At Riverside's Mission Inn, former owner departs with historic art — and locals are outraged

In little than a month, Riverside’s Mission Inn has gained a caller owner, mislaid 2 prized pieces of creation and sparked a heated statement implicit the enactment betwixt backstage spot and assemblage history.

The signifier for this contention was acceptable successful aboriginal May, erstwhile edifice proprietor Kelly Roberts decided to merchantability the Mission Inn to the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation, the people that owns the Yaamava’ Resort & Casino successful Highland and the Palms Casino Resort successful Las Vegas.

But it wasn’t the merchantability (for an undisclosed amount) that started arguments. It was Roberts’ removal of 2 beloved paintings from the edifice earlier the merchantability closed.

A coating astatine the Mission Inn successful Riverside titled “Charge Up San Juan Hill” is taken down connected March 20, soon earlier the hotel’s alteration successful ownership.

(James Ranger)

One is an alpine scenery called “California Alps” (1874) by William Keith, which measures astir 6 feet by 8 feet and was displayed successful the lobby adjacent the beforehand desk. The different painting, “Charge Up San Juan Hill” (about 1900) by Vasily Vereshchagin, was displayed connected a partition of the steakhouse adjacent the lobby. Both paintings had been a portion of the edifice for much than a century.

“It was similar a slow-motion mentation of the Louvre Museum heist, pulled disconnected connected a sunny time successful Riverside successful presumption of guests, unit and visitors,” wrote David Allen of the Riverside Press-Enterprise.

“There’s an outrage among members of this community,” said Mike Marlatt, a Riverside lawyer and erstwhile committee subordinate of the Mission Inn Foundation.

The contented appears to beryllium what agreements Roberts’ precocious hubby made erstwhile helium bought the gathering much than 30 years ago.

Former Riverside redevelopment authoritative Ralph Megna, who facilitated the 1992 merchantability to Duane Roberts’ Historic Mission Inn Corp., wrote connected Facebook that “What Kelly is seemingly doing astatine this constituent is conscionable pillaging the spot successful usurpation of those agreements.” But connected a telephone call, helium was little absolute. He said the archetypal pact included an statement intended to support astir 180 movable pieces of creation and artifacts from removal, but that “there’s shades of grey here.” Megna added, “We trusted people. Good religion turned retired to beryllium not truthful good.”

Duane and Kelly Roberts, photographed successful 1998 astatine their location successful Laguna Beach. Duane, who reopened the Mission Inn successful the aboriginal 1990s, died successful 2025.

(Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

Roberts’ household lawyer Alan Jackson, however, said “Kelly is not pillaging anything.” He maintained that erstwhile Duane Roberts bought the hotel, “he bought each azygous item. Every azygous point was the Roberts family’s idiosyncratic property.” When Kelly Roberts sold the edifice past month, Jackson said, she was escaped to support oregon merchantability immoderate of its contents.

In that deal, Jackson said, “the buyers would not close” until the paintings and a sculpture of Duane and Kelly Roberts were removed, due to the fact that “they’re expensive.” Also, Jackson said that Duane Roberts, “before his passing, made it precise wide to Kelly and the household that those are 2 of his favourite paintings ever.”

Jackson declined to accidental wherever the artworks are but said “they are successful her possession” and “she has nary volition of ever getting escaped of those ever.”

The iconic spiral staircase successful the rotunda of the historical Mission Inn.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

The hotel’s caller owner, the San Manuel Investment Authority, declined to code questions astir the merchantability agreement. But successful a statement, it said it is “committed to collaborating with the Mission Inn Foundation and the City to respectfully steward and sphere this historical landmark, recognizing its heavy past and value to the Riverside community.”

Despite accolades from groups including Historic Hotels of America, tensions betwixt the Roberts household and Riverside preservationists person risen successful caller years. In precocious 2024, aft much than 30 years renting abstraction wrong the hotel, the nonprofit Mission Inn Foundation and Museum was incapable to hold connected a lease hold with edifice absorption and moved to a gathering connected Main Street. Foundation leaders did not respond to messages seeking comment.

“The Mission Inn is truthful foundational to Riverside that immoderate important alteration brings existent interest to maine and makes maine uneasy,” said City Council subordinate Philip Falcone, 28, who has been starring tours of the inn since helium was successful precocious school.

The Keith coating is “quintessential California, a romanticized presumption of the Sierra Nevada range. William Keith, the painter, was friends with John Muir,” Falcone said. As for the San Juan Hill painting, it connects neatly with the past of Theodore Roosevelt, 1 of 9 presidents who person visited the inn.

A impermanent takes successful the presumption from the Spanish patio astatine the Mission Inn.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

The edifice is mostly the instauration of Frank Miller, who bought Glenwood Cottage, a humble boarding house, from his begetter successful 1880. Then Miller enlisted concern assistance from his friend, railroad magnate Henry Huntington, transformed the boarding location into a edifice and renamed it. Over time, Miller built it into an architectural wonderland filled with creation and antiques gathered successful the U.S. and Europe. By 1931, the endeavor filled a metropolis block.

“It’s a unsocial property,” said David Stolte, president of the Old Riverside Foundation. “It’s a National Historic Landmark. It benignant of sits astatine the intersection of backstage commerce and nationalist benefit. The archetypal owner, Frank Miller, intended it arsenic a nationalist space, fundamentally a taste museum, successful summation to his concern of moving a hotel.”

After Miller’s decease successful 1935, the hotel’s estimation dispersed adjacent further, attracting dignitaries of the time — and the future. It served arsenic the tract of Richard and Pat Nixon’s wedding successful 1940 and Ronald and Nancy Reagan’s honeymoon successful 1952. But by the 1960s, it was overmuch diminished, and a aboriginal owner, Benjamin Swig, had sold adjacent to 1,000 antiques and artworks to assistance wage bills.

By the mid-1980s, the edifice had passed done a play of metropolis ownership and was closed. By 1992, much than $50 cardinal had been spent successful restoration and renovation, but the task was scuttled by a bankruptcy. That’s erstwhile Duane Roberts, who grew up successful Riverside and made his luck selling flash-frozen burritos, bought the spot and reopened it.

Duane and Kelly Roberts, residents of Laguna Beach, besides established the hotel’s yearly Festival of Lights, an Inland Empire vacation tradition. The edifice contiguous includes 238 impermanent rooms, 4 restaurants, 2 lounges, 2 chapels, a spa, excavation and candy shop.

Besides their stewardship of the hotel, Duane and Kelly Roberts became known arsenic large donors to the Republican party. In 2017, Politico reported that Kelly Roberts was successful enactment to beryllium named the Trump administration’s ambassador to Slovenia, but turned down the post.

After Duane Roberts died astatine 88 successful November, Riverside buzzed with questions implicit the destiny of the hotel, prompting different Roberts household lawyer to connection nationalist assurances.

“Nobody’s buying this hotel. Mrs. Roberts is keeping this hotel,” lawyer Patrick O’Brien told a TV quality unit successful precocious November. But connected May 4, Kelly Roberts and the San Manuel Investment Authority announced the pending sale.

Festival of Lights, Mission Inn’s fashionable vacation tradition, was created by Kelly and Duane Roberts aft they reopened the hotel.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

Then connected May 20, guests spotted workers removing the 2 paintings from the lobby area. Longtime hotel-watchers said different items had disappeared successful caller years, including an 1876 Steinway piano; a statue of the goddess Pomona; William Wendt’s coating “Houses astatine Arch Beach”; Ilya Repin’s 1884 coating “Portrait of Madame K.”; and the hotel’s Taft Chair, a sturdy oak armchair commissioned by Frank Miller successful 1909 to clasp 335-pound President Taft. But the midday, presale removal of the Keith and Vereshchagin paintings prompted contiguous outcry.

It was “traumatizing, seeing that worldly connected show for truthful agelong and past seeing it travel down,” said James Ranger, a seasoned edifice circuit usher and Mission Inn Foundation docent. After each the clip and wealth the Roberts household invested successful the property, “leaving connected this enactment puts a sour sensation retired there,” helium said.

The merchantability closed May 29. Though the Roberts family’s attorneys person insisted that the buyers and sellers are successful accord, preservation advocates successful Riverside person called for a reappraisal of documents associated with Roberts’ acquisition of the property.

Meanwhile, the hotel’s caller epoch arsenic a tribal holding begins. Besides the 2 casino-hotels, the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation owns respective different hotels, including the Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort & Club successful Dana Point. As for the Mission Inn, the people has signed connected Boston-based Pyramid Global Hospitality to instrumentality implicit management, and respective changes are already evident.

Notably, the Roberts’ names person been dropped from the signage. Kelly’s Spa has go simply the spa, Duane’s Steakhouse is present conscionable the steakhouse, and Casey’s Cupcakes, a edifice store founded by Kelly’s girl Casey Beau Brown, has closed. The Festival of Lights volition continue, a spokesperson said.

Stolte said the Old Riverside Foundation believes the people volition beryllium “great stewards” for the Mission Inn.

“I privation that their invited to Riverside was a small smoother,” helium said.

Staff writer Alex Wigglesworth besides contributed to this story.