Mission San Gabriel Archangel

Mission San Gabriel Archangel was founded on September 8, 1771.  It is the fourth of twenty-one missions founded in California. 

The mission was founded two years after the discovery of the San Gabriel Valley.  The founding missionaries came from San Diego to determine the exact site for the mission.  They were met by a group of Tongva Indians, who seemed determined to drive them away.  One of the priests brought out the three hundred year old painting of "Our Lady of Sorrows" and spread it on the ground for the Indians to see.  The Indians were so impressed with the beauty of the painting that they offered signs of friendship.

Father Antonio Cruzado was the church building designer.  He was born and raised in Cordova (Cordoba), Spain.  The design may have been based on the Cathedral of Cordova in Spain, which was once a Moorish mosque.

The buttressed walls, vaulted roof and fortress-like appearance of the church was influenced by Moorish architecture.

The walls of the building are original and are more than four feet thick.  The sections throughout the buttresses are up to seven feet thick.

An earthquake in 1804 damaged the original vaulted roof and ceiling.  The roof was replaced by a flat roof made of brick and mortar.  That roof was damaged in the 1812 earthquake.  The current roof is made of cedar shingles installed in 1993.

The church was built between 1791-1805 using cut stone, brick and mortar which is unusual.  The other missions are built from adobe.  It is the oldest structure of its kind south of Monterey, California.

The ruins of the original bell tower are to the right in the above photo.

In the 1790's, the main altar was made in Mexico City and brought to the church.  The retablo is Churrigueresque-style with wooden polychrome statues that were hand-carved in Spain.  On the left side is San Francisco de Asis.  San Joaquin is below him.  On the right side is San Antonio de Padua.  Santo Domingo is below him.  Archangel Gabriel is in the center.  The Purissima Concepcion is over the Tabernacle.  Buried beneath the floor of the Sanctuary, in front of the altar, are eight Franciscan friars.

The altar and the crucifix were damaged during the 1812 earthquake.  The statues fell and were broken into pieces.  Repairs were completed in 1813.  They were also restored again in 1993.

 The mission is one of the best preserved, with many of its original features still intact, including the baptistry domed ceiling, floor and walls.

The Camp Santo Cemetery was first consecrated in 1778.  It is the oldest cemetery in Los Angeles County.  The foundations are original, but the surrounding walls were rebuilt in 1940.

The Peace Garden includes a hand-made tile picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe.