Located in Mission Inn District of Riverside, California, Riverside Metropolitan Museum (RMM) is a natural science, historical, and anthropological museum. Although it falls under the City of Riverside department, it is hugely supported by a non-profit organization known as Riverside Museum Associates. The museum opened its doors on December 12, 1994 after Cornelius Ramsey donated his Native American Artifacts to the City of Riverside. Ramsey made the donation after retiring as an executive of National Biscuit Company.
The Museum was Initially Located on the old City Hall Building
Between 1925 and 1948, the museum was located on the basement of the old City Hall building on Seventh Street Riverside (the current Mission Inn Avenue. In 1948, the museum was moved to the former Post Office and Federal building located on Orange Street. This building was constructed between 1912 and 1914 and takes Renaissance Revival style. When the museum took over, only the main exhibits, natural history curatorial offices, administration, registrar’s office, anthropology, and collections storage were brought to the building. However, the exhibits services, collections, and curatorial offices were later moved to an annex located four blocks away.
The Museum gets Its Collections from Donations
On August 27, 1925, the local authorities amended the City Charter adopting a new ordinance that stated that all the collections of the museum would reflect specific interpretations of the natural history and anthropology of the City, County of Riverside, and southern California environs. However, the collections are not limited to these specific interpretations. Since adoption of this ordinance, the museum’s collections have massively increased with most of the collections coming from donations by prominent families and organizations within the community.
The Museum’s Massive Growth Happened in the Early 1960’s and 70’s
In the early 1960’s, the museum broke the rule of relying entirely on donations from the City’s prominent families. The museum started new exhibits and community oriented program. Between 1962 and 1965, the people in charge of the museum had it remodeled. Subsequently, the paid staff at the museum expanded from three to twenty-eight positions.
It is not until 2005 that The Museum Changed Its Name
The main museum building and the Heritage House were under the authority of the National Register of Historical Places by the National Pack Services. In 1990, the Harada House was placed under the National Register and was acquired by the Museum in 2004. Following the acquisition, the museum changed its name from Riverside Municipal Museum to Riverside Metropolitan Museum. The new name change reflected its contribution to the growth of the community and region at large.
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