Rives Mansion redux

Finally, the Rives Mansion seems to be in the process of renovation. I must assume that a hand-y man is helping to do the restoration! (Sorry for the bad pun, but I forgot to take the picture I had planned for today and we have a theme of hands for the week.)

Perhaps the reason behind the face lift is that the mansion has changed hands recently. It is nice to see it being restored to looking like the iconic building it is.

Back on the market?

It looks like the Rives Mansion is soon to be back on the market once again. It seems like there has been nothing but struggle and controversy regarding a use for this historic property for years. Downey Beat had a lot to say about it—check out the article.

It is a beautiful old home and I would love to see it used and appreciated once again.

Cleaning up

We've written a lot about the Rives Mansion. It's a beautiful old house, built in 1911, that is on the National Register of Historic Places. The mansion has fallen on tough times lately.

Last month, the fence around the mansion's back area collapsed under all the overgrown vegetation. The collapse exposed overgrown weeds and lots of trash, as well as evidence that people were illegally living in the garage and water tower. The city of Downey went to court and got the OK to clean up the property. This picture shows the back area, with most of the debris cleaned up.

In the past, the mansion has been a private residence, a potential museum, and a potential steakhouse and wine garden, among other things. If money were no obstacle, what would you do with the mansion?

The elegant Rives Mansion

The Rives Mansion was open to the public today as a fundraiser to benefit victims of the typhoon that struck the Philippines. For $5 or $10, you could get a cup of lemonade. And for $20, you could get a private tour of the mansion, where James C. Rives looks out at you across the elegant rooms.

The fundraiser was organized by Ralph Verdugo, owner of the Rives Mansion Steakhouse, which will open here early next year. Meanwhile, preparations for the steakhouse continue. The rooms are painted and the floors gleam. The kitchen is still in progress, and there's no landscaping outside yet.

But that doesn't take away from the sheer elegance of the mansion with all its windows aglow.

A touch of class

I stopped by the Rives Mansion today to see how progress is coming on the new Rives Mansion Steak House and Wine Garden. While I was there, I couldn't resist a shot of the classic 1957 Bentley that sits out front. The Bently adds a touch of class to the scene and evokes a sense of history for the old house.

I spoke to Ralph Verdugo, the owner of the new restaurant, who invited DDP back next week to see the inside. I can't wait!

Rives Mansion redux

Every day when I go to work, I drive past the Rives Mansion. I am really excited that there will soon be a new restaurant and wine garden in our neighborhood in such a potentially beautiful and historical location. I watch the progress being made and can't wait to see what it will look like when they are done.

A few days ago I noticed a red spot on the mermaid statue we've posted about before. Look at the close-up to see the nice baseball cap the mermaid is now sporting. Fun touch!

Rives Mansion welcomes Veterans

For the past two days I've noticed a flurry of activity at the Rives Mansion. Tents and tables have been set up and banners hung.

Tomorrow the Rives Mansion will host a Veterans Job and Resource Fair. The Department of Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System is  collaborating with The Los Angeles Film School to host this communtity event. The free event is open to veterans and their families from 11 am to 4:30 pm.

To view their flier you can visit downeybeat.com or just click here.

Our veterans deserve our support and our thanks.

"Those who won our independence believed liberty to be the secret of happiness and courage to be the secret of liberty."
~ Louis D. Brandeis

Hidden treasures

The Downey Museum of Art (DMOA) has one of the largest collections of works by Boris Deutsch, a 20th century Lithuanian-American painter. In addition to the works of local artists, last night's art show at the Rives Mansion included a display of several Boris Deutsch paintings. (Click here for more information about the artist and his works.) These paintings have been packed away in storage for the last several years, and are only recently being displayed again.

And as I mentioned yesterday, part of the appeal of the event, at least for me, was the opportunity to experience once again the feel of another century through this historic house. The picture to the right shows the window and work area of the butler's pantry next to the kitchen. According to Wikipedia, "A butler's pantry or serving pantry is a utility room in a large house, primarily used to store serving items, rather than food. Traditionally, a butler's pantry was used for storage, cleaning and counting of silver...In modern homes, butler's pantries are usually located in transitional spaces between kitchens and dining rooms, and used as staging areas for serving meals."

Wouldn't it be nice these days to have the luxury of a separate room to store all your dinnerware?

The arts in Downey

Tonight the Downey Museum of Art (DMOA) sponsored an art exhibit at the Rives Mansion, which featured the works of Calixto Shibaja, Hector Beltran, and other local artists. The event was free (donations benefited the DMOA) and included food and musical entertainment.

The event was a big success. By the time I arrived, the crowds had thinned out, but those in the know reported huge crowds just an hour earlier.

Of course, a big draw was an opportunity to see the inside of the historic Rives Mansion. Click here for past Downey Daily posts that show the Rives Mansion, inside and out.

The balcony

In this week's primary election, Cristina Garcia received enough votes to advance to the general election in November.

But I wasn't really thinking about that when I snapped this picture a couple of weeks ago. Instead I was thinking, doesn't the Rives Mansion balcony just beg for a beautiful couple standing there waving to the crowd? I had visions of the President and First Lady. Or the Royal Couple after the Royal Wedding, giving the Royal Wave.

Or maybe just the present owners on a quiet evening?

Rives Mansion revisited

It had been a while since we visited the Rives mansion. So, Saturday we stopped by to see if we could wander around again. We were in luck, the door was open and Oscar was there.  

Climbing to the second story, I found myself wondering how many people over the last hundred years had climbed that same wide staircase. There is such a sense of history here.

I finally had a chance to see the "ballroom." It is a large room lit by tons of natural light. In fact, what I noticed most on this visit was the enormous amount of natural light in the house.

As we visited, Oscar shared some of his thoughts about the future of the mansion.

Oscar and Carmen have made progress on the place. They have continued to paint, adding color to some of the walls. See previous post of this same landing from January. Of course, more posts to follow.

Attic treasures

Technically, the Rives Mansion has a third-floor ballroom, but right now, it functions more like an attic, a place to store those things you don't have a place for but can't get rid of.

For more posts about the Rives Mansion, click here. 

Approaching Los Angeles

For the past year we have posted pictures taken in Downey, after all, our blog is Downey Daily Photos. But Downey is sourrounded by so many other cities with many interesting sites, we thought we would throw in a few now and then. So, here goes...this is a view of downtown LA, entering the city via surface streets. I have always been drawn to the skyline view of the city — and I loved how the city popped into view as we were driving in along Whittier Blvd.

Many people don't realize how close Downey is to downtown Los Angeles. In fact, there is a historical marker (placed in Downey in 1908) on the sidewalk by the Rives Mansion that indicates that the distance from the corner of 3rd Street and Paramount is 13 miles to the Los Angeles County Courthouse.

A door to the past

It isn't an exciting door. It isn't even a pretty door. But it is old. A century old, really. It is the door going to an old tower on the Rives property. Speculation as to what he actually kept in there ranges from grain to his own water recourse.

I just love the fact that that door was used regularly by people before we even existed on this earth, who went through their day to day lives not thinking that this door would ever be used in a blog, on the internet, one hundred years later.

Upstairs, downstairs

When James Rives built his mansion in 1911, his plans of course allowed for his live-in kitchen staff. From the small bedroom on the second floor that overlooked the grounds in the back, the servants were summoned by these bells at the top of the stairs. The narrow stairs led them directly down to the kitchen.

For more posts about the Rives Mansion, click here.

Dining in style

My first thought upon walking into the dining room in the Rives Mansion was, "I want to have dinner here!"

The rich dark oak paneling, the beautiful built-in cupboards, the original lighting fixtures up above, the elegantly set table, and the garden view through the French doors all combine to make the dining room one of the loveliest rooms in this old house.

For more posts about the Rives Mansion, click here.

The little mermaid

I read somewhere that a mermaid's tail splits in two when she becomes 30 and can then walk on land. This one was showing her age while pointing toward the heavens with her shell.

For more posts about the Rives Mansion, click here.

A permanent work of art

“The staircase will remain as a permanent work of art.”
~Irvin Lippman

Last week, Oscar and Carmen Rivera, along with Kirk Cartozian, graciously shared with us their plans for the Rives Mansion. We had the opportunity to poke around into all the corners, and we have a lot of pictures to share. Today, I want to show you the grand staircase.

The staircase is the first thing you see when you enter the house. During this Christmas season, it hides a little behind the Christmas tree, heads up for a sweeping view of the grounds, then opens up onto the second floor landing that is big enough to be a room of its own.

For other posts about the Rives Mansion, click here.

Using the past for the future

"Think of all the possibilities for the future!" That was the theme of this tour of the "Rives Mansion." As soon as I stepped onto the grounds, however, I felt thrown back into time. Although there was new paint on the walls, the tiny details remained untouched. I can picture ladies in the drawing room and the servants running up and down the back stairs and lovers dancing in the ball room on the third floor.

The owners have taken precaution to assure the integrity of the home is still present while modernizing the necessary updates. Its not perfect yet; there are holes in places and creaks and a few people believe there to be ghosts... I, for one, did not see any.

The idea is to keep the mansion as a privately owned property and lease it out commercially to people with visions that would bring in business to Downtown Downey. Imagine a Bed and Breakfast? Or a Couple's getaway? Or a benefit where everyone is in ball gowns and tuxedos? Just as my head was swimming with ideas, the people surrounding me were throwing out theirs too. It was exciting, being a part of the transition between old and new, respecting the history of the house while planning for the future of the "Casa Blanca."

Updates to follow.

The Rives Mansion — One of Downey's mysteries

Most of the time, we know our city from the outside. The insides, the stories and the explanations, remain a mystery. The Rives Mansion is one of those mysteries for me. I love the era and the style of the house. It's the kind of house I'd like to live in, and I want to explore every inch of it.

A few years ago, the owners opened the house up for tours during the Christmas season, and I got to see portions of the inside. At the time, it was owned by a Swedish couple who covered every nook and cranny with Swedish furniture, memorabilia, and pictures. Not necessarily in a bad way, just in an overwhelming way. It was hard to see past Sweden to the house itself.

The house changed owners recently, and the new owners have repainted the entire outside, cleaned up the yard, and added new landscaping. The outside is truly beautiful now. And the little bit I can see of the inside makes me think that the inside is beautiful now too. But will I ever get the chance to see it again? Maybe next Christmas...

To see a picture of the Rives Mansion circa 1912, click here. For more posts about the Rives Mansion, click here.