Victorian Homes in Redlands California
Redlands Califonia Victorian homes make this community unique in most of Southern California and the Inland Empire. The early migration to Redlands as a wintering place for well-to-do Midwesterners and Easterners created a rich diversity in architecture. Combined with California fashions of the times, Redlands could boast home styles from high Victorian to Mission Revival, Classic Revival, and California Craftsman.
One of the characteristics loved at the turn of the nineteenth century was the ability to grow the exotic botany of the world. Vast orange groves of international repute didn’t hurt the high profile and fashion of the times. Ironically, it may have been the orange industry that saved so many wonderful examples of Victorian architecture in Redlands.
In 1913, following twenty years of boom-depression building and regional influence, a hard freeze put Redlands in an economic slump. WW I further slowed the enthusiasm of the building boom. By the Twenties, the movie industry had attracted many to Hollywood and further east to Palm Springs. Redlands became a sleepy midwest-like town with little growth.
But the slow growth for all those years kept at bay the normal urban commercial creep into old, previously fashionable neighborhoods. Unlike many larger cities where the oldest Victorian homes were torn down for “progress” and streets were widened to accommodate the ever-increasing traffic to downtown, Redlands kept many homes in their original neighborhood form. Had the frost not occurred, Redlands' commercial and agricultural strength of the 1900s may well have created a much larger city.
This sleepy town now provides perhaps the only intact and living “turn-of-the-century” neighborhoods in Southern California and the Inland Empire. As a result, its former tourist reputation is returning, especially for the day trip for regional Southern Californians.
Redlands now boasts fine restaurants and unique shopping in its historic downtown, as well as walking tours, the Lincoln Shrine, A.K. Smiley Library and the San Bernardino County Museum.
But the most impressive characteristic is the living history captured in the architecture of the parks, homes, and public buildings - nearly a time capsule of 1900, if you ignore the cars! If you plan to visit, be sure to see these websites first:
RedlandsWeb Virtual Tour
Redlands History
Redlands Area Historical Society
Redlands Restaurant Guide
Redlands Architecture
Lincoln Shrine
AK Smiley Library
Redlands Visitor's Guide
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