{"nrhp_refnum":"78000738","name":"Riverside Municipal Auditorium and Soldier's Memorial Building","other_names":["Riverside Municipal Auditorium"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"3485 7th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Riverside","county":"Riverside County","state":"CA","lat":33.98194803100006,"lon":-117.37080461699998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-03-31","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A municipal auditorium and soldiers' memorial building at 3485 Seventh Street, Riverside, California, built 1927-29 to designs by Arthur Benton and G. Stanley Wilson. It is a concrete-over-steel building with a red tile roof and two corner towers.","why_significant":"The nomination argues for significance in architecture, history and environmental integrity. It was the last work of Arthur Benton, original architect of the Mission Inn, and was completed by G. Stanley Wilson. Frank Miller deeded the land in 1925 for a soldiers' memorial, and the building served as an arts and meeting center for fifty years. It is also a pivotal element of the old Seventh Street Civic Center area.","narrative":"Riverside's Municipal Auditorium and Soldier's Memorial Building, at 3485 Seventh Street, was built between 1927 and 1929 as a war memorial and community hall. Its design blends Mission, Moorish and Mexican Colonial elements. Formed concrete over a steel frame, a barrel clay tile roof, a cloistered side walk and two tiled-dome towers define the exterior, while art glass windows over the entrance show California mission life and Riverside history. Inside, the hall seats about 2,000 and has a hardwood dance floor, a balcony and original wrought iron chandeliers. A sunken tiled garden lies to the west. Arthur Benton, architect of the Mission Inn, designed it as his last work, and G. Stanley Wilson finished it after Benton's death. Frank Miller, proprietor of the Mission Inn, gave the land to the city in 1925 on condition that it serve as a soldiers' memorial with exhibit and meeting space. For fifty years it hosted dance, opera, pageants, lectures and exhibits.","period_of_significance":"1927-29","architect_builder":"Arthur Benton, G. Stanley Wilson (architects)","architectural_style":"Combination of Hispanic features: Mission, Moorish, Mexican Colonial, with 1920s revivalist elements","criteria":[],"status_note":"Publicly owned by the city and occupied, in very good condition with only minor alterations; a future use as the permanent home of the Riverside Municipal Museum was proposed.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.331143-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/78000738.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78000738/c678efbbbb-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78000738/c678efbbbb-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"MissionInn.Jim","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RiversideMunicipalAuditorium20090821z.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">MissionInn.Jim</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RiversideMunicipalAuditorium20090821z.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123860507","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riverside_Municipal_Auditorium","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7338545"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/riverside-county/riverside-municipal-auditorium-and-soldiers-memorial-building-78000738/"}