MOR Showcase: Redlands and Its Citrus Heritage

As we continue our virtual tour of the MOR Showcase, this week we feature the displays that recognize the Redlands citrus heritage.

MOR Redlands Citrus Production Exhibit

A graphic display of the citrus

production process from harvest to shipping is readily seen as you enter into the first Showcase gallery. The exhibit shows the details in numbers that painted a vast and thriving industry at the peak of the Redlands citrus farming.

PRINTED ON THE DISPLAY:

500 Oranges per Tree 84 Orange Trees per Acre 640 Acres per Square Mile 53.760 Trees per Square Mile 26,880,000 Oranges per Square Mile 4 - 5,000 Rail Cars per Year 700-900 Million Oranges per Year 25 Packing Houses - Each Employed 25 Men & Women + Field Crews of 50-60

Included in the display is an adding machine that could have been used from the 1920s to the 1970s, depending on the specific packing house and when computerization may have been implemented. Also seen are ledger books to record financial transactions.

Orange Crate Label

Orange shipping boxes from the late nineteenth century until the 1950s were made from wood, commonly referred to as “orange crates”. Labels indicating brand name and marketing organizations were affixed to one end, with the idea that the artwork and brand recognition would attract the attention of buyers at wholesale markets. Orange crate boxes, such as the one pictured above on display at the Showcase, was likely made around the 1930s to the 1950s.

The A.K. Smiley Public Library citrus label collection has roughly 2,000 different labels from California and Arizona. Parts of the collection will be included in future MOR exhibitions.

HISTORIC GROVE TRUCK - A SHOWCASE SURPRISE APPEARANCE

The Showcase features interactive touch screens that illustrate and dive into the rich citrus growing heritage of Redlands. This wall projection shows a photo of the historic grove truck. And beyond the screen is a surprise reveal!

During a typical Showcase tour, museum lights are lowered to reveal the historic grove truck parked inside the Showcase, just beyond the projected image seen on the left photo. It is an unexpected surprise as guests among the group are then seen sitting in the truck!

EXACTLY WHAT IS THE MOR SHOWCASE?

The MOR Showcase is a temporary construction of a museum gallery inside the old Redlands Daily Facts building on Brookside Avenue. This is the same building that will be completely reconstructed into the permanent Museum of Redlands.

Built in the fall of 2018, the Showcase is approximately 2,000 square feet, which includes galleries and displays to provide a glimpse into what the permanent museum could be like. It uses items from MOR's current collection. The Showcase will be removed once construction of the new building begins.