THE GLENWOOD MISSION INN
It is an incontrovertible fact that no great idea ever rests in its own
accomplishment. There are offshoots from it, ideas generated in other
minds entirely different from the original, yet dependent upon it for
life. For instance, which of the Mission fathers had the faintest
conception that in erecting their structures under the adverse
conditions then existing in California, they were practically
originating a new style of architecture; or that in making their crude
and simple chairs, benches and tables they were starting a revolution in
furniture making; or that in caring for and entertaining the few
travelers who happened to pass over _El Camino Real_ they were to
suggest a name, an architectural style, a method of management for the
most unique, and in many respects the most attractive hotel in the
world. For such indeed is the Glenwood Mission Inn, at Riverside,
California, at this present time.
This inn is an honest and just tribute to the influence of the Old
Mission Fathers of California, as necessary to a complete understanding
of the far-reaching power of their work as is _El Camino Real_, the
Mission Play, or the Mission Style of architecture. After listening to
lectures on the work of the Franciscan padres and visiting the Missions
themselves, its owners, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Miller, humanely interested
in the welfare of the Mission Indians, collectors of the handicrafts of
these artistic aborigines, and students of what history tells us of
them, began, some twenty-five years ago, to realize that in the Mission
idea was an ideal for a modern hotel. Slowly the suggestion grew, and as
they discussed it with those whose knowledge enabled them to appreciate
it, the clearer was it formulated, until some ten or a dozen years ago
time seemed ripe for its realization. Arthur B. Benton, one of the
leading architects of Southern California, formulated plans, and the
hotel was erected. Its architecture conforms remarkably to that of the
Missions. On Seventh Street are the arched corridors of San Fernando,
San Juan Capistrano, San Miguel and San Antonio de Padua; inside is an
extensive patio and the automobiles stop close to the Campanile
reproducing the curved pediments of San Gabriel. On the Sixth Street
side is the _fachada_ of Santa Barbara Mission, and over the corner of
Sixth and Orange Streets is the imposing dome of San Carlos Borromeo in
the Carmelo Valley, flanked by buttresses of solid concrete, copies of
those of San Gabriel.
The walls throughout are massive and unbroken by any other lines than
those of doors, windows and eaves, and the roofs are covered with red
tiles. In the Bell Tower a fine chime of bells is placed the playing of
which at noon and sunset recalls the matins and vespers of the
Mission days.
Within the building, the old Mission atmosphere is wonderfully
preserved. In the Cloister Music Room the windows are of rare and
exquisite stained glass, showing St. Cecilia, the seats are cathedral
stalls of carved oak; the rafters are replicas of the wooden beams of
San Miguel, and the balcony is copied from the chancel rail of the same
Mission. Mission sconces, candelabra, paintings, banners, etc., add to
the effect, while the floor is made in squares of oak with mahogany
parquetry to remind the visitor of the square tile pavements found in
several of the old Missions.
Daily--three times--music is called forth from the cathedral organ and
harp, and one may hear music of every type, from the solemn, stately
harmonies of the German choral, the crashing thunders of Bach's fugues
and Passion music, to the light oratorios, and duets and solos of
Pergolesi.
By the side of the Music Room is the Cloistered Walk, divided into
sections, in each of which some distinctive epoch or feature of Mission
history is represented by mural paintings by modern artists of skill and
power. The floor is paved with tiles from one of the abandoned Missions.
[Illustration: TOWER, FLYING BUTTRESSES, ETC., GLENWOOD MISSION INN,
RIVERSIDE.]
[Illustration: ARCHES OVER THE SIDEWALK, GLENWOOD MISSION INN,
RIVERSIDE, CALIF.]
[Illustration: RESIDENCE OF FRED MAIER, LOS ANGELES, CALIF.]
[Illustration: WASHINGTON SCHOOL, VISALIA, CALIF.]
Beyond is the Refectorio, or dining-room of an ancient Mission,
containing a collection of kitchen and dining utensils, some of them
from Moorish times. It has a stone ceiling, groined arches, and harvest
festival windows, which also represent varied characters, scenes,
industries and recreations connected with old Mission life.
Three other special features of the Mission Inn are its wonderful
collection of crosses, of bells, and the Ford paintings. Any one of
these would grace the halls of a national collection of rare and
valuable antiques. Of the crosses it can truthfully be said that they
form the largest and most varied collection in the world, and the bells
have been the subject of several articles in leading magazines.
The Ford paintings are a complete representation of all the Missions and
were made by Henry Chapman Ford, of Santa Barbara, mainly during the
years 1880-1881, though some of them are dated as early as 1875.
The Glenwood Mission Inn proved so popular that in the summer and fall
of 1913 two new wings were added, surrounding a Spanish Court. This
Court has cloisters on two sides and cloistered galleries above, and is
covered with Spanish tile, as it is used for an open air dining-room.
One of the new wings, a room 100 feet long by 30 feet wide, and three
stories high, with coffered ceiling, is a Spanish Art Gallery. Here are
displayed old Spanish pictures and tapestries, many of which were
collected by Mr. Miller personally on his European and Mexican trips.
At the same time the dining-room was enlarged by more than half its
former capacity, one side of it looking out through large French windows
on the cloisters and the court itself. This necessitated the enlargement
of the kitchen which is now thrown open to the observation of the guests
whenever desired.
Taking it all in all, the Glenwood Mission Inn is not only a unique and
delightful hostelry, but a wonderful manifestation of the power of the
Franciscan friars to impress their spirit and life upon the commercial
age of a later and more material civilization.