Charles G Rouse


Left: A watercolor by Charles G. Rouse. Right: Charles G. Rouse.

Charles Gaylor Rouse was the son of Gaylor Rouse, founder of Rouses Inc., Riverside’s first department store. The store was located on Main Street between University Avenue and Ninth Street and is home today to the Culver Center of the Arts and UCR ArtsBlock.

Charles was vice president in charge of advertising and display, applying his creativity to the store and to the window displays. When his father retired, he took over the company.

Charles’s vocation, however, was fine art and he painted and worked in copper, exhibiting at Los Angeles City Hall in 1941. He is listed in “Artists in California 1786—1940” by Edan Milton Hughes (Hughes Publishing 1989). He and his wife Estell were active members of the Riverside Art Association.

  • Rouse home and art studio