Mount Rubidoux
| Mount Rubidoux | |
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 1,331 ft (406 m) NAVD 88 |
| Prominence | 484 ft (148 m) |
| Coordinates | 33°59′02″N 117°23′35″W / 33.9839038°N 117.3931011°WCoordinates: 33°59′02″N 117°23′35″W / 33.9839038°N 117.3931011°W |
| Geography | |
 Mount Rubidoux
Mount Rubidoux
Riverside, California, United States
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| Parent range | San Bernardino Mountains |
| Topo map | USGS Riverside West |
Mount Rubidoux is a mountain just west of downtown in the city of Riverside, California, United States, that has been designated a city park and landmark. The mountain was once a popular Southern California tourist destination and is still the site of the oldest outdoor non-denominational Easter Sunrise service in the United States. Many historic markers and memorials have been placed on the mountain, the most prominent being the cross at the summit dedicated to Father Junípero Serra.
The Santa Ana River flows at the base of the mountain, marking the boundary between the city of Riverside and the Rubidoux neighborhood of the City of Jurupa Valley.
The mountain was named for Louis Rubidoux, who established Rancho Rubidoux in 1847, after purchasing a portion of the Rancho Jurupa from Benjamin Davis Wilson, the second elected mayor of Los Angeles.
Tom Patterson, as well as most local Riverside historians, have concluded that the original name of Mount Rubidoux was Pachappa. They speculate that one of the early owners of Rancho Jurupa reassigned the name Pachappa to another, smaller hill, in order to expand the property of the Rancho. Since Pachappa hill was designated as the southeast marker of the Jurupa Rancho, which was granted by the Mexican government to Juan Bandini in 1838, reassigning the name to the current Pachappa Hill would have expanded the Rancho Jurupa significantly, incorporating all of the area covered by today's downtown Riverside. It is also possible the United States government renamed the hills in order to satisfy acreage requirements of the original Mexican land Grant.
In 1906 Frank Miller, owner of the Mission Inn, along with Henry E. Huntington and Charles M. Loring, formed the Huntington Park Association and purchased the property with the intent to build a road to the summit and develop the mountain as a park to benefit the city of Riverside. Originally the park was named Huntington Park, but the name was changed to the Frank A. Miller Mount Rubidoux Memorial Park after the heirs of Frank Miller donated the property to the city in 1955. On December 13, 1925, the Testimonial Peace Tower was dedicated to Miller. The bridge is a replica of a noted bridge in Alcántara, Spain. A plaque for 1932 Olympic equestrian Shunzo Kido was placed on the bridge in 1934 honoring his sacrifice of an Olympic medal in order to save his horse, Kyu Gun, from lameness.
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