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San Gabriel Mission, California

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LML_MS-042-001800001

San Gabriel Mission, California

Physical description: 1 postcard : Color ; 9 x 14 cm.
Collection Location: Werner von Boltenstern Postcard Collection
Description: An exterior view of the bell tower and church at Mission San Gabriel Arcangel near Los Angeles, California. Palm trees grow alongside the wall, next to a dirt road.
Note: The San Gabriel Mission is the fourth of Alta California's 21 Franciscan missions, sometimes called the "Queen of the Missions" due to its wealth and prosperity. It was originally founded in 1771 by Fathers Angel Somera and Pedro Bonito Cambon on another site nearer to the San Gabriel River, but was moved in 1775 after the river flooded. The new building's architecture was influenced by the cathedral at Cordoba, Spain. In its early years, the mission functioned as a garrison for Spanish soldiers charged with protecting the region, although the soldiers' conduct toward the natives sometimes provoked more violence than it pacified. In 1781, settlers from the San Gabriel mission founded the Pueblo de la Reina de Los Angeles nine miles to the West. As the pueblo grew into a city, the mission's prosperity grew as well. The church was home to a hammered copper baptismal font, given by King Carlos III of Spain in 1771, as well as six valuable altar statues brought from spain in 1791. In 1834, after the secularization of the missions, its cattle and other valuables were soon plundered. The buildings fell into disrepair until 1908, when a group of Claretian Missionary Fathers began restoration work. Although the mission was damaged in a 1987 earthquake, much of the original complex has since been restored.
Transcription: On back: "Founded 1771. Was dedicated to Archangel Gabriel -- Is now in very good state of preservation and is located at the western entrance of a lovely valley about nine miles from Los Angeles and four miles from Pasadena; the mission can be reached by electric railway from each of these cities. 'On the Road of a Thousand Wonders'"
Language: eng
Publisher: Los Angeles: Newman Post Card Company
Type: Postcards
Digital Identifier: LML_MS-042-001800001
Object Identifier: LML_MS-042-00180
Geographic Location: San Gabriel (Calif.)
Subject: Catholic church buildings--California--San Gabriel; Spanish mission buildings--California--San Gabriel; Missions, Spanish--California--San Gabriel;
Title: San Gabriel Mission, California
Date Range: circa 1910
Source: Department of Archives and Special Collections, William H. Hannon Library, Loyola Marymount University
Rights: https://library.lmu.edu/archivesandspecialcollections/copyrightandreproductionpolicy/
Location: Mission San Gabriel Arcangel (San Gabriel, Calif.)

IIIF manifest: https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/lmudigitalcollections/iiif/595e3fd3-62b6-4f97-9f67-3f5f6b687cd1/manifest

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