Riverside, California's Historic Mission Inn
Thousands of Couples Have Wed Before its Dazzling Rayas Altar
Jul 27, 2008
The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa is a National Historic Landmark hotel that occupies and entire city block in downtown Riverside, California, U.S.A. The present property evolved from the Glenwood Boarding House, which was originally built in 1874 on land deeded to Frank Miller's father, Christopher Columbus Miller, as payment for his services as an irigation engineer.
This full-service hotel has luxury room accomodations, Tuscan-inspired Kelly's Spa and four award-winning restaurants: Duane's Prime Steaks, The Mission Inn Restaurant, Las Campanas Gourmet Mexican Cuisine and Cantina and Bella Trattoria Italian Bistro. Duane's Prime Steaks. Hours and days of operation vary for the five restaurants and the renowned Presidential Lounge, which was originally the Presidential Suite, desgined for Theodore Roosevelt and the wedding locaion of Richard and Pat Nixon. Information and menus can be found at www.missioninn.com.
In addition to history, art and architecture that echoes its creator's fascination with world culture, The Mission Inn is home to the legendary St. Francis Chapel, which is perhaps the most acclaimed of the hotel's wonders. It was created to house the eccentric, flamboyant and ever hospitable Miller's two greatest treasures: his original Louis Tiffany windows and the Rayas Matrimonial Altar. Thousands of couples have since been married there, including several celebrities. Bette Davis married there twice.
Jean Powell, a docent of the Mission Inn Museum for more than 18 years, describes the chapel's interior, “The custom-made choir stalls that line the chapel walls are handmade. The polished dark wood was chosen to match the collection of carved saints’ heads that adorn each one. Miller acquired these from a Belgian convent.”
Despite their history and beauty, the furnishings pale in the presence of the Rayas Altar. Magnificent in size and elaborate to almost garish in detail and decoration, the altar was carved from Mexican cedar with layers of gold leaf pounded onto its every crevice.
“In 1920, Frank Miller bought the altar for $5,000, having only seen pictures of it,” said Powell. “Miller was surprised by its grandeur and decided it needed a showplace of its own. So for it and his collection of Tiffany windows, he had his craftsmen design the chapel.”
Louis Tiffany created the seven stained-glass windows and iridescent mosaics for Dr. Parkhurst’s Presbyterian Church on Madison Square in New York. “Mr. Tiffany put an unusual footnote into his contract with the church,” said Powell. “He stated that if the church were ever to be torn down, the ownership of the windows would revert back to him. The church was demolished and Mr. Tiffany, a frequent guest of the Inn, gladly sold them to Frank Miller.”
Allis Miller Hutchings, Frank Miller's daughter, wrote "The Golden Altar," in 1938, wherein she describes the St. Francis Chapel: "The windows on the south side of the chapel are translucent Favril glass made by chipping antique glass. On the north side, the windows are iridescent. Each one symbolizes a month of the year, with the name of each written on medallions with emblems of the season in fruit or flowers.
The list of notables married at the chapel includes Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, Constance Bennett and Linda Darnel. Tom Mix served as best man at a friend’s nuptials. Pat and Richard Nixon were also married at the Mission Inn, but not in the chapel. Being Quakers, they thought its spectacular surroundings were too much for their simple tastes, so they opted to have their ceremony in what is now the Presidential Lounge.
To date, several sitting presidents have stayed at the inn and others have visited prior to or after their administration. Ronald and Nancy Reagan honeymooned there. Theodore Roosevelt, who visited in 1904, transplanted one of the two original Washington navel orange trees in the hotel's courtyard.
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