Riverside, California

1873Navel Orange Trees Planted: Eliza Tibbets received two Brazilian navel orange trees from the USDA. The seedless, sweet fruit revolutionized agriculture and launched California's citrus empire worth billions.

1903Mission Inn Becomes Grand Hotel: Frank Miller transformed his family's boarding house into an architectural masterpiece blending Mission Revival and Spanish Colonial styles. Presidents Taft, Nixon, and Reagan all stayed there.

1942Japanese American Internment: Riverside's Japanese American community was forcibly relocated to internment camps during WWII, an injustice the city later acknowledged.

1954UC Riverside Established: UC Riverside became a full general campus, growing from a citrus research station into a major research university and one of the most diverse in America.

1870Colony of Riverside Founded: Judge John Wesley North led settlers to establish a temperance colony along the Santa Ana River built on irrigation and agriculture.

1907Air Conditioning Pioneered: Engineers tested mechanical cooling at a Riverside citrus packing house, pioneering technology that would transform life across the American Sunbelt.

1910Citrus Industry Peak: Riverside County became the wealthiest county per capita in the United States, driven entirely by its Washington Navel orange.

1960March Air Force Base Cold War Role: March AFB served as a Strategic Air Command bomber base during the Cold War, with B-52s on constant alert.

2005Named All-America City: Riverside's revitalization efforts and community diversity earned it the prestigious All-America City designation.

1882First Citrus Fair: Riverside hosted its first citrus fair, showcasing the navel orange to the world and drawing thousands of new settlers.