Saturday, May 11th, Ruhnau Clarke Architects participated in the third annual Doors Open event organized by The City of Riverside. During this event, historic buildings throughout Riverside opened their doors to the public and provided free tours of their captivating sites. Our team had a blast giving tours and telling the community about the history and design of our Downtown Riverside Office. In case you missed it, here's what people were the most excited to learn about our space:
The First Auto Repair Shop in Riverside
Our building was originally constructed in 1903 as the first auto repair shop in Riverside County. A second addition was added in 1926 and housed 5 storefronts facing Market Street. Those storefronts were occupied by a multitude of businesses throughout the years, including but not limited to, a sewing and drapery service, a café, a real estate and design firm as well as a housekeeping shop and, most recently, an Architecture practice.
"Try the new, Cubanola, 5¢ Cigars"
During our 2016 renovation, an original advertisement was uncovered along one of our interior walls. It is believed to have been an advertisement that faced Market Street before the second building was constructed in 1926. The graphic reads, "Try the New Cubanola 5¢ Cigars". The mural remains and can be seen throughout our front studio space.
Old Meets New
To honor the historic nature of our building, all fixed features are comprised of natural materials. This includes the original brick lining our interior walls, original wood joists exposed in the ceiling and beautiful reclaimed wood floors from midwest farms. The new furniture and fixtures complement the industrial materials and provide a clean, modern aesthetic with bright pops of color. Our team especially loves the blue walls of our conference room and yellow skylights in the mezzanine. When viewed from certain angles, the skylights are reminiscent of work by artist, James Turrell.
Interested in seeing more? Check out our portfolio or come tour our office at Doors Open 2020 where we hope to showcase Phase II of our renovation.
