Feature Friday! Do you know about this stop along Route 66 in Rancho Cucamonga?
The Cucamonga Service Station is a Route 66 landmark that's attracted tourists to the Inland Empire for decades.
Built over 100 years ago in 1915, the station is one of the few remaining original structures of roadside architecture from that era in the Inland Empire.
After closing in the 1970s, the station sat abandoned and deteriorating, though loved by many for its architectural uniqueness. In 2009 the city council of Rancho Cucamonga voted to protect it by declaring it a city landmark.
In 2013 the station was obtained by Route 66 Inland Empire California (IECA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of Route 66 history and heritage.
Through the hard work of volunteers, materials and labor donations, and the funding support of generous donors, the station has been restored to its original look as a Richfield station of the 1930s and 40s and is now open to the public as a museum with artifacts of local and Route 66 history.
Learn more at: /
Photo by Lynne Miller
#Route66 #RanchoCucamonga #CucamongaServiceStation #Landmark #InlandEmpire
The Bay Area Ridge Trail is a trail project that’s nearly four decades in the making.
According to 100 Hikes of a Lifetime U.S.A., today’s Bay Area Ridge Trail was first conceptualized in the 1960s by William Penn Mott, Jr., who later became the director of the National Park Service. Mott imagined a continuous 550-mile trail that follows the ridgelines around the Bay Area, but it wasn’t until the late 1980s that the trail started to take form.
To the north, open segments offer views of the vineyards in Sonoma and Napa and of the ocean in the Marin Headlands. In SF, the trail crosses the Golden Gate Bridge, the Presidio, and Golden Gate Park before heading south to summit Mount Umunhum in San Jose, and then turns inland to traverse the ridgelines of the East Bay.
Today, the trail has grown to cover about 70% of Mott’s envisioned route. It may take another 20 years to cover the remaining 30%.
This past January, legislation was introduced to help designate the Bay Area Ridge Trail as a National Scenic Trail (NST). This historic move would place the Ridge Trail alongside just 11 other trails nationwide—including the Appalachian and Pacific Crest—that claim this prestigious distinction.
Read from Secret San Francisco at: /national-geographic-bay-area-ridge-trail/
Learn more about the Bay Area Ridge Trail: /
Photo by MichaelVi / Adobe Stock
#BayArea #BayAreaRidgeTrail #NationalScenicTrail
Preservation in Print – Rancho Guadalasca: Last Ranch of California’s Central Coast
Tuesday, May 19th | 12 PM - 1 PM | Online - FREE
A Mexican land grant awarded in 1836, Rancho Guadalasca lay at the western end of the Santa Monica Mountains along the eastern Oxnard Plain.
Grantee Ysabel Yorba, an illiterate widow who successfully managed the ranch for over 35 years, is just one of many fascinating people who once lived there. Indigenous Chumash, Californio ranchers, Anglo-American farmers, Japanese fishermen, and Basque sheepherders all left their marks on the land, along with local institutions like Camarillo State Hospital and CSU Channel Islands.
Join CPF along with archaeologist and anthropology professor Colleen M. Delaney for a free lunchtime webinar as she traces the 5,000 years of community and lifeways that shaped Ventura County.
Learn more and register at: /events/pip-rancho-guadalasca/
Photo Credit:
1. Lewis ranch workers in the canvas "doghouse": Courtesy of Terrance Tally (top image); Mugu Lagoon, photo by Philip A. Mastinick (bottom image)
2. Camarillo State Hospital first section under construction. Attribution: California State Archives F3253_90(32N)
3. Chung Wong. Attribution: Chinese American Society of Southern California
4. Margaret Chung. Attribution: Shades of L.A. Archives, Los Angeles Public Library
#PreservationInPrint #CPF #Webinar #Ventura #CentralCoast
A big thank you to our annual sponsors - your support of California Preservation Foundation is greatly appreciated!
The California Preservation Foundation (CPF) Sponsorship Program invites you to support historic preservation in California while gaining valuable exposure for your company.
Sponsorship is an effective way for your company to engage with CPF members, gain visibility and build brand awareness.
The sustained support of corporations and businesses is an integral component in the California Preservation Foundation’s efforts to fulfill its mission to ensure the protection of California’s diverse cultural heritage and historic places through education, advocacy and leadership.
/support/our-sponsors/
Photo by Michael Gault Photos
#CPF26 #California #Preservation #Conference #Sponsors
On Sat 5/9, CHR66A board members led "Route 66 Preservation Success Stories: A Mother Road Centennial Tour" - part of California Preservation Foundation's annual California Preservation Conference (held in Riverside this year).
Attendees on the conference's daylong bus tour visited preservation successes in San Bernardino County's foothill communities, including:
* Cucamonga Service Station (a CPF preservation award winner) @cucamongaservicestation
* California Theatre of the Performing Arts
* Wigwam Motel (@wigwammotel )
* San Bernardino Historical & Pioneer Society museum at the Santa Fe Depot
* Magic Lamp Inn
(@the_magic_lamp_inn )
* Sycamore Inn
(@sycamoreinn1848 )
* Route 66 Trailhead Park
Thank you to CFP, our gracious hosts at the sites, and CHR66A board members Beth Murray (@californiatochicago ) and Kelli Shapiro (@shapiro_kelli )!
Thank you to this year's California Preservation Conference sponsors!
It takes collaboration across many facets to put on our annual conference. Thank you to our sponsors who help bring it to life.
See you at next year's event!
/programs/conference/
#CPF26 #California #Preservation #Conference #Sponsors
Background photo by Scotty of Eden
Congratulations to all 23 of this year's 2026 Preservation Design Award winners!
1. Armenian Genocide Martyrs Monument, California Register Nomination, Montebello
2. ATSF 1010 Locomotive HSR, Sacramento
3. Charlotte & Robert Disney Bungalow, Los Angeles
4. Los Angeles Wildfire Rapid-Response Heritage Documentation, County of Los Angeles
5. Los Angeles Union Station South Patio, Los Angeles
6. Lydia D. Killefer School Rehabilitation, Orange
7. The US Grant Hotel, San Diego
8. Burlingame U.S. Post Office Rehabilitation, Burlingame
9. City of Bakersfield Cultural Resource Survey, Bakersfield
10. Farm House Collective, Riverside
11. Gregory Bateson Building, Sacramento
12. Hangar One Rehabilitation, Mountain View
13. Hotel del Coronado: Full Building Renovation, Coronado
14. Larchmont Schools at Lafayette Park, Los Angeles
15. Plaza Theater, Palm Springs
16. Second Baptist Church, Los Angeles
17. Stanley Burke’s, Los Angeles
18. UC Berkeley Switch Substation 8, Berkeley
19. UCLA Powell Library, Los Angeles
20. West LA VA Campus Buildings 156 and 157, Los Angeles
21. William R Thorsen House: Restoration and Seismic Strengthening of Terrace Timber Support, Berkeley
22. Woolworth’s Building, Bakersfield
23. Berkeley Haas Entrepreneurship Hub, Berkeley
Learn more about each winner at: https://bit.ly/2026-PDA
#CPF26 #Preservation #Design #Awards #California #PDA
Thank you to the sponsors of this year's Preservation Design Awards:
Their sponsorship ensures the annual Preservation Design Awards and Ceremony is a success.
Thank you for contributing to preserving and championing California's cultural heritage and historic places.
/programs/awards/
#CPF26 #California #PreservationDesignAwards #PDA #HistoricPlaces #Sponsors
Scenes from architect Lois Gottlieb’s 1967–1971 Mackey House in Riverside’s luxuriously wild Hawarden Hills. Gottlieb was an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright, and his tutelage shows. But Gottlieb certainly brought her own personality to this hillside stunner, working closely with Edward and Barbara Mackey to integrate the structure into the natural landscape and conform to the Mackey’s way of living.
Tonight’s President’s Circle Reception at the Mackey House was hosted by @capreservation for its generous supporters and patrons, and Old Riverside Foundation is proud to support broader statewide efforts to preserve California’s treasured built environment.
To hear heartfelt words of appreciation for this house from the current residents and from Edward Mackey himself was a rare treat. The Mackey House is Riverside Cultural Heritage Board Landmark 127.
Join us tomorrow in Riverside for our annual California Preservation Conference.
Covering the theme of "Past Meets Possible: Reimagining Place and Purpose", this year's conference is the premier gathering for preservation professionals, advocates, designers, planners, and community leaders eager to explore how heritage conservation can be a force for California’s future.
From climate resilience and equitable housing to community revitalization and inclusive planning, the conference uncovers bold, interdisciplinary strategies that expand preservation’s role in shaping resilient, vibrant, and just communities across the state.
Through five interdisciplinary tracks—Reuse & Revitalization, Participation & Engagement, Tools & Technology, History & Heritage, and Preservation Planning & Practice—we’ll uncover bold ideas that expand preservation’s role in solving today’s most pressing challenges.
See the full conference schedule at: /cpf26/
Use #CPF26 to connect with peers during the conference.
#CPF26 #California #Preservation #Conference #Riverside
Tour five showcase homes of Riverside, open to the public for this event only, representing Riverside's most iconic architectural styles. Also visit the landmark Peter J. Weber House, host of our Restoration Faire & Vintage Mercantile.
This is a self-guided tour with docents at each home. Your e-ticket or printed QR code will be required for entry. You may visit the homes in any order you wish. Please be prepared to walk to each home from your various parking locations – residential neighborhoods fill up fast.
Because these are vintage, private homes, ADA accessibility cannot be guaranteed. Exterior photography of the homes is allowed and encouraged – please respect our generous homeowners and do not photograph the home's interiors. The event will take place rain or shine.
Event details and addresses will be sent to you by email the week of the event. $30 per attendee.
Online tickets sales will close Friday, May 15, 2026 at 8:00 pm. Same-day tickets will be available starting at 9:30 am at The Weber House for $35.
Visit vintagehometour.com to purchase tickets.
#VintageHomeTour #Riverside #PeterJWeberHouse #OldRiversideFoundation
Feature Friday!
Do you know about the Peter J. Weber House in Riverside?
A testament to creativity, resourcefulness, and endurance, the Peter J. Weber House is City of Riverside Landmark #52. Built between 1933 to 1938, the house is notable not just for its architect and builder (Weber was the accomplished lead designer for architect G. Stanley Wilson), but also for its whimsical eclectic Depression-era design inspired by an array of architectural styles and its reliance on salvaged materials.
Design elements including abundant carved wood, painted ceilings, and a broken-tile mosaic bathroom. Forward-thinking active/passive energy-saving features were built into the house, including a 1935 solar water heater. The house was saved from demolition in 1986 through local advocacy.
Old Riverside Foundation has been the tenant and caretaker of the Weber House since 1990.
This year's conference attendees have the option to join a special study tour of the Peter J. Weber house in Riverside.
Register for the conference at: /programs/conference/
Photos by Old Riverside Foundation
#FeatureFriday #Architecture #Design #OldRiversideFoundation #Riverside #CPF26
