Mission San Gabriel, “The Pride of the Missions”, is located about 25 minutes from downtown Los Angeles in the town of San Gabriel. Interestingly, there are no missions in Los Angeles.
The church, built in 1812, is the 4th mission in the chain and fashioned after the Cordoba cathedral in Spain. The mission’s side walls have capped buttresses similar to the Cordoba’s cathedral.
Palm trees are lined up next to the mission’s six-bell campanario. Two of the bells are over two hundred years old and brought over from Spain.
Best laid plans – I had planned to visit the Southern California missions in August of 2020. When I to got to this mission it was closed and I learned that there was an arson fire on July 10, 2020. The fire which began in the choir loft consumed the roof of the mission and seriously damaged its interior. Teams of specialists, from laborers to historians, were brought in and three years later, the mission had been restored to its original condition.
This is a painting of Mission San Gabriel in 1835 by Ferdinand Deppe. It is the earliest painting of an Alta California mission. Note the Tongva dwelling in the foreground.
The courtyard features paths and a variety of succulents and trees.
Across the street is an old brick structure called Grapevine Park. The sign says “beyond these walls stands the old grapevine, planted in 1861. The famed vine stands today as a heritage and monument to the early pioneers of San Gabriel”.
Alta California Missions 