Title supplied by cataloger. Mission San Gabriel Arcangel, also known as the San Gabriel Mission, is a former Roman Catholic mission and current historic landmark; it was the fourth of 21 California missions to be founded. The mission was designed by Father Antonio Cruzado, and was built from 1791 to 1805 out of cut stone, brick, and mortar. Mission San Gabriel Arcangel, often referred to as the "Godmother of the Pueblo of Los Angeles", was added in 1971 as a National Historic Landmark, building #71000158. It is also a California Historical Landmark, No. 158. Two addresses are given for the mission: 428 South Mission Drive, and 537 West Mission Drive at Junipero Street. Interior view of Mission San Gabriel Arcangel in San Gabriel, showing a priest standing at the base of the beautiful altar admiring the "retablo". In Latin America, the retablos are used as devotional images and most are multi-paneled creations. The original meaning of retablos referred to sculptures or paintings that were placed behind altars of Catholic churches; in fact, the literal translation for "retablo" is "behind the altar". Entombed at the foot of the altar are the remains of eight Franciscan priests. Buried among the padres is centenarian Eulalia Perez de Guille´n Marine´, the "keeper of the keys" under Spanish rule; her grave is marked by a bench dedicated in her memory (not visible in this angle). The pulpit in the sanctuary is the original, and the main altar was made in Mexico and brought to the Mission in the 1790s. The six wooden polychrome statues (retablo) located at the altar are priceless, as they were hand-carved and brought around the Horn from Spain in 1791. During the 1812 earthquake the altar and the Crucifix were damaged, with the statues falling and breaking into pieces. Repairs on these were completed in 1813. The statues and altar were again restored in 1993 as part of the most recent restoration project. Photograph dated: June 1, 1936.
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;23 x 19 cm. Photographic prints
Mission San Gabriel Arcangel (San Gabriel, Calif.) Missions, Spanish--California--San Gabriel Church buildings--California--San Gabriel Statues--California--San Gabriel Priests--California--Los Angeles Altars--California--San Gabriel Cruzado, Antonio San Gabriel (Calif.)
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