, and other dignitaries joined him for the ceremony. It seemed ironic, since Miller was a Protestant. The Master of the Mission Inn then cinched the Christian reinterpretation of the mountain on Easter morning 1909, when the noted social reformer Jacob Riis with Frank Miller and about a 100 others drove to the summit of Mount Rubidoux for the first annual Easter Sunrise Service. At the 1913 Easter Sunrise Service, Henry Van dyke read his famous God of the Open Air to the assembled throng and proclaimed Mount Rubidoux a sacred place. Promoted by the Los Angeles Times, the railroads, and the
Marcella Craft, Riverside’s own opera diva, sang for the 1915 Easter Sunrise Service. She had only recently come home recently home from the Munich Royal Opera due to impending war in Europe. Craft pictured here at the foot of the Serra Cross holding the Mission Inn International Peace Flag of Frank A. Miller, Master of the Inn. Courtesy, Museum of Riverside. Image ID: A1000 Marcella Craft Mt. Rubidoux 1915 Easter service.
Hand-tinted postcard of the Easter Sunrise Service, c1925. By the mid-1920s the Service drew upwards of 20,000 visitors from around Southern California and the nation.
Mission Inn, Riverside’s Easter Sunrise Service soon became a major tourist draw.
Huell Howser and the 90th Anniversary of the Easter Sunrise Service
Ninety years later, on the very cold and dark Easter Morning 1999, I met my friend, the late TV host of California’s Gold, Huell Howser at the eastern base of Mount Rubidoux. He, his camera operator, and I were on our way up the mountain—along steep off-road trails—to film Riverside’s legendary Sunrise Service. Our climb took us past Boy Scouts, stationed at intervals to light the way for throngs of early risers making the trek up the hill along the steep paths. Huell couldn’t resist talking to everyone, telling me, though, that he didn’t want to interview any politicians. Along came Mayor Ron Loveridge, and that all changed. Huell had been drawn to the mountain to cover the 90th Anniversary of the Service. In its heyday of the 1920s, the Easter Sunrise Service had drawn up to 20,000 visitors from around the Southern California region. Special Pacific Electric Red Cars scheduled specifically for the service, brought the masses from Los Angeles, Redlands, Corona, and San Bernardino, and others sped here via passenger rail from out of state. Riverside’s own opera diva
The Riversider | October/November 2021
Hand-tinted promotional postcard Huntington Drive, Mount Rubidoux, c1914, part of Frank Miller’s ongoing campaign to boost the Mission Inn, enhance Riverside’s appeal, and build tourism. He once said that the only thing more important than oranges are tourists. Postcard image from the Chris Napolitano Collection.
Photo of the first Easter Sunrise Service in April 11, 1909. Inspired by social reformer Jacob Riis of New York City at an event at the Inn in March 1909, who told Miller the Mountain must have an annual event or event and suggested an annual Yuletide Service. Miller could not wait and launched the Easter Service instead that April. Photo courtesy Riverside Main Library Collection.
Marcella Craft, back from the Munich Royal Opera, sang at the service more than once. By the early 21st century, Riverside’s fast growing Latino population initiated yet another religious ceremony on the Mountain. Roman Catholic faithful launched an annual December Procession of Our Lady of Guadalupe (OLG) from the OLG Shrine at the OLG Roman Catholic Church on the Eastside to the Father Serra Cross, processing 2.5 miles to the summit of Mount Rubidoux. In 2016, the Procession drew more than 2,000 participants. International visitors have also found the Mountain special. Our family spent the coldest dawn that I can remember in Riverside at the top of Rubidoux one New Year’s morning. Our Japanese in-law, Masako Tachikawa—mother of our daughterin-law Miho—led us there to complete a Buddhist greeting to the New Year’s Day sunrise. Mount Rubidoux was the perfect place for Masako to bow and clap three times as ol’ Sol rose over the eastern horizon. It was a cold and glorious experience.
Hand-tinted postcard, Frank Miller Peace Tower, and Bridge, c1926. The Peace Tower, built as a tribute to Miller’s work for international peace in 1925 is about halfway to the summit on the east side of the Mountain. Postcard image from the Chris Napolitano Collection.
Charles Loring Plaque, Loring Rock, Mount Rubidoux.
What’s in a Name?
“Pachappa” might’ve been the original name for Mount Rubidoux. Late local historian Tom Patterson said regional Native Americans named the hill Pachappa. Tradition says, according to Patterson, that Louis Rubidoux—new owner of the 1838 Spanish Land Grant Jurupa Rancho—transferred the name Pachappa to a lower hill about two miles to the southeast to enlarge his Spanish land grant holdings. He then renamed the original Pachappa Hill to Mount Rubidoux. The original Spanish Land Grant designated Pachappa Hill the southeast boundary marker of Rancho Jurupa. By renaming the low hill Pachappa Hill, Louis Rubidoux would’ve gained thousands of acres of additional land. It’s a fascinating speculation, and with a monetary motive. In 1955, Frank Miller’s heirs donated Huntington Park property containing Mount Rubidoux to the City of Riverside. Riverside City Council quickly renamed the park Frank A. Miller Mount Rubidoux Memorial Park in honor of Miller and his life-long dedication to the betterment of Riverside. His first honor on the Mountain, however, happened in his own lifetime on December 13, 1925, when the citizens of Riverside dedicated the Miller Peace Tower and Bridge to him for his work for international peace. Inspiration for The Peace Bridge came from the historic bridge in Alcántara, Spain—another tip of the hat to Miller and his love of California’s Spanish Heritage.
The Serra Cross Controversy
The historic Serra Cross might’ve come down. In November 2012, Americans United for Separation of Church and State threatened the City of Riverside with a lawsuit for harboring a Christian cross on public property. They argued that the Serra Cross—a primary symbol of Christianity—violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. On January 22, 2013, the Riverside City Council sought to resolve the issue and save the cross by selling at auction 0.43 acres at the summit of the Mountain, containing the cross, land beneath it, the steps up to the cross, and a small section of pavement at the base of the steps. A collaboration between The Friends of Mount Rubidoux, the Mission Inn Foundation, and Rivers and Lands Conservancy formed almost immediately to raise funds to purchase the property and preserve the cross in place. Known as “Totally Mt. Rubidoux,” the collaborative raised $260,000 for purchase and preservation of the Serra Cross and its base. They presented the winning bid for the 0.43 acres at $10,500 on April 11, 2013 in the name of Rivers & Lands Conservancy. RLC placed $190,000 of the raised funds into an endowment to maintain and preserve the Serra Cross well into the future. Mount Rubidoux remains one of Riverside’s best-known attractions. For years, the Mountain has hosted the City’s primary July 4th fireworks display. Today, hundreds of hikers climb Mount Rubidoux daily for exercise and to enjoy the panorama of Riverside like so many before them.
