Founded in 1990, Victoria Avenue Forever (VAF) is a public benefit, nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation dedicated to the preservation and beautification of historic Victoria Avenue in Riverside, California. We raise funds for planting trees and other ornamentals, organize workdays devoted to tree-planting, tree care, pocket park creation and maintenance, and educate the public about the history and value of the plantings on Victoria Avenue through newsletters, brochures, educational panels in kiosks, and special events.
🌸 Planted over 1400 trees and thousands of roses on the median and parkways of Victoria Avenue,
🌸 Established three pocket parks, which are: i) the Dr. Lewis water-wise Garden at Jane St, ii) the Lorraine Small Commemorative Rose Garden at Ivy, and iii) the Hal Snyder Garden at Harrison St.,
🌸 Raised the funds needed to install the historic street signs along the entire Avenue,
🌸 Supported installation of three informational kiosks (at Ivy, Jane and La Sierra),
🌸 Planned and landscaped a median extension of Victoria Avenue from Boundary to La Sierra Avenue created by the City of Riverside in 2006,
🌸 Dedicated the Rosanna Scott Memorial Bike trail,
🌸 Funded the installation of a number of commemorative plaques on the Avenue,
🌸 Provided suggestions to Parks and Recreation for the plant species used in the Dammers Butterfly Garden at Mary St.
🌸 Interacted with the City involving all aspects of Victoria Avenue preservation, including care of existing plants, weed and pest control, irrigation techniques, and policy for development and traffic control.
VAF was formed 1990 and was incorporated as a non-profit in 1994. The organizers had the foresight to realize that Victoria Avenue was threatened by rampant growth in the housing market and would be negatively impacted by increased vehicular traffic, addition of stop lights, tree removal to make room for left turn lanes, etc. Since then, VAF has become a respected partner to city involvement and is the recognized “voice” of the Avenue.
Our mission statement is: “To preserve, Restore, and Beautify Historic Victoria Avenue through Community Volunteer Efforts, Education and Advocacy.”
At last count there are over 145 different species and over 6,000 individual trees. The City is currently developing a GPS-based inventory of all trees along the entire length of the Avenue.
All the trees that VAF plants on Victoria Avenue are memorial or commemorative trees. Individual citizens donate for the purchase of the trees and volunteers organized during “workdays” plant the trees. Once the trees are planted, they are staked, watered and continuously cared for by the City of Riverside. The Department of Public Works is responsible for all aspects of maintenance and for tree care on Victoria Avenue.
The City of Riverside planted all the orange trees on the Avenue. Many of these were planted as part of the City’s Renaissance beautification projects. The City harvests the fruit and its sales contribute to maintenance costs of the Avenue.
Yes, you can pick a few for your own use. You cannot pick bags or crates of them and you cannot sell them to others.
Victoria Avenue was privately designed and built but it was deeded to the City of Riverside in 1902. On June 11, 1969, Victoria Avenue was declared Cultural Heritage Landmark #8 by the Riverside Cultural Heritage Board. In October 2000, Victoria Avenue was added to the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places.
There are five Gardens/Pocket parks on Victoria Avenue and they are:
The Helen Hays Yeager Memorial Grove is located at the corner of Ivy/Myrtle. It was designed and established by the Department of Public Works with donations from the Hays-Yeager families. Mayor Rusty Bailey helped negotiate the donation to the City. VAF contributed to the discussions during the planning phases. We also designed and installed the informative kiosk panels at the site using funds contributed by a donor.
The Lorraine Small Commemorative Rose Garden is in the median near Ivy/Myrtle. It was established in 1992 by VAF using donations from the community and volunteers. We replant and mulch this garden every winter.
The Dr. Lewis Garden is located at the corner of Jane St. It was established in 1993 by VAF using donations from the community and volunteers. We pay for the maintenance of the garden and mulch it every year in the spring. This was designed as a “water-wise” garden.
The Dammers Butterfly Garden is located at the corner of Mary St adjacent to Washington Park. This garden was established to memorialize a famous citrus producer and citizen scientist named Charles Montagu Dammers who once lived at this site. VAF supported the establishment of this garden and had input to the plant species used in the landscape. The garden was designed by the City’s Parks Department and funded by Stater Bros Market who expanded into the park property. VAF is currently working on providing a memorial plaque to Charles Dammers and some information panels on the
plants and butterflies for this garden.
The Hal Snyder Garden is located at Harrison St. It was established in 2010 by VAF using donations from the community and volunteers. We pay for the maintenance of the garden and mulch it every year in the spring. This was also designed as a “water-wise” garden.
There are many ways to contribute. For one, you can become a member of Victoria Avenue Forever. Membership dues help pay for all our activities, including monthly garden maintenance. You can volunteer your services. We have scheduled workdays each year during which volunteers plant trees, roses and/or mulch gardens. We always accept monetary contributions for commemorative trees, memorials or honoraria, for trees and garden maintenance and for special projects on the Avenue. We welcome all contributions from the community.
