Northside - City of Riverside

currently bounded by SR-91 to the east, the north side of Fifth Street to the south, the east
side of Orange Street from Fifth to Third Streets and the west side of Orange Street from
Third to First Streets to the west, and the north side of First Street to the north, where the
district overlaps slightly with the current survey boundaries.
A cohesive group of early 20 th century single-family residences was identified as an
extension of, and for inclusion in, the Mile Square Northwest, a previously determined
CRHR eligible historic district adjacent to the southern survey boundary. This area of
Riverside was partially surveyed during the first 1977-79 City survey, by Aegis in 1992, and
by Myra L. Frank & Associates, Inc. in 2003. The Mile Square Northwest Historic District is
located in the northwest quadrant of Riverside’s original Mile Square (1870). The district is
currently bounded roughly by the south side of First Street to the north, the south side of
Sixth Street to the south, the west side of Market Street to the east, and Redwood Drive to
the west. During Riverside’s earliest period of settlement, much of the Mile Square was
developed as agricultural property, and citrus groves blanketed much of the landscape.
Large, predominately two-story grove residences first dotted the Mile Square but soon gave
way to smaller cottages when speculators re-subdivided the land during and immediately
after the 1880s land boom. Another, population-driven boom just after the turn of the
century increased the need for housing in proximity to the downtown core that was
growing in size and concentration, and the large agricultural properties were subdivided to
accommodate smaller single-family residences and multi-family construction. While later
phases of construction filled the vacant lots of the Northwest quarter of the Mile Square, the
majority of residences were built during the early twentieth century and were Craftsman
Bungalow in style with later, period revival styles mixed in sparingly. The streetscape took
on its current appearance at this time when character-defining features such as street trees,
streetlights, sidewalks and common setbacks were developed, which contribute to the
district. Properties that appear eligible as additional Contributors to the eligible Mile Square
Northwest Historic District were assigned a CHR Status Code of 3CD - appears eligible for CR
as a contributor to a CR eligible district through a survey evaluation. Properties determined to be
additional Non-Contributors to the previously determined eligible historic district were
assigned a CHR Status Code of 6L – determined ineligible for local listing or designation through
local government review process; may warrant special consideration in local planning.
One previously designated local neighborhood conservation area (NCA) within the survey
boundaries, St. Andrews Terraces NCA, was identified for expansion and elevation to
historic district status. The expanded, eligible district represents the southern half of the St.
Andrews Terraces tract (1910) and adjacent subdivisions north of First Street, in the
southeast quadrant of the survey area. The eligible district now includes 50 properties (38
contributors and 12 non-contributors) on Hewitt, Lemon, Lime, and Mulberry Streets and is
bounded generally by the limits of the Heritage Square Historic District to the south, the
former Southern Pacific Company railroad right-of-way to the north, Mulberry Street to the
east, and the west side of Lemon Street to the west. In general, the expanded district
possesses a lower collective degree of architectural distinction than the original conservation
area but, overall, is distinguished as a geographically cohesive group of residences that
highlight the form, detail and materials of the Arts and Crafts Movement, during which the
properties were constructed. Accordingly, St. Andrews Terraces Craftsman District appears
eligible for local designation under Title 20 of the City of Riverside Municipal Code (Ord.
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