The long walk to restoring a monument in Riverside to explorer Juan Bautista de Anza was limping along, with only $15,000 raised toward a project expected to cost several times that.
Discouragement had set in. Then a friendly stranger offered a lift.
He donated $100,000. And he pledged that whatever donations come in, he’ll match them, up to another $100,000.
This means he is willing to donate up to $200,000, all for a monument that many Riversiders scarcely notice.
Backers are pinching themselves, especially because the donor was off Riverside’s radar.
“We don’t really know why he’s interested in this park,” admits Philip Falcone, a councilmember who is spearheading the drive on behalf of a nonprofit, Beautify Riverside. “He said he saw your column and that’s what got him to reach out to us.”
The man’s name: Fritz Duda.
Duda once owned Riverside International Raceway, the track that closed in 1989. Falcone says that when he mentioned Duda to Cindy Roth, whose involvement in the Chamber of Commerce goes back to 1977, she replied in wonder: “I haven’t heard that name in years.”
The Fritz Duda Co., his real estate development and investment firm, has offices in Dallas, Newport Beach and Reno, Nevada. Duda is best known here for building the Moreno Valley Mall and the neighboring Towngate mixed-use projects on the site of the former raceway.
Duda, who divides his time between Dallas and Newport Beach, lived in Riverside a mere five years, 1969 to 1974. “I have fond memories of Riverside,” Duda tells me by phone. “Two of my children were born at Riverside Community Hospital.”
Fritz and Mary Lee Duda are donating $100,000 in cash and matching donations up to a second $100,000 to improve Riverside’s Newman Park and its monument to Juan Bautista de Anza. (Courtesy photo)To refresh your memory, De Anza, who was seeking a supply route for Mission San Gabriel, in 1774 became the first outsider to venture through Riverside and other parts of the Inland Empire.
A monument to De Anza was dedicated in 1940 in tiny Newman Park on Magnolia Avenue and 14th Street. Today the wedge-shaped park, inside a fence near a medical clinic, is little visited and uninviting. And the Riverside Sport Hall of Fame shares space with the park, awkwardly.
I wrote last September about the start of the fund drive.
Duda happened to read it, but not in The Press-Enterprise. He saw it in one of our other newspapers, the Orange County Register, to which he subscribes. The Register only occasionally runs me, but that day it did, serendipitously.
The photo of the statue made Duda do a double-take.
“I remember the De Anza statue,” Duda tells me. “My older children remember the statue.”
After reading my column, Duda spoke with a longtime friend from the raceway days.
“I was talking to Ralph Lawler about the De Anza statue: ‘They really ought to fix the park. It’s kind of ragged,’” Duda recalls saying. Lawler offered encouragement.
Duda contacted Falcone and learned that little money had come in. He said he’d like to help. Conversations ensued.
“We put together a matching deal where we can fix the statue, the park and the Sport Hall of Fame,” Duda says. He quotes Falcone as telling him: “If you made a challenge grant, I think I can raise more.” Duda adds: “And I think he can do it.”
Two weeks ago I met up in Newman Park with Falcone and Jennifer Mermilliod, the project’s historic consultant. They were buoyed by Duda’s contribution.
The fund drive, which had stalled out, suddenly has major momentum.
“I’m feeling more optimistic than before because I see a clearer path for financially attaining it,” Falcone says. “We’re hoping this generates more donations. Your donation of $1,000 will actually get us $2,000.”
Philip Falcone and Jennifer Mermilliod point out how the 1940 relief wall’s pictures and text about De Anza have become hard to read. Repairs to the wall are envisioned as part of a $300,000, privately funded project at Riverside’s Newman Park. (Photo by David Allen, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)Or your $10 will get them $20. Fill in whatever number of zeroes you’re comfortable with. Donations may be made to the Riverside Arts Council, 3700 6th St., Riverside 92501 with “Beautify Riverside” in the memo line.
Work could start as early as this fall. Falcone says, “We can move more quickly because it’s not taxpayer dollars that are being used.”
Falcone and Mermilliod say the project, which includes a reimagining of the pocket park, can be done for $300,000.
The relief wall would be repaired, sealed and polished. Sprinklers, grass and a hedge would be ripped out and replaced by a drip line, native plants and paths of decomposed granite. The park would get a better entry. Signs would make clear that Newman is a city park.
The odd jumble of Sport Hall of Fame monuments would be relocated. Lighting would shine on the statue, whose pedestal would be repaired.
“The statue is actually in pretty good shape. It needs a good cleaning,” Mermilliod says.
Interpretive panels would share the story of De Anza from several perspectives.
“We’re going to tell the historical context of De Anza: for Native people, for people who lived here before there was a Riverside, and De Anza Days and that whole fascination,” Falcone says of the 1930s and ’40s celebratory air.
“It’s a broader California story,” Mermilliod adds.
Philip Falcone uses wipes to clean tagging off the fence at Riverside’s Newman Park on a recent visit. (Photo by David Allen, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)Duda feels similarly. A self-described history buff, Duda, 86, serves on the Texas Historical Commission, to which he was appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott. And he lived in Riverside during a period when the statue was more a focal point than it is today.
“De Anza was a great explorer and that statue represents a lot of the history of the area,” Duda says. “I think it’s a good thing for Riverside to understand their roots.”
He’d never funded anything here before. When he lived in Riverside, he jokes, “I didn’t have enough money to be philanthropic.” He says the donation should properly be co-credited to his wife, Mary Lee.
I had suggested to him that hearing from the donor about his interest would personalize the story and encourage others to chip in.
“I’m really not looking for any recognition here,” Duda explains. “But if I can help…”
Now it’s time for Riverside to match this former resident’s generosity with its own. Remember, all your dollars will be doubled.
And on a personal note, I thank Mr. Duda for subscribing to the newspaper.
David Allen writes Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, monumentally. Email [email protected], phone 909-483-9339, and follow davidallencolumnist on Facebook, @davidallen909 on X or @davidallen909.bsky.social on Bluesky.
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