I like to bring ya’ll the sights and sounds of the Great State of Texas, we have a lot of great history and really interesting cities and buildings. With me as your guide you always get a different look at things, ones that most people would skip over if they were blogging about the exact same featured item. I have a tendency to look at things differently I guess.
Since I am not in my home country of Texas right now, that isn’t going to stop me from bringing you something interesting. This is the time of year when Christmas lights are in full swing, and it just so happens that here in Riverside, California there is holiday light display that is worthy of making it into my daily dose column today.
First let say, I am not big on the Christmas season, I’ve said before and I’ll say it again, “Bah Humbug." I think that Christmas has become too commercialized, and the true reason for the season has been pushed aside and now it is all about the presents and the corporate revenues. The US is a country that was founded on Christian principals and over the years we have slowly and steadily moved away from those principals. Then we wonder why we have such a screwed up mess on our hands in this country.
Okay, the Festival of Lights, is a holiday light display that is on display in downtown Riverside at the Mission Inn Hotel. Before we get into the current day hotel and what is going on let me take you back in time and share what I know about the place.
Normally when the company has us out to the main office we stay at the Mission Inn, this particular meeting was a last minute event and with the festival of lights taking place, the company couldn’t secure enough rooms because rooms at the inn for December I am told are sold out well before the end of summer. Even though we weren’t staying there this trip, we did have dinner Wednesday night at the inn, so that is why I decided to write about the holiday lights. I was there and was able to experience it firsthand.
The Mission Inn first came into existence back in the mid 1870’s as a boarding house. Frank Miller was the founder and by the 1900’s it grew from a small boarding house to a 200 room hotel The owner had an admiration for Spanish style.architecture and as he grew the hotel he styled it after several California Missions from back in the earlier history of the state. In talking to the staff of the hotel on prior trips I remember them saying that there were like 20 different Missions that different parts of the hotel had designed to replicate. Business was booming back in the 1920’s and with the citrus groves springing up all over the area and a beautiful climate, the area attracted people from back east and the far east, as in Asia and China.
Mr. Miller was a world traveler himself, and his trips around the world were shopping trips for antiques and collectibles to decorate his hotel. He had a fascination for birds and bells.
The oldest bell in Christian history dates back to the year 1247 and is housed at the Mission Inn. There are several bells incorporate throughout the hotel property. They also have several big parrots that are kept in large bird cages as well and are a featured attraction for guests.
The hotel has played host to several presidents and movie starts over the years. All the presidents that have stayed at the inn have their hand painted portraits in the presidential lounge. If I remember correctly it was President Taft that was a rather large man and Mr. Miller had a chair made especially for the president to sit in when he stayed there, it is located in the main walking area just outside the presidential lounge, I sat it the chair on Tuesday, I’m not a small guy by an means, I had plenty of room in that chair. Taft must have been one large sized man.
Mr. Miller ran the hotel until his death in 1935, his family ran it for 20 years after that, the hotel fell and rough times, the place was starting to show it age, and was closed. The family didn’t have the money for the needed repairs. It ended up selling back in the 1980’s and a $55 million renovation project was undertaken to restore it to its former glory.
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If you ever find yourself out here in this area in December make sure and check this place out if you are a fan a Christmas lights and holiday decorations. They say we do things big in Texas, but I’m not sure we can top this…
Until next time,
@sultnpapper
#theunmentionables
all photos are property of @sultnpapper
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