The Story of San Bernardino
San Bernardino feels like a city that has lived many lives — and remembers all of them.
Long before freeways cut through the valley, the land at the base of the mountains hosted mission-era outposts and early settlements. The San Bernardino de Sena Estancia — founded in the early 1800s — set the tone for a place built around work, faith, and the rhythm of seasons.
Over time, the city shifted from ranch land to rail corridors, from quiet fields to the heartbeat of the county, from small clusters of homes to neighborhoods stretching toward the foothills.
If you've ever stood downtown at dusk and watched the mountains turn purple, or driven up Waterman Avenue with snow still sitting on the peaks, you know that San Bernardino is a city where nature is always in the frame.
The mountains aren't just scenery — they're presence, memory, orientation, mood.
