Redlands for the Day...

For years, Lynne and Scott have been trying to get us to Redlands. Now we wonder why we waited. What a true treasure!

Redlands, in San Bernardino County, is one of the oldest cities in California. Named for its rich, red soil, it sits halfway between Los Angeles and Palm Springs, in the shadow of Southern California’s highest peaks.
Wanting to know as much as possible on my first visit to the Jewel of the Inland Empire, I arranged for a walking tour through the Redlands Historical Society. Lucky us that our guides were the Mother and Son team of Kathleen and JP (4th and 5th generation locals). Kathleen's grandpa was Walter Lawrence Gill (1900- 1984) who developed the Gill Battery, an invention that revolutionized the battery world and was incredibly important for the war effort. Over his lifetime, Gill received more than 40 patents. What a family history!
In the 1880s, railways took the West by storm. Suddenly, Salt Lake City to Southern California and all the way to San Francisco was connected by train and it brought a flood of people to the Inland Empire. Frank E. Brown, a civil engineer, and, E.G. Judson, a New York stockbroker took note of the ideal climate for citrus production and established the town of Redlands. Here, railroads connected the small town to booming Los Angeles, adding to the town's success (and the tourists came in droves).
Electricity is perhaps a lesser-known but significant source of local pride. In 1892, construction began on the Mill Creek Canyon powerhouse. This was the groundwork for the world’s first transmission line, providing electricity to Redlands. And on August 5, 1893, the streets of Redlands were first illuminated with electric lamps. Today, the Southern California Edison Company can trace its roots back to these humble beginnings.
In 1900, the City of Millionaires was the Washington Navel Orange Growing Capital of the World with the citrus industry as the main focus of its economy. Wealth was evident in the architecture and grandness of its buildings. JP shared the history of the grand Chandler Building (1903) which housed Redlands' first modern post office, in addition to offices, lodge halls, and a furniture. Sadly, it was demolished in 1972 but the very cool soap sign (1894) on the neighboring building was revealed.
One can't just look up when touring historic towns, as the bricks here are pretty special. Originally laid out on the main avenue- State Street in 1892, they were paved over at some point in time. During a reconstruction of the street, the bricks were unearthed and reinstalled in their original pattern. How unique to walk on 131 year old historic artifacts.
I loved this. The Citrograph, established in 1887 as the first newspaper in Redlands, is the oldest business operating as it did when it first opened. Mr. Scipio Craig, serving as owner, editor and operator, received many accolades for his work. There have only been six owners in its 136 year history. Wow, right?

I was intrigued by this 1911 building which is constructed entirely of red brick. It was commissioned and constructed for use by the Redlands Motorcycle Club. First assembled in April 1911, members of the club raised $3,000 to build the structure as their first clubhouse. A special door was included in the early lay-out of the building to allow members to enter the building with their bikes from Sixth Street. The Club apparently had a short life, as early city directories show no Motorcycle Club at the address after 1913.
Conveniently, many of the structures are adorned with informational plaques so if one isn't lucky enough to have JP and Kathleen one could still get a glimpse into this town's incredible history.
The Visitor Center is housed in Benjamin Stephenson's Jewelry Store (1905).
And how cute is this dog drinking fountain, an original feature in this turn of the century building.
This is the narrowest business in town. When they widened the road, 3/4 of the building was removed. The business remained and is only 7' wide but approximately 60' long.
From the Redlands history page: “Built during the WPA depression days, the building has been designated as the future location of the Redlands Historical Museum. Replacing the original Richardsonian masterpiece that mysteriously burned in 1939, this civic style building with classic elements and art nouveau bas reliefs, contains multiple styles, as if it was built by committee… it was!”
Mid-century modern makes a few statements here as well.
The First Presbyterian Church was built in 1968. Groovy indeed.
Providence Bank was so successful in its various locations, on December 1, 1966, Provident was proud to offer their new facility at 125 E. Citrus Avenue to their Redlands customers. This building is complete with a moat so you know your money is secure!
This building is familiar to most who grew up in SoCal, Home Savings & Loan. Their buildings all seemed to look the same and most, if not all, had a mural adorning one wall. This bank, the new kid on the block, was built in 1980 and has been out of business for some time now. It is being saved because of that approx. 10-foot high by 40- foot wide building-mounted ceramic and glass mosaic with gold leaf.
Why do so many SoCal banks have amazing murals, mosaics, and sculptures? It's mostly the the work of the Millard Sheets Studio, which starting in the 50s designed more than one hundred Home Savings bank buildings and their accompanying artwork. Howard Ahmanson Sr. bought Home Savings and Loan in 1947 and the bank prospered by making home loans to SoCal residents during the mid-century boom. Sheets was an artist who became well-known in the 30s for his paintings. In 1952, according to the Daily News, Ahmanson wrote to Sheets: "Have traveled Wilshire Boulevard for twenty-five years. Know name of architect and year every building was built. Bored ... Need buildings designed? I want buildings that will be exciting seventy-five years from now."

Ahmanson gave Sheets plenty of latitude to create "banks clad in travertine and trimmed in gold, adorned with mosaic, murals and stained glass, and sculptures that lauded family life and the history of the Golden State." Sheets designed 40 banks before Ahmanson died in 1968; he designed 80 afterward.

This large mosaic depicts the City of Redlands' early pioneers and citrus growing heritage in what Sheets referred to as vignettes.
Our 90 minute walking tour could have continued for hours more but we needed to hit some other treasures before closing time. After lunch, our first stop was at the Historical Glass Museum. 
Housed in a 1903 Victorian-style home, the Museum preserves an extensive collection of specimens of American glass from factories that were becoming extinct, as well as factories and glass artists currently producing glass. It showcases the largest collection of American-made glass west of the Rocky Mountains.



This 5 lbs. Pyrex Glass Iron was intriguing. The glass shroud was made by the Corning Glass Works to be used in place of metal during WWII.
How about this juicer made of uranium glass?! First identified in 1789 by a German chemist, uranium was soon being added to decorative glass for its fluorescent effect.

The collection even has pieces from Mr. Showmanship himself, Liberace. Wild.
If you feel like you would like to know more, you can join Huell Howser as he tours the surprisingly interesting museum.

I think the biggest surprise to me was the Lincoln Shrine, the only shrine, library, and museum dedicated to Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War west of the Mississippi.
The unique octagon-shaped building was built and donated to the city of Redlands in 1932. The shrine houses an impressive collection of books, documents, artifacts, and artworks about Lincoln and the Civil War.
Philanthropists Robert and Alma Watchorn wanted a place "where visitors would linger for particular purpose of stepping out of the pathway to muse on the Great Emancipator's lofty principles.."
Ewart Watchorn, their only son, graduated from Hollywood High School in 1914, and was popular amongst his peers. When the US entered WWI, he enlisted and served as an aviator. Tragically, he died in 1921 at 25 years of age, leaving his parents heartbroken. A few years later, the Watchorns chose to make Redlands their winter home. The shrine is in honor of Lincoln and of Ewart, a name that will live on due to the Watchorns' generosity and dedication.


I never thought I'd see anything actually owned by our 16th president. These gemstone cameo cufflinks were one of the few types of embellishments worn by men in the 19th century. Formerly a marker of wealth, by the 1860s, cufflinks were a popular accessory for men across the social strata. Donated in 1932, the cufflinks are among the earliest gifts given to the Lincoln Memorial Shrine.
The museum even houses Mary Lincoln's monogrammed handkerchief. Wild.

Did you know the word coffee appears in more Civil War letters than rifle, slavery, or even Lincoln. For soldiers, nurses, politicians, and everyday people alike, coffee served as fuel during the war. While more accessible in the north, coffee beans were a dependable and high coveted staple. Soldiers brewed coffee anywhere and used any source of water they could find. In the absence of boiling water, men were known to chew whole coffee beans to satisfy their need for caffeine. As Ebenezer N. Gilpin of the 3rd Iowa Cavalry wrote in his diary, "...nobody can soldier without coffee."
I wasn't expecting to ogle a Rockwell. Surprises truly abound in Redlands. "As World War II neared its end, American painter and illustrator Norman Rockwell was sought out by the Saturday Evening Post for a reflection on the upcoming peace that was soon to reanimate the world from its desolation. Rockwell took this opportunity to create a historical view of the concluding war's impact, using Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address as an impetus.

Published in the February 10, 1945 edition of the Post, the central focus of the work is a disabled soldier, newly returned from the battlefield, who is contemplating the challenges of the postwar world and has sought inspiration in Lincoln's words as exemplified by the open book on his knee, meant to be Life Lincoln, a popular biography by Ida Tarbell. The wounded soldier's amputated left leg is obscured by the builder with his blueprints, demonstrating Rockwell's belief that the sacrifice of World War II was not in vain, and that a better, stronger world would be built." Wow.
A must was a visit to the A.K. Smiley Public Library. Designed in the Moorish style, the completed structure was dedicated on April 29, 1898, but additional wings were added throughout the years to meet the growing needs of the community. In fact, the signature tower was reconstructed not too long ago. The amazing interiors of the library are alive with gargoyles, griffins, stained and leaded glass and rich oak carvings and book cases. The interiors have such a pristine and glorious feel that the most common question the staff hears is whether this building was a church at one time. But, the library has always been just that, only more celebrated with age.
Albert and Alfred Smiley were identical twins born in Maine on St. Patrick's Day in 1828.The brothers grew up in New England, later becoming teachers. After years of working in education, they purchased an inn, tavern and surrounding 279 acres.
The hotel industry is where the two made their fortune. What made the brothers venture out to Southern California? In 1889, Alfred Smiley followed his son to Redlands. He hoped that warm weather would ease his rheumatism. Albert Smiley soon followed. They built their homes on a 200-acre piece of land they called Canyon Crest, known to the public as Smiley Heights. In 1897, the Smileys purchased 16 acres of land downtown for the future A.K. Smiley Public Library and Park. What a true treasure!

A drive through the campus of the University of Redlands (1907) concluded our very full day of exploration. That said, we left feeling we had barely scratched the surface of all this town had to offer. I know we'll be back. There really is so much left to see/do/experience. I love my persistent friends!

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