Mission Inn
| Mission Inn | ||
|---|---|---|
 Entrance to the Mission Inn |
||
| Data | ||
| place | Riverside , California , USA | |
| architect | several | |
| Client | Frank Augustus Miller | |
| Architectural style | Mission Revival | |
| Construction year | 1902-1932 | |
| Coordinates | 33 ° 59 ′ 0 ″ N , 117 ° 22 ′ 22 ″ W | |
|
||
| particularities | ||
| Largest Mission Revival style building in the United States | ||
The Mission Inn , officially The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa , is a National Historic Landmark registered hotel in downtown Riverside , California . It includes elements of different styles, but as the largest building in the United States in the Revival Mission-style referred.
In addition to its unusual architecture, the Mission Inn is known for its many prominent guests such as Albert Einstein , Henry Ford and a total of ten US presidents .
history
The Mission Inn was originally founded by civil engineer Christopher Columbus Miller in 1876 as a small country hotel called the Glenwood Hotel . In 1902, his son Frank had the hotel expanded and renamed Mission Inn.
Frank Miller's vision was to unite as many architectural styles as possible in the building. Today the Mission Revival style, Spanish Gothic , orientalizing architecture , Spanish colonial architecture , neo-renaissance and Mediterranean revival architecture can be recognized. The result of mixing these styles is a complex structure comparable to Winchester House . The Mission Inn has narrow passageways, arcades , a medieval clock, a five- story rotunda , many terraces and windows, castle towers, minarets , a cloister with catacombs , flying buttresses , domes and a footbridge, to name just a few elements.
During the 30-year construction period, Frank Miller traveled the world and collected various treasures to be exhibited in the hotel. The items on display are now valued at over $ 5 million.
The St. Francis Chapel is part of the complex. It contains four large stained glass windows and two Louis Comfort Tiffany mosaics . The Rayas altar there in the Mexican Baroque is 7.6 m high and almost 4.9 m wide. It is made of cedar wood and is covered with gold leaf. Frank Miller also collected over 800 bells for his Garden of Bells , including one from 1247, which is known as the oldest dated bell in Christianity.
In 1932 the Mission Inn was completed, along with St. Francis Chapel, and a 250-meter-long wall known as the Famous Fliers' Wall , on which 151 pilots have left behind. Among them is the most successful fighter pilot in the USA in World War I , Edward Vernon Rickenbacker .
Frank Miller died in 1935 and the Mission Inn was continued by his daughter Allis Hutchings and her husband DeWitt Hutchings, who in turn died in 1952 and 1953, respectively. As a result, the Mission Inn often changed hands and some of the older rooms were converted into apartments.
The hotel was later taken over by the Carley Capital Group and closed in 1985 for renovations costing $ 55 million. However, as unexpected problems arose, costs rose and the company had to take out a loan from a New York bank. Just weeks before its planned reopening under the name Omni Mission Inn, construction work had to be stopped due to the company's financial situation. In December 1992 the Mission Inn was finally sold to Duane R. Roberts, a Riversider businessman and lover of the hotel. He had the renovation work finished and a little later reopened the Mission Inn to the public.
Architects
Because of the many mixed styles, Frank Miller commissioned various architects for his hotel. Arthur B. Benton designed the original building, and Myron Hunt designed the Spanish wing at the rear of the main wing. G. Stanley Wilson was later entrusted, among other things, with the construction of St. Francis Chapel.
Famous guests
In its long history, the Mission Inn has developed into the center of Riverside and has hosted numerous celebrities, including a total of ten US presidents : Richard Nixon married his wife Pat on June 21, 1940 in one of the Mission Inn's two wedding chapels, Nancy and Ronald Reagan stayed here for their honeymoon. In addition, Benjamin Harrison , William McKinley , Theodore Roosevelt , William Howard Taft , for whom the hotel had his own chair because of his corpulence, Herbert Hoover , John F. Kennedy , Gerald Ford and George W. Bush also visited the Mission Inn.
Other social figures who have been guests include Susan B. Anthony , Henry Ford , Andrew Carnegie , John D. Rockefeller , Albert Einstein , Joseph Pulitzer , William Randolph Hearst , Booker T. Washington , Helen Keller, and John Muir .
A number of entertainers have also visited the Mission Inn. Lillian Russell , Sarah Bernhardt and Harry Houdini already used the hotel in its early phase, later also celebrities like Ethel Barrymore , Charles Boyer , Eddie Cantor , Mary Pickford , Ginger Rogers , Bette Davis , who married here in 1945, WC Fields , Clark Gable , Cary Grant , Spencer Tracy , Fess Parker , James Brolin , Barbra Streisand , Raquel Welch , Drew Barrymore , Jack Benny , Bob Hope , Glen Campbell , Merle Haggard and the Tears for Fears .
During his tenure as Governor of California , Arnold Schwarzenegger also vacationed at the Mission Inn. The documentary soap The Osbournes was also a guest here.
Culture
In Anne Rice's 2009 book Angel Time , the Mission Inn is used as a refuge for the protagonist Toby O'Dare.
The hotel's unique ambience has made it the backdrop for well-known films, including Bloody Trace (1969), Vibes - The Supernatural Hunt for the Glowing Pyramid (1988) and The Man in the Iron Mask (1998). The Sliders - The Gate into a Foreign Dimension - Episodes 16 and 17 ( Exodus , Parts 1 and 2) from Season 3 were also filmed in large parts here.
Eddie Money filmed the music video for Think I'm In Love at the Mission Inn .
today
The hotel occupies an entire street block and includes four restaurants , a day spa and 239 guest rooms, 9 of which are used as presidential suites. In May 1977 the Mission Inn was granted National Historic Landmark status. It is also listed as a California Historical Landmark and Riverside City Landmark # 1. Its aesthetics make the building very popular as an object for artists.
Already on several occasions, the Mission Inn has served as a public place for political protest, including during visits of the then US Vice President Dick Cheney and former governor of California , Arnold Schwarzenegger .
Mission Inn Museum
The Mission Inn Museum promotes the hotel's cultural treasures. Visitors can take guided tours that take a closer look at the Mission Inn's architecture, stained glass windows, furniture, art, textiles, and other elements. Permanent exhibitions explain the history of the hotel and its founders. There are also changing exhibitions and educational programs.
Festival of Lights
The Festival of Lights is known for its nearly three million Christmas lights and over 400 animated characters. The festival takes place the day after Thanksgiving , although it does not fall during the holiday season. City officials and Mission Inn owner Duane R. Roberts give speeches before the fireworks display . Almost 65,000 people come to this special event every year. The festival also includes angels making music, carol singers on the balconies and Santa Claus climbing up the chimney.
Individual evidence
- ↑ History of the hotel (English)
- ↑ Listing of National Historic Landmarks by State: California. National Park Service , accessed August 2, 2019.
Web links
- Website of the Mission Inn (English)
