Another object has disappeared from public view at Riverside’s Mission Inn — but no one is shedding tears.
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Hours after the departure of the two paintings that caused such outrage, a statue of Duane and Kelly Roberts, the hotel’s owners, was removed from the lobby May 20 as well.
A gift for Duane Roberts’ 85th birthday, the statue was placed just inside the main entrance in 2022. I didn’t mind it. I took it as the couple putting a personal stamp on their property, as if they were greeting each guest personally (if stiffly).
Critics found its presence self-indulgent and cringeworthy. The statue’s removal seemed to meet with universal acclaim on Facebook.
Regardless, Riverside will never see it again.
Seven months after the death of Duane Roberts, the sale of the hotel he bought and reopened in 1993 has been completed. The Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation assumed control of the historic property on May 29.
“We are honored to carry that legacy forward with the same dedication to maintaining its historic dignity and prominence,” Lynn Valbuena, the tribe’s chairperson, said in a written statement.
I’m hoping she and others make themselves available for interviews once the dust settles. There’s a lot to unpack, figuratively and literally.
Not only is the statue gone, but the Roberts family’s names and likenesses have been scrubbed from the property in what feels like a reset.
Kelly’s Spa is now simply Spa. Duane’s Steakhouse is now Mission Inn Steakhouse. Casey’s Cupcakes, a daughter’s business on the Main Street mall, is gone. The family’s announced renaming of the Parisian Ballroom to the Duane R. Roberts Ballroom apparently didn’t make it past the AI-generated image stage.
But back to the removal of the two paintings, news that, unlike the statue removal, set Riverside’s collective teeth grinding.
As reported here May 22, “Charge Up San Juan Hill” was taken down from the steakhouse and “California Alps” from the lobby, one of the last acts of the Roberts family’s three decades of ownership.
Both paintings had been bought in the 1910s by Mission Inn founder Frank Miller, who filled his hotel with art and artifacts to foster an atmosphere of antiquity and charm.
The paintings had been hanging in public view for more than a century. And suddenly they were gone.
I think there are two issues here. One is whether Kelly Roberts had the absolute right to remove the paintings. The second is whether she should have.
First, about the ownership.
A Roberts lawyer asserts the two paintings and the statue were “the personal property” of Duane and Kelly Roberts and says they were specifically excluded from the sale in the April 10 agreement.
The contract identified the three works, and only the three works, as “Excluded Artwork” that “shall each be retained by the Seller and removed from the Property prior to Closing.” That’s according to a May 28 letter to me from Alan J. Jackson, a partner in the Los Angeles law firm of Werksman Jackson and Quinn.
We asked for a copy of the agreement but were told it could not be provided because of confidentiality provisions.
As none of this was public record, I thank him for the information. Not shared was why Roberts wanted the paintings, or if the Yuhaaviatam did not want them.
Through a San Manuel spokesperson, the tribe told me this on June 5:
“While the specific terms and financial details of the sale remain confidential, San Manuel Investment Authority is committed to collaborating with the Mission Inn Foundation and the City to respectfully steward and preserve this historic landmark, recognizing its deep history and significance to the Riverside community.”
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Some are raising questions about the paintings.
City Hall owned the hotel from 1976 to 1985 and was part of the three-party agreement in 1992 to sell it to Duane Roberts.
Ralph Megna, who negotiated the 1992 sale on behalf of the city, told me by email May 22 the paintings were on a city-created “A list” of 250-plus cultural resources and that “it was understood” they were “’protected’ artifacts” to stay on the premises.
Whether that list has any legal bearing today may get reviewed by the City Council.
Dave Stolte, president of the Old Riverside Foundation, a preservation nonprofit, told me he is urging the council and city attorney to research all past agreements “to determine the disposition of” such missing items as the Taft chair, a visitor favorite, and the two paintings.
“That stuff is integral to the Mission Inn. It’s always been part of the Mission Inn,” Stolte told me.
The public’s interest in keeping the hotel intact has taken other forms.
Starting in 1970, Friends of the Mission Inn bought art and artifacts that owners were tossing, including Frank Miller’s personal desk, to keep them in the community’s hands.
For more than 50 years, Friends, through donations, has funded repair and conservation of the Mission Inn’s art and artifacts — a story I’ll return to soon.
That volunteer effort included spending $13,500 in the 1980s to restore “California Alps” and $10,000 in the 1990s to restore “Charge Up San Juan Hill,” according to Glenn Scalise, the nonprofit’s president.
“We took care of those paintings. That’s why they’re in the condition they’re in,” Scalise told me May 28. Their removal, he said, “was 100% shocking.”
The art and artifacts have long been considered “inextricable from the historic nature of the hotel,” said Philip Falcone, a City Council member and former Mission Inn docent. The hotel is a city, state and national landmark.
The outpouring of anger and dismay, Falcone told me May 27, is a reflection of the “community passion” that people are bringing to the issue.
Said Falcone: “We care deeply about the Mission Inn in this town. It’s very simple.”
Now for the other question: Was excluding the paintings from the sale the right thing to do?
Reader Chris Miller emailed to say: “It’s so hard in a situation like this where a private holding is also a public attraction and a beloved part of the local history.”
Reader Mary Sue Berkley wrote: “Riversiders are most distressed over this. It doesn’t matter to us that it’s not ‘illegal.’ It’s a matter of principle.”
On Facebook, Jim Ward put it simply concerning Duane and Kelly Roberts: “They bought it whole; they should leave it whole.”
Instead, they left a hole.
David Allen writes Sunday, Wednesday and Friday, leaving a hole the other four days. Email [email protected], phone 909-483-9339, and follow davidallencolumnist on Facebook or Instagram, @davidallen909 on X or @davidallen909.bsky.social on Bluesky.
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