Frank Miller traveled the world buying art and antiquities to add to the flavor of his renowned Riverside hotel, the Mission Inn, before his 1935 death.
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On Wednesday, May 20 two prominent paintings purchased by Miller more than a century ago were carried out of the historic hotel in broad daylight.
Men took down the paintings, wrapped them in plastic and toted them out. One, “California Alps,” was in the lobby near the reception desk, elevators and restrooms. The other, “Charge Up San Juan Hill,” was in the hotel steakhouse, but with a clear sightline from the lobby.
It was like a slow-motion version of the Louvre Museum heist, pulled off on a sunny day in Riverside in view of guests, staff and visitors, some of whom brought out their phones for a quick photo.
Kelly Roberts appears to have taken personal possession of the paintings eight days before escrow closes on her sale of the historic hotel to the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation tribe. Her attorney declined comment.
Preservationists were astonished.
“It feels vindictive,” said Philip Falcone, a City Council member who is a former Mission Inn docent. “The sale closes in a week. They have one foot out the door and at the 11th hour, they do a smash-and-grab. I just can’t fathom it.”
The baroque hotel occupies an entire block bounded by Mission Inn Avenue and Orange, Main and Sixth streets. Its architecture borrows elements of California missions and European castles and is filled with antiques and art — although with two fewer example as of this week.
Falcone last spoke to Kelly Roberts on May 4, when she phoned for a personal 15-minute conversation to inform him about the sale of the hotel. According to the council member, Roberts “expressed frustration” with the city and with the state of California as places to do business and said the city “has never done anything” to support the hotel.
That’s why Falcone said the removal of the two paintings feels spiteful. He doubts Roberts, a billionaire, has any purpose in mind but to sell the art to enrich herself.
The paintings were not Old Masters, but they have a long pedigree.
“California Alps,” from 1874, painted by William Keith, portrays the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The painting measures roughly 6 feet by 10 feet and was in an imposing frame.
Miller, who developed the Mission Inn in stages from 1903 to 1931, bought “California Alps” at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco in 1915. It is believed to have been displayed at the hotel ever since.
“Charge Up San Juan Hill,” from 1900, was painted by Vasili Vereshchagin and measures roughly 6 feet by 8 feet. It depicts the U.S. Army’s Rough Riders, led by Theodore Roosevelt, charging up a hill in Cuba during the Spanish-American War.
Miller bought the painting in 1917 at auction in San Francisco. This painting must have held special meaning for him: Roosevelt, as president, had stayed at the Mission Inn in 1903.
Both paintings are cited in the book “Historic Mission Inn,” a photo-filled history of the property published by Friends of the Mission Inn.
“California Alps” is described as “one of the Inn’s most valuable possessions.” Naturalist John Muir, a friend of the artist’s as well as of Miller’s, is said to have called the painting “the bible of the Sierras.”
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Regarding “Charge Up San Juan Hill,” the book says it is located in the hotel’s “most exclusive dining area” and by its placement on the brick wall’s center panel enhanced the atmosphere.
On Wednesday, instead of a painting in a gilt wood frame, there was a blank brick wall and mismatched paint. How’s that for atmosphere?
Providentially, I was in Riverside on Wednesday when the tip about the paintings came in. I saw “California Alps” already down from the wall, resting on a sheet of plastic, as a crew prepared to wrap it. They were behind caution tape and a guard stood sentry.
I took a few photos discreetly, then headed toward the California Lounge. In the bar area, a hotel staffer ran to intercept me, saying no one was allowed further.
“They specifically don’t want photos of that,” the employee said.
Can’t blame them. Thankfully, a docent had already gotten photos that morning.
“I couldn’t believe it was happening, but it was,” James Ranger told me. He has been among the docents on the property the past eight years.
Other artifacts have gone missing over the decades, starting in the 1950s after Miller’s heirs sold the hotel. Hotelier Ben Swig sold items at auction in the 1950s and ’60s, and others were lifted by guests or trespassers in later years.
Duane Roberts bought the long-closed hotel in December 1992 and, joined by his wife Kelly, owned it until his death Nov. 1 at age 88. Escrow on the sale to Yuhaaviatam is said to be closing May 28.
The whereabouts of some well-loved items during the Roberts era is unknown. One is a small oil painting, “Arch Beach,” which was displayed until recent years under “California Alps.” Others include a statue of the goddess Pomona and a Steinway piano.
The Taft Chair is seen in 2017 in the lobby of the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa. Visitors loved posing for photos in the oversized chair, but it’s been absent by some reports since February 2025. (Photo by David Allen, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
The famed Taft Chair from the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa’s lobby was removed more than a year ago, supposedly for repairs, and remains missing from its former spot on Wednesday. The oversized chair, built for the use of hefty President William Howard Taft, was a favorite of visitors. (Photo by David Allen, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
The most famous is the Taft chair, built for a visit to the hotel by the plus-sized president in 1909. In modern times the chair was in the hotel lobby and was a popular spot for slightly comical photos in which people seem swallowed up by the massive chair, its armrests far apart.
I first noticed it missing in May 2025, but others say it’s been gone since 2024 or 2023.
The absence of the chair, the paintings and other “priceless cultural resources… diminishes the integrity of the landmark and the public’s ability to understand Frank Miller’s vision,” Dave Stolte, president of the Old Riverside Foundation, told the city’s Cultural Heritage Board at its Wednesday afternoon meeting.
Stolte continued: “This is especially urgent because the property is now in escrow. Once significant items are separated from the site, sold, transferred, or otherwise placed beyond public accountability, recovery becomes far more difficult.”
Falcone said that by legal right Roberts can probably do as she wishes with objects at the hotel. Yet their removal, he said, seems disrespectful to Miller, her late husband’s legacy and the citizens of Riverside.
Falcone added: “It feels like her flipping us off on her way out the door.”
David Allen uses all 10 fingers Friday, Sunday and Wednesday. 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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