10921 Paramount Blvd
Downey, CA 90241, USA

James C.Rives House - National Register of Historic Places

Statement of Significance

When completed in 1912, the Rives House was by far the most imposing Residence in the community of Downey. The structure was built for James C. Rives, born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1864, one of Downey's, most prominent citizens at that time. Rives came to Downey as a young man, became publisher of the Downey Review for a short time, and was admitted to the bar in 1887. After a short career as a local lawyer, he served as Los Angeles County District Attorney (1899-1902) and as a judge of the Superior Court of the County. He was also a walnut grower in Downey in his later years.

In 1911 Rives commissioned Los Angeles architects Neher & Skilling to design a new residence for him in Downey. The Georgian Revival structure that resulted was the most elegant residence in the area, an adaptation of a style which was very popular in Southern California in the first two decades of the twentieth century. No doubt the design of the house was i influenced by many of the Georgian mansions in Rives ‘hope state. The structure exhibited many details such as Ionic columns which made it architecturally unique in its area and an important visual landmark for local citizens and visitors.

After Rives' death, the property was acquired the present owners and much of the land around it was subdivided for residential units. Paramount Boulevard became a commercial thorough fare which put pressure on the large lot that would threaten the existence of the house. Much recent publicity has been given to the possible retention of the property, either to be saved by the city of Downey or by a local service group. Its future has not yet been determined.

Since many of Downey's oldest landmarks have been destroyed over the years because of rapid development, the Rives House is now the most important link to the agricultural community of Downey before its mass suburbanization after World War II.