City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: JUNE 23, 2026 FROM: MUSEUM DEPARTMENT WARDS: ALL SUBJECT: APPROVE ACCESSION INTO THE PERMANENT COLLECTION OF FOUR (4) REVERE WARE POTS WITH LIDS, MANUFACTURED IN RIVERSIDE ISSUE:
Approve accession into the permanent collection of four (4) Revere Ware pots with lids, manufactured in Riverside.
RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council approve accession into the permanent collection of four (4) Revere Ware pots with lids, manufactured in Riverside.
BOARD RECOMMENDATION:
At a special meeting on February 4, 2026, the Museum of Riverside Board, with nine (9) members present for this vote, approved a recommendation to accession into the permanent collection four (4) Revere Ware pots with lids, manufactured in Riverside.
BACKGROUND:
Her parents gave the donor one of the pots as a Christmas gift in December 1951. Three of these pots were owned by the donor’s mother and given to the donor at a later time.
DISCUSSION:
To “accession” an object is the process of including it formally in a museum’s permanent collection, which is the category of collection for which the greatest effort will be made to preserve the object in perpetuity and document it fully.
All four are Revere Ware pots, which were manufactured here in Riverside starting in 1948 and ending in 1962. Revere pots were known for their copper-bottomed stainless-steel construction. They are identified as being made in Riverside on the bottom of each pot. Revere Ware initially began being produced solely in Rome, New York, and expanded into California in the late 1940s. The company purchased an existing manufacturing building on Kansas Avenue, and production started in December 1948. These items represent Riverside business and commerce during the mid-twentieth century, a period in history that is not robustly represented in the Museum of Riverside’s collection. This donation also helps reflect Riverside during a period of economic growth, post-World War II.
These items support collecting targets identified in the Museum’s Collections Development Plan, including acquisition of mid-twentieth-century objects and examples of goods manufactured in Riverside. The plan notes that “Through its collections, the Museum will week to broaden the inquiry into the ways in which material culture defines a shared understanding of history, place, and identity.” FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with this report.
Prepared by: Robyn G. Peterson, Museum Director
Reviewed by: Julie Nemes, Interim Finance Director
Approved as to form: Rebecca McKee-Reimbold, Interim City Attorney Reviewed by: Kris Martinez, Assistant City Manager
Attachments: 20260204.Minutes, MUS board FINAL Accession Revere Ware ● Page 2