| A Brief History of the Corona Historic Preservation Society |
After the City’s unenlightened urban renewal efforts of the 1960’s, many Corona
residents became sensitive and attuned to any mention of proposed changes,
construction or demolition within the downtown “Circle.” Soon after the Carnegie Library,
located on the east side of Main Street at the intersection of Eighth Street, closed its
doors to the public in 1971, concerned citizens made numerous attempts to save the
library. In July 1972, the Historical Society of Corona was formed and formally
recognized as a non-profit organization in July 1974. The principal goal of this
organization was to preserve the architecturally beautiful, Classical Revival style, 1906
Carnegie Public Library structure.
Rehabilitation of the 66 year-old library was estimated to be in the neighborhood of
$500,000. The City Staff and the City Council considered this cost to be excessive, and
the property was ultimately sold, making demolition of the structure a likely result.
The Historical Society was successful in getting the Carnegie Library nominated to the
State Register of Historic Landmarks and Buildings and to the National Parks Service,
National Register of Historic Places, which was effected June 29, 1977. When Jean C.
Bobbitt resigned as President on October 25, 1977 to accept a position as President of
the newly formed Riverside County Historical Congress, no one stepped forward to
keep the Society active. From November 1977 to May 1983, there was no recognized
public or private entity to oversee the preservation of Corona’s historic structures and
programs.
Unfortunately, neither the Historical Society nor the City was able to secure federal or
state grants or local assistance to restore the building, and on a Sunday night in April
1978 this once bustling Corona landmark became a pile of rubble to make way for a
Pioneer Chicken, fast-food franchise. As a sore reminder of the library’s disappearance,
the franchise was never built and the lot has remained unimproved for 32 years (in
2006) and has become the answer to the Corona Trivia question, “What used to occupy
the weed lot at the corner of Eighth and Main?”
In 1982, a grant to survey historical resources in Riverside County became available
and local volunteers identified more than 600 historic and architecturally unique
buildings still standing in the City of Corona. Despite the demolition mentality of urban
renewal proponents, normal attrition from decay and lack of care, numerous historic
structures remained within our city. Many of these volunteers felt that these structures
simply needed an advocate to assist in their preservation, restoration, and/or adaptive
reuse.
On May 14, 1983 an organizational meeting was held with 35 of these volunteers and
other interested persons in attendance to discuss preserving Corona’s historic
structures, means of educating residents and others of the city’s unique heritage and
other preservation opportunities. An overview of what other cities were doing and what
other things could be done was given. There was a great outpouring of interest. People found great value in having a common interest and sharing the goal of serving
Corona by saving and restoring things of an historic nature, to perpetuate the history for
future generations of Coronans. At a subsequent, well publicized meeting in the multipurpose
room of the Public Library, on June 8, 1983, the Corona Historic Preservation
Group was organized. This Group was instrumental in bringing together the enthusiastic
and diverse volunteers, who had worked on the survey, members of the Historical
Society and others for monthly meetings where the preservation of Corona’s heritage
was the topic of interest. Attendance at most meetings was typically 30 to 40 persons.
Urban planner Vincent Bautista and Heritage Room Librarian Gloria Scott Freel were
key leaders of the group. Other early members of the Society were: Val Plumley, Don &
Cindy Johnson, Sandie Everson, Cindy Alvitre (a native American representative), Kent
Hansen, Roger Verity, Nita Grantham, Nita Young, Sharon Bautista, Ann & Don Barber,
Lois Shockley and Richard & Mary Winn.
On April 21, 1984 a meeting was held between remaining members of the old inactive
Historic Society of Corona and members of the Corona Historic Preservation Group.
The Historic Society leaders proposed deactivating their organization and conveying all
remaining funds to a new organization with a new name, and combining their resources
so that there would be “one voice” advocating preservation of Corona’s heritage. What
emerged was the current Corona Historic Preservation Society (CHPS).
The photo below appeared in the Corona Daily Independent in May of 1984: |
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The main goal of the CHPS was and is a three-pronged effort to ensure that Corona’s
history is not ignored, done away with, nor forgotten, by:
• Educating the community on the meaning of preservation,
• Acting as community spokespersons and advocates within the political
process to ensure preservation,
• Promoting preservation through education, advocacy, and social
interaction.
The CHPS logo, seen above, incorporates the velocipede, or “penny-farthing” bicycle
image, and was adopted shortly after the society’s organization. The Society became a
501(c)3 non-profit, public benefit corporation during this period.
For more than twenty-six years the society has provided a variety of educational
programs, including lectures on historical topics, production of the video “Corona’s 100
years” during Corona’s centennial year, a walking tour of the exteriors of several historic
homes, periodic tours of historic homes, an annual Cemetery Walk, since 1995, where
actors provide information on notable Coronans buried in the local cemetery, published
the booklet “Corona-Citrus, Races and More,” awarded Saving’s Bonds or monetary
gifts to CNUSD students who have done meritorious History Day projects involving local
history, contributed dictionaries to Lincoln School third graders, in conjunction with the
Corona Kiwanis Dictionary Project, and other assistance to the Corona-Norco Unified
School District in providing updated and interesting curriculum for the teaching of
Corona’s history at the appropriate grade level. |
Most of the CHPS Board in 1999: (L-R) Front row: Gloria Scott Freel, Marla Benson
& Kathy Sinkovich. Back row: John Farr, Mary Winn, Mike McBride & Ted Taylor. |
To further promote preservation awareness, the society has placed 14 historic markers
(as of this posting in 2010) throughout the city to recognize historically significant sites
as a part of its Historic Site Marker Program. Heritage Home Awards have been
presented to owners of exemplary historic homes. Assistance has been provided in the
relocating of vintage homes to other sites when development threatened them with the
wrecking ball. The Victoria Hotel, originally built in 1903 as the Hotel Del Rey, located at
224 East Sixth Street was dismantled, placed in storage containers and moved to
Corona Heritage Park, for future reassembly and adaptive reuse. In addition, the CHPS
was instrumental in placing the Woman’s Improvement Club and Corona’s second High
School and Historic Civic Center on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2005,
the Society took an active part in preventing the renaming of the historic Prado Dam.
Within the political arena, the Society has worked with the City to update the Heritage
Inventory List as well as a Corona Register of Historic Resources or “Landmark List”,
establish Historic Districts, identified with Historic District signs, in areas around Grand
Boulevard and Main Street, and helped in the development of an Historic Element to the
Municipal Code.
CHPS co-sponsored, with the City, the re-establishment of the Corona tradition of
neighborhood clean-up events. The “Corona Beautiful – Celebrating Our
Neighborhoods” program was begun in November 1998 to improve Corona’s historic
core as well as provide community service opportunities to youth and adult volunteers
who thought it was worthwhile and meaningful to clean up downtown alleys, streets,
trees, yards, parkways and neighborhoods.
The Corona Historic Preservation Society served as a co-sponsor with Corona Beautiful
events and played a major role in their success. CHPS Board members provided
countless hours in planning and promoting all nine cleanup events. They also arrived at
the crack of dawn to register volunteer participants numbering between 500 and 1,000.
This program was active until 2003, when the City withdrew its support as being too
costly. The Society is in hopes of helping to restore this program to once again foster
cross-cultural, city-wide selfless service to benefit the community as well as clean and
spruce up the historic heart of Corona – the neighborhoods within the Grand Boulevard
Circle. |
In 2007, our activities include:
Monthly Board Meeting
Bimonthly Newsletter
Historic Marker Program
Cemetery Walk at Sunnyslope Cemetery
Vintage Home Tour
Annual Heritage Home Awards
Oral History Program
Annual Holiday Party
Educational Seminars and Field Trips
Community Preservation Projects
Vintage Home Relocation Assistance |
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