From Riverside
County, continue west on I-10. As you approach downtown Los
Angeles (L.A.), take the New Avenue exit north to S. Ramona St.
to visit the Mission
San Gabriel, and the Gabrieliño-Tongva portion
of Smith Park (about half a kilometer east of the Mission). To get
to the park, turn right at Junipero Serra Dr. to W. Broadway. To
continue onward, return to I-10 west to I-5. From I-5, take the
Pasadena Freeway off-ramp to the Figueroa St. exit. Turn left onto
Avenue 26 to the Los
Angeles River Center and Gardens. Get directions to El
Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument, the birthplace
of Los Angeles in 1781. Continue north on I-5, turn west on CA 134
and transition to US 101 north to continue to Ventura
County.
Hiking/Biking Ideas
The Los Angeles River Trail (access from 570
West Avenue 26) is an enjoyable way for hikers and bikers to
travel from the 4,000-acre Griffith
Park to Elysian
Park. Along the Rio Hondo and Skyline trails hikers and wildlife
collect from within this busy city. Access of the Skyline trail
is from the Whitter
Narrows Nature Center. Leaving L. A., trails at the Los
Encinos and Malibu
Creek State Parks, both off Hwy 101, can also be explored.
Scenes from today's Mission San Gabriel:
the mission itself, a tuna (cactus) in its gardens and
a memorial to Rivera y Moncada and Father Garcés. Photo: NPS and Ron Ory
The Anza mural at the
Los Angeles River.
Photo: NPS
L.A. People
Near the original San Gabriel Mission were the sites of the
Isantgangna and Aquibit Rancherias. These were Native
American villages of the Gabrieliño-Tongva people who
had lived in the area for thousands of years before Father
Serra founded the Mission in 1771. One of the first non-native
settlers of L.A. was José Vicente Féliz, an
Anza expedition member. His wife had died in childbirth at
La Canoa on the first night out from Tubac, but his large
family lived on. Griffith Park is part of the original Los
Féliz land grant, while the City of Los Angeles is on a large
piece of pueblo lands granted by Carlos III, King of
Spain, in 1781. More than half of the original settlers of
the pueblo had African ancestors. All the pobladores
were free to start a new life.
Send comments about this Trail Guide to:
National Park Service,
Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail -
1111 Jackson Street, Suite 700, Oakland, California 94607;
Tel. 510-817-1438,
web: nps.gov/juba
About
Your Visit to Los Angeles County
The expedition entered the county from the east past San Dimas
and went on to Mission San Gabriel Arcángel. The colonists stayed
at the mission for about six weeks while Anza, Font and some
soldiers went to San Diego to help quell an American Indian
rebellion there. Later, the colonists traveled west from the
mission to cross the Los Angeles River, entering the San Fernando
Valley and crossing the Simi Hills at Calabasas.
Sites of Interest
A.Mission
San Gabriel Arcángel and Expedition Camp #62 (and
#71)
On January
4, 1776, the expedition reached the mission, their first
outpost of the Spanish empire in (Alta) California.
Anza had visited the mission at its first site on his 1774
trip, and the current site on his colonizing expedition. He
remained January
4-6,1776, and then went to San Diego. Camps #63 to #70
were therefore during that side-trip. Returning February
12, he continued to Monterey on February
21 with most of the colonists. The mission
today (428 South Mission Drive, San Gabriel) is a working
parish, with a museum and gardens. Nearby, take the City of
San Gabriel historical walk and visit Smith Park (232 W. Broadway)
to learn about the Gabrieliño-Tongva people. The Whittier
Narrows Recreation Area (1000 N. Durfee Ave. in S. El Monte)
features ranger tours and bird-watching walks. Near its southeastern
edge at the Río (River) Hondo, a plaque (at
the southwest corner N. San Gabriel Blvd. and N. Lincoln Ave.)
marks the location of the first mission.
B.El
Pueblo De Los Angeles Historical Monument
One contingent of settlers, led by Fernando de Rivera y
Moncada, used the Anza trail in 1781 to found the pueblo
of Los Angeles (L.A.). During that expedition (which was divided
into three parties) Rivera and Father Garcés, were killed
at Yuma by the Quechan tribe that had been so friendly to
Anza. Now in downtown Los Angeles, the site of the original
settlement includes the Plaza, Olvera Street, the Ávila
Adobe Museum, and other historic buildings (125 Paseo de la
Plaza).
C. Elysian Park and Griffith Park to
Expedition Camp #72
At Elysian
Park (835 Academy Road, L.A.), a plaque
(CA #655) placed at the North Broadway entrance to the
park indicates that the Portolá party crossed the Los
Angeles River (Río Porciúncula) at the site
of today's Broadway Bridge. It's believed that the Anza expedition
crossed here also. Along the L.A. River Trail, a large mural
depicts abstract images of Anza and indigenous people along
the concrete walls of the flood-control channel. The expedition's
camp for February
21, 1776 (#72, Puertezuelo) was inside Griffith
Park, where today can be found the Autry
National Center / Institute for the Study of the American
West (4700 Zoo Drive), where the 1772 Joseph María
García Manuscript can be found that contains music of Anza's
time.
D. Malibu Creek State Park to Calabasas
and Expedition Camp #73
Camp was made on February
22, 1776 at Agua Escondida (hidden water). Its
exact location is uncertain. Today, nearby Malibu Creek State
Park (34º 6.198' N, 118º 43.986' W) is within the Santa Monica
Mountains and incorporates Las Virgenes Creek. Each spring,
the Anza en Calabasas event is held at the former Soka University
campus (26800 Mulholland Hwy, Calabasas) within Santa
Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, which also
includes the Satwiwa
Native American Indian Natural Area and Culture Center.
Learning
On The Trail in Los Angeles County
Questions on the Trail
Mission
San Gabriel
Photo : Ron
Ory
On March 24, 1776, Fr. Francisco Garcés arrived at
the Mission San Gabriel after wandering through the
Colorado and Mojave deserts with Sebastián Tarabal.
He stayed two weeks, and he presided over the marriage
of expedition member Feliciana Arballo to Juan Francisco
López on April 7, with Sebastián and Sgt.
Grijalva serving as witnesses. Learn more in this entry
in the book of marriages at Mission San Gabriel.
(This will open in a new window. Please close that window
when finished.)
On his way back home from Monterey to San Miguel de
Horcasitas, Anza returned to Mission
San Gabriel on April
29, 1776 with several soldiers and Father Font.
Question: By how many days did they miss Father Garcés?
By how many days did they miss the marriage?
Question: Could they visit the Los Angeles Pueblo?
On the CD: The Morning Hymn of
the Missions
El Cántico del Alba and the Alabado
(on the psaltery) After much hardship, the Anza party
arrived at the Mission San Gabriel on January
4, 1776. Father Font's journal states that he played
his psalterio (psaltery) on January
6 at the Mass where thanks were given for delivering
the colonists safely to California. Anza, Font and several
soldiers left on January
7 with governor Fernando de Rivera y Moncada to
help deal with an uprising of the local native tribe
at Mission San Diego (the Kumeyaay) where a priest was
killed. The uprising having been over before their arrival,
Anza and his men never fought the natives there, and
felt somewhat useless. On February
9, they left San Diego for San Gabriel and, upon
their arrival, learned that some deserters had stolen
chocolate, mules and other supplies (Moraga went after
them and later caught up to them near the Colorado River.)
Back at San Gabriel, Anza was understandably depressed
about the delays to the expedition, the dwindling supplies
for the colonists, the lack of cooperation of Rivera
and the deserters. Font played his psaltery for him
on February
18 to cheer him up. Perhaps El Cántico
del Alba was one of the songs Font played. It was
well known at all the missions. Both songs can still
be heard today during musical performances at missions
throughout California.
Play MP3 file of The
Morning Hymn
El Cantico del Alba and The Alabado
Artist Lance Beeson (Psaltery)
(playing time 2 minutes and 16 seconds)
Additional Resources
Mission San Gabriel Arcángel - 428
S. Mission Dr., San Gabriel, CA 91776;
tel.: 626-457-3048,
web: sangabrielmission.org
Smith Park - San Gabriel Parks and Recreation Dept 425 S.
Mission Drive, San Gabriel, California 91776;
tel.: 626-308-2875,
web: sangabrielcity.com/
Whittier Narrows Park & Nature Center - L.A. County Department
of Parks and Recreation;
tel.: 626-575-5523,
web: lacountyparks.org
El Pueblo De Los Angeles Historical Monument - 125 Paseo de
la Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012;
tel.: 213-625-5045,
web: ci.la.ca.us/elp
