I don’t know where on Main St in Riverside this circa 1915 photo was taken, but it does show us a few things: (a) how beautiful buildings lend themselves to a textured cityscape, (b) how most cars looked practically the same, and (c) those bicycles parked haphazardly across the sidewalk remind me of those ubiquitous electric scooters, thus proving some things never change.
Justin S says: “The lamp post is an homage to the seal and symbol of the City of Riverside which is called the raincross, and was designed for the Mission Inn, the iconic symbol of Riverside. Although never a part of the Camino Real or a named mission, Riverside was the site of a large racho when purchased by the founders of that fair city.”
Jeff H says: “That photo is looking roughly northeast up Main St across University. At the next corner is the Mission Inn’s southwest corner tower.”
There’s even a bicyclist coming down the road seen by the palm on the left. Those raincross lighting fixtures really set the town’s look apart, enhanced with all the mission revival architecture that was scattered about (mostly out of this view). This is about 8th Street (count southward) looking north with the Mission Inn (SW corner of it) in an earlier look over to the right. One auto has registration plates in the 28 thousands but the buggy left is up in the 78K’s…an enormous jump was occuring in these years.
That post looks like a beginning of the El Camino Real signs?