Riverside Municipal Museum

The museum is a department of the City of Riverside, but is supported by the Riverside Museum Associates (RMA), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.HistoryThe museum was established on December 12, 1924, when the widow of Cornelius Earle Rumsey donated his collection of Native American artifacts to the City of Riverside. Rumsey, a retired executive of the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco), came to Riverside for his health and subsequently developed an interest in Native American artifacts.The museum was originally located in the basement of the old City Hall building from 1925 through 1948. It then moved to the basement of the current building, originally a Federal Post Office. As the museum's collections grew, the museum expanded to all of the floors in the 1960s and 1970s.After his retirement from teaching at Riverside Junior College, noted naturalist Edmund C. Jaeger served as a curator for the museum. A permanent exhibit at the museum is dedicated to him and the natural landscape of Southern California.The museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM).ArchitectureThe building was designed in the Renaissance Revival Style.