The City of Riverside is considering indefinitely deferring funding for the renovation and upgrade of the historic downtown Museum of Riverside.  If adopted, this decision would prevent the population of Riverside from having what nearly every other major American city has:  a vibrant museum representing its heritage.

This proposal comes 2.5 years since Riverside’s City Council voted to shutter the museum for renovation for a 3-year period.  City staff did their homework and acted on museum consultant input with the goal of bringing the Museum into the 21st century.  In the meantime, other pressures on City revenue have some individuals eyeing the financial support that was allocated for this quality-of-life project.  Is not a promise made in 2017 still valid in 2020?  Broken promises are violated agreements.  They erode the confidence of the population.

As a member of that population living in Riverside, I am asking you to sign this petition to stand with the Museum of Riverside, located in a city that prides itself on being a diverse cultural hub.

The Museum’s own collections and its future exhibitions will reveal for all the rich history of the area’s people—from Indigenous peoples to Mexicans to Asian immigrants to Hollywood actors.  These are and will be stories about the marvelous ways of life and the incredible forms of life that have marked this place in the past, present, and future.  Real objects illustrating real stories in real exhibition galleries are crucial to Riverside taking its place among the country’s great cities…museums are a unique civil approach to understanding our past and preserving our future.