Forgotten Spaces: The Places Women Occupied in the City of Riverside, California, 1870-1940

With few exceptions, the women who helped shape the development of Riverside, California, have been ignored in history books and in the city???s historic preservation program. This neglect is typical of communities across the U.S. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, written histories were largely about the white men whose political, military and economic prowess shaped the country. The nineteenth century???s early historic preservation movement privileged sites and buildings associated with those narratives. After historiographical methods began to change in the 1960s, historic preservation programs started to acknowledge previously under-represented ethnic groups. However, they still paid little attention to women. Riverside was no different; even today, women are only represented in four percent of the city???s landmarked sites.\ud This thesis and its accompanying website analyze women???s important contributions to the development of Riverside???s social and physical fabric in the period from the city???s founding in 1870 to the eve of World War II. Riverside started as a colony of progressive-minded individuals, and many women sought to implement Progressive ideas and policies as the city grew. The thesis and website present material about specific women, their contributions, and associated buildings and sites. By exploring methods for restoring women???s connections to historical narratives and physical sites, this study reconceptualizes historic preservation practice in order to foster more inclusive site commemorations.Histor