From Press to Preservation: Museum of Redlands Nears Grand Opening at Former Daily Facts Site

By David James Heiss

Redlands News Collective

Photo by Nathan Gonzales

An interactive, nonslip high-resolution historical water and agricultural floor map, with a commissioned orange tree sculpture in the background created by Tim Sullivan.

REDLANDS — It seemed strange that a city as distinguished and established as Redlands lacked a local historical museum. The idea of creating one was formally advocated to the City Council by Nelda Stuck and Liz Begulin at a Jan. 18, 2000, meeting.

Now, after a 26-year journey — and 138 years after the city’s incorporation—the Museum of Redlands is just months away from welcoming the public.

Over the decades, several sites were considered for the Museum of Redlands (MOR), including the Police Department annex and former City Hall at 30 Cajon St.; the former Safety Hall property at 212 W. Brookside Ave.; the Brookside Avenue post office when the postal service considered selling in 2012; and the former Mutual Orange Distributors packinghouse on Third Street, now the site of the Redlands Public Market.

The journey has come full circle for Stuck, former "Our Town" section editor of the Redlands Daily Facts when the newspaper operated out of 700 Brookside Ave. MOR acquired the property with the help of a generous gift from founding Redlands Historical Museum Association board member Clara McClellan.

McClellan donated $1 million in 2014 to purchase the 14,500-square-foot building and land. Tim and Carol Rochford later purchased the adjacent vacant lot to the west, adding it to the museum footprint, while an anonymous donor provided funds for initial master planning and feasibility studies.

Nathan Gonzales, head of Special Collections at the A.K. Smiley Public Library, offered an overview of MOR’s history and a preview of its future during an informational presentation at the Joslyn Senior Center on July 16.

Gonzales noted that under its established administrative model, the museum will be managed and operated by the library's Special Collections division, supported by the Redlands Historical Museum Association — commonly known as the MOR Friends.

Currently, illuminated historic commercial and municipal signs from throughout Redlands are mounted inside the floor-to-ceiling glass wall of the Brookside Gallery, visible to passing traffic along Brookside Avenue at the former main entrance of the Daily Facts.

Upon entering, visitors will encounter a 200-year history timeline via a seven-minute video presentation, followed by the interactive “I Am Redlands” digital wall — an 8-by-8-foot video display featuring a rotating matrix of historical portraits paired with 300 crowdsourced community photos spanning from 1880 through 2026.

The inaugural exhibits will feature a walk-on 1888 irrigation map printed on non-slip, polished vinyl flooring, anchored by a central orange tree sculpture commissioned from local artist Tim Sullivan. The gallery will also feature 12-foot oversized citrus crate labels, vintage photographs, an interactive label touchscreen kiosk, and a physical smudge pot.

The museum added a second story strictly to house climate-controlled storage, ensuring all ground-floor space remains dedicated to public galleries and rotating exhibits.

Gonzales told attendees that MOR expects to hold its official grand opening in late October 2026.

To read more about the history of the Museum of Redlands, visit www.redlandshistoricalmuseum.com/history .