Rives Mansion is getting a coffee shop

The City Council yesterday upheld a planning commission decision to allow construction of a coffee shop/juice bar in the front yard of the historic Rives Mansion.

The coffee shop is controversial, with local preservationists complaining that it blocks the view of the mansion.

Built in 1911, the property is listed on the U.S. Department of the Interior's National Register of Historic Landmarks as "a most interesting link to its agricultural past before Downey's mass suburbanization after World War II."

Staff writer Alex Dominguez was at last night’s meeting and is working on a story, which is posting later today.