Two brothers made their mark in Riverside’s early business community
Howe Avenue in Riverside is a reminder of the Howe brothers, Everett and Clifford. These two men were successful businessmen who were influential in Riverside, starting in the 1880s.
Everett B. Howe was born in 1858 and his younger brother, Clifford A. Howe, was born in 1862. Both were born in Massachusetts.
In 1886, Everett Howe came to Riverside, where he practiced dentistry. He and his wife, Mary, had one daughter, Marjorie. In addition to his dental practice, Everett owned a 20-acre orange grove in Highgrove for a number of years. He retired from dentistry in 1912. Everett was a founding stockholder of Orange Growers Bank in Riverside and belonged to the Elks Club. Everett and Mary also belonged to the Victoria
Club, where both enjoyed golf. Mary, in particular, seemed to have been quite the expert on the links, finishing at or near the top in many ladies’ tournaments.
Everett died in 1930.
His obituary said he was an early leader in the orange-growing industry. He was entombed in the mausoleum at Evergreen Historic Cemetery in Riverside along with his wife, who died in 1941.
Clifford Howe was in the mercantile business in Massachusetts for 20 years before he moved to Seattle in 1912. There, Clifford was forced to take over the financial management of a theater to save his investment in the property. He found he enjoyed the theater business and later moved to the Los Angeles area with plans to open a theater. After searching Southern California for a city in which to locate a theater, he decided on Riverside, no doubt drawn there in part because of his brother.
In early 1914, Clifford formed a partnership in Riverside with G.G. Merrill, to be known as Howe and Merrill. They almost immediately took a longterm lease on property that had been the site of a hardware store, located on the east side of Main Street, between Eighth and Ninth streets. The existing building was torn down and a $75,000 theater took its place. Newspapers of the time reported the new theater, to be known as the Regent, had a mammoth pipe organ, upholstered seats, private boxes and a capacity of 800 patrons. In 1920, the men secured a longtime lease on the Loring Theater at Main and Seventh streets as well.
In 1923, Howe and Merrill sold their interests in the Regent and the Loring for approximately $100,000. That same year it was reported in the Riverside Daily Press that G. Stanley Wilson was building a pretentious home for Clifford on Howe Avenue. The home was one story, built of adobe in the mission style, with a tile roof. He later sold that house and relocated to 7904 Magnolia Ave., where Clifford lived for the rest of his life.
Howe and Merrill built another theater in Monterey Park, which they sold in 1925 to the Fox company. Clifford died in 1935 and was buried in Olivewood cemetery in Riverside. He never married, and his obituary said he was survived by a niece in Riverside.