San Gabriel Mission

Place has historical values for the contribution of the mission to the people and society around its area in past and that sums it.

Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo­oooooooooooooooooooring.
Seriously. This is very likely the most uninteresting historical site I’ve been to. Don’t bother coming here.

One of several historic California missions .
I came here on Good Friday, and it was very quiet, with only a few people visiting the darkened church. This place made me feel peaceful and prayerful on this particular day.
Beautiful architecture, in the California Mission Style. It’s truly a marvel how this was built without modern machinery. I can understand the distress this might cause to indigenous peoples but it is still an important part of California history (to quote Huwell Howser: California’s Gold!)
One of the Holy Doors listed in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles :
If you’re Catholic as I am, there is a special meaning and blessing for going through those doors in this designated Year of Mercy.
Lots of parking, except we missed it and ended up parking on the street further down from the church. A nice short walk through the well maintained lawns and gardens .
Next door is paid admission for the gardens and museums.

We had our bridal party pictures taken here after the wedding ceremony. There were 3 other wedding parties the same day but we were lucky to capture some great shots. This place was big enough to accommodate everyone so we weren’t interrupting each others session.
I love the vintage décor of this mission. The photos do no justice of how amazing this place looks. I specifically requested a photo by the fountain because I drove by it so many times and have always wanted my photo picture to be taken here.
Parking is located on the street. If your lucky you can get a close spot and not walk too far.

Tradition is important. Love the church historic mark and love the gift shop for real Catholics

I’m so lucky to live so close to San Gabriel mission.
Just FYI — the pic of the food truck was during an event held there. I don’t know how to rearrange pics on the iPhone Unilocal app. Seoul Sausage Company is amazing and normally by UCLA (Westwood).
Regardless of the controversy of «why» it was built (soooo sorry to our Native Americans), it is a beautiful historical landmark in American history. In elementary school we learned all about the missions and had to make a model of one. I picked the San Gabriel mission.
Though my foam poster board, water paint and pinto bean covered roof model did zero justice to the real thing, even when I was young, I felt a reverence for this place. This has not changed. In fact being away for so long made it even more interesting. Not to be morbid or anything, but if you are making funeral plans… my mom decided she is getting cremated and has bought a spot for herself at the Mission (better than Rose Hills, where our family plot is — in my opinion and hers also).
I love just going around that area (not to mention my favorite tea house is right there…).
So I still frequent the Mission quite often and I had never thought about reviewing until just now. From when I took that field trip in 4^th grade until now, it’s still just as beautiful.
TIP:
If your nine year old kid wants to use pinto beans as roof shingles in any school model project, you will end up staying up the rest of the night finishing it.
I have no idea why I picked pinto beans (they were probably in the pantry and I was an obstinate child). However, my mom remembers very well how SHE had to stay up all night and finish my Mission since I fell asleep gluing on beans. The roof was so heavy that I needed help carrying it. Um… Sorry, Mom… I was nine and didn’t know it would take like five bags of beans… And of course I made a huge sized Mission. I found this out when the other kids brought theirs in. LOL.
It’s been over 30 years, since I first went on that field trip. Now I go all the time. Like I said, I’m very lucky to be able to hangout there.

Great location for wedding photo shoot. The building is amazing and very historical looking.

San Gabriel Mission is quite unique in so many level, spiritually and emotionally… Ive never felt so touched by the grace of the lord. Giving thanks for the soldiers and veterans this Memorial Day Weekend for their sacrifice to fight for our freedom. Thank YOU!
San Gabriel is definitely loved by so many Unilocalers. I myself stand by that. Love this church unconditionally on my first visit. Theres an auditorium to watch the plays, and graduation coming up next week. And was intrigue by the Mexican heritage practicing for their upcoming performance… Very friendly and attentive.
Church is quite old. But still well maintained by the community.
The church is also well devoted to Mother Mary the Holy Mother, and have also a shrine devoted to her. And a statue both indoor and out door… And a statue in front of the church…

SUNDAY MASSES:
English:
7:00 AM (Old Mission), 8:00 AM (Chapel), 9:30 AM (Old Mission),
11:15 AM (Chapel) and 5:00 PM (Chapel)
Español:
9:30 AM (Capilla), 1:00 PM (Capilla), and 7:00 PM (Capilla)
Vietnamese:
3:00 PM (Chapel)
SATURDAY:
8:00 AM & 5:30 PM
WEEKDAYS:
6:30 AM & 12 Noon in English and 6:30 PM in Español in the Chapel/​Capilla
7:30 PM Every first Friday in the Chapel in Vietnamese.
Great Mission with tons of history. My family and I did EVERYTHING here. From baptism to communion to confirmations and now our kids are following w tradition =]

I’ve been to a few of the missions in the USA and know they extend into Central America and South America. It’s one of the oldest historical sites in the country, before the Declaration of Independence was signed. I enjoy seeing the old sites and any old sites that help reveal ancient life before technology.
I showed up with a friend and we were in for a treat. Some Gabrielinos were there to perform a ceremony with their «chief». We got to see the Song of the Dead performed and heard a few words from some priests as well as other guests. This was a real pleasure because I’ve been to many others and have had some tours but nothing quite so personal.
Other than the statue of Junipo Serra, there was a small chapel, and a large gallery that held a lot of paintings. I’m giving it ³⁄₅ stars because a few of the paintings were quite disturbing. They had a forgery of da Vinci’s ‘Last Supper’ with the head of Judas cut out, and along the walls some notes that said Abraham Lincoln and JFK were both assassinated 2 days after they granted the missions to the church with the dates of the assassinations. I jotted down the dates and checked later. They were wrong about the dates of their assassinations, but I’m not sure if they had gone against the Constitution and the church vs. state decree. This along with another painting in a small room that had an arrow in the neck of a small girl (that I’ve posted) that looked like it had been painted recently had me a little worried. More notes that made the room seem like a puzzle. They said ²⁄₃ of the paintings were real and one was fake.
Other than the above mysteries I saw they had some copies of Summa Theologica by Thomas Aquinas, an early charter of California by Spain in 1399 (nearly one hundred years before Columbus… how they knew about California so soon I have no idea), a primer that translated the Tongva language into Spanish, and some other early literary treasures.
Out of the 21 missions here this one is pretty interesting. If you’re an American history lover these are a site to see, along with the Pueblo missions, the pyramids in Mexico City, and Macchu Piccu in modern day Peru. It’s too bad many of the Native Americans were poor record keepers so a lot of Pre-​Columbian history is a mystery here.

Amazing place you can really feel the history as you venture through. a place I would have never thought to come so glad my girlfriend is a history teacher and sharing all these great places with me …

This Mission is so close to where I’ve lived my whole life I can’t believe it’s my first visit! There’s a bunch of parking, the gift shop is great, an adult ticket was $ 6 (Jan, 2015), the church was beautiful, the flora was well maintained, the restrooms were clean, birds chirping all around, and it wasn’t too crowded. The library full of antiques, old manuscripts, bibles, paintings, tools, etc. were amazing. There’s also a cemetery with hundreds of old head-​stones. It was a totally pleasant place to visit.

28 years ago, my dad brought me here for our 5^th grade California Missions project. I vaguely remember touring the grounds, I vaguely remember my dad making the model of the mission and me putting my name on it and turning it in and claiming it as my own.
Over the last few years, I’ve frequented the area on church business often, but never connected the dots that the San Gabriel Mission I had visited as a child was just around the corner. This past week, I had the opportunity to bring my kids there. Can you say nostalgia? I don’t remember a single thing about this mission, except for the big vats, and they were there, just as I remembered them. The grounds were nicely kept, the printed tour guide takes you through all the spots of interest, and all in all we spent about an hour and a half marveling at the history that has been preserved on these grounds.
This has no bearing on the review, but my dad just happened to call me when I was standing out front with my kids. That was exciting.
This might not seem like a great place to bring kids, what with their shortened attention span and media addiction, but please — bring your kids. Show them a piece of California history. It’s well worth it.

This is not a negative review about church. Its about the church planner.
i Absolutely hate writing negative reviews but the person that worked at this church (Mellisa or Venasa) who is the coordinator for the church (not for the wedding), is one of the worst individuals i have had to deal with in my professional career as a videographer. The church itself is great, very beautiful, great lighting, also the surroundings of the church are just as great. The priest of the church is a great person very friendly everyone loved him.
Ok so here it goes. Me and my assistant were with the bridal party who was crazy late to church that day (oh and its a wedding so nothing is ever on time and or perfect). My second videographer was already at the church with the groom and his party. When we left the Hotel with the bridal party, i caught a red light so i was late to the church like 5 minutes. We needed at least 5 – 8 minutes to prepare which is normal with everyone. As i pull-​up to the church i notice that the firs brides maid is already walking down the isle… I went crazy, my videographer who was already at the church told me that he asked the church planner to wait for us and she agreed but went ahead and started the whole ceremony. In my 4 years of wedding experience i have never ever seen anything like this. Church staff and us are always working together and wait for one another. After the ceremony both the photographer and i started lining up the wedding party for photos. Both of us were using the natural light that was coming in through the windows and a little bit of the light from the inside the church. We were getting ready to shoot the last two shots and this girl starts closing the windows and shuts down the lights. WHAT/​/​/​/​/​/​??? Are you kidding me? Both the photographer and i looked at each other like WTF is going on. Even the priest was in one of the photos and he looked at us like «don’t be mad at me, it’s probably her». Towards end of the night, we got to hangout with the wedding party at the after party and almost everyone had complaints about her.
There are some churches where, they have other people waiting to get married so timing is everything, but in this case they just locked up the church to go home. Because of her craziness we barely got the bride walking down the isle.
I even went to the rehearsal few days prior to the wedding day, just to introduce myself and see if they had any restrictions, or anything i would know, she seemed pretty nice and somewhat professional.
And (Venessa or Mellisa) if you are reading this, Keep in mind that this is a house of God, not another bakery or a flower shop or some random business. I’m a born again Christian, but if i wasn’t, because the way you treated everyone i would never want to step foot in church.

Very beautiful mission. Came for Sunday mass at 8am, then walked around the place. Bumped into a Priest, he let me ring the bells! Sadly the museum was closed, but will be back to explore the mission in more detail. Glad to have such beautiful locations that represent my Catholic faith in California, this mission has inspired me to add to my bucket list to visit all the California missions.

MY 100TH REVIEW!
I chose this place as my 100^th review because of how beautiful it is!
If you want to take a quick step back in time… this place is where you need to be!
Growing up in Texas I know all about the Alamo but I have never seen a mission like this back home! Very quiet and peaceful! Most definitely a great place to grab a book, sit at the bench and breathe in some fresh air!
I didn’t get to go inside the museum because I arrived later in the afternoon but next time I am back, I will come early to visit.
I didn’t really enjoy all the detours getting there because of the road construction but it was worth it!
Till next time!

So much history here founded in 1771 by Father Junipero Serra. Back in the 1800s the priests were buried inside the church as you walk thru this self guided tour you learn so much about the different eras.
One point I read that 6000 indians were buried there. It is a rich history we have here in California and is nice to see it preserved.
Adults are $ 5 and you have to enter thru the gift shop. Fun excursion for the day if you like history museums.

San Gabriel Mission Church, museum, gardens and gift shop is a really neat experience! I really enjoyed walking around and seeing/​learning about all the rich history. Hours are Monday — Saturday 9 am til 4:30 pm and Sundays 10 am til 4 pm. Admission is free for ages 5 and under, $ 3 for 6 – 17 yrs and $ 5 for 18 and over. If you are just wanting to go inside the church and pray, there is never a charge. You pay for admission in the gift shop and the tour is self-​guided, but they will give you a map. You must go through the gift shop to get to the church. Check with the church before heading down to see the schedule since the church is closed during baptisms, weddings, funerals or mass.
Inside the Mission inside and out is beautiful. The building is made of stone, brick and mortar. There have been some earthquakes that have caused the roof to be replaced and work to a bell tower, but the building has remained in remarkable condition for its age. Inside the Mission is a baptistery that was just so cool to see in person. Everything is original and the hand-​hammered font was a gift from King Carlos III of Spain. The most special part is the sterling silver baptismal shell that a child first received baptism (in 1771), is the same one used today! There is plenty to see outside including a cemetery, lush landscape and different markers telling stories that are easy to read. The grounds and buildings here are really kept up nice and I’m so glad I got to come here.

«SGV Landmark»
Mission San Gabriel is a historic landmark founded by the Spanish Franciscans. 1 of the 29 Spanish missions in California was built in 1771, this place is more than 240 years old!
The Mission consists of a church, museum, grounds and even a graveyard ! Which are open to the public, but closed from time to time for remodeling. It is remarkable that the shape of the mission is still pretty good after all these years!
Not the best mission in SoCal. That honor goes to San Juan Capistrano. However, this is the mission to visit if you’re around the area, as it is just across from Mission 261 Restaurant, and a hot spot for many wedding photos. This is one of the few landmark in the San Gabriel Valley.

The San Gabriel Mission should be on every Angelenos «must visit» list. The building and grounds (9 miles east of downtown) aren’t the most «exciting» attraction, but they are one of the most important because of the history that it represents. We are all here — in this city of the angels — because of the history of this once-​sprawling mission officially known as Mission San Gabriel Arcángel (or Mission of St. Gabriel the Archangel).
As the 4^th mission established in California, Mission San Gabriel Arcangel was founded September 8, 1771 by the legendary Junípero Serra. For its first 4 years, the mission was located about 3 miles away (near Montebello) before relocation to its current site known by native Californians as «Lisanchanga». That 1775 move proved fruitful as the mission prospered to become the most productive of all 21 California missions.
Before the government of Mexico forced the closure of the missions in the 1830s, San Gabriel was a booming trade center with huge herds of cattle and sheep plus extensive vineyards, orchards, gardens, and mills all fed by a system of aqueducts and canals from the Rio Hondo River. San Gabriel had the largest vineyard in Spanish California and was the botanical source of many grape vines planted at other Californian missions.
Since being restored to the Catholic Church in 1859, the mission has been an active church. The church building (built in 1805) has a unique appearance described by some as «fortress-​like» with a relatively plain entrance. During the Mission Era, the prominent door in the side wall of the church opened directly onto El Camino Real (aka «Royal Road») that connected California’s missions, pueblos, and presidios.
Did you know that the artwork for the Stations of the Cross are authentic neophyte Indian paintings and were exhibited at the 1893 World’s Columbia Expedition to commemorate the 400^th anniversary of the discovery of the New World? Neither did I until reading about them after our visit.
Six historic bells are found in an espadaña (bell wall). The oldest bells were cast in Mexico City in 1795 while the largest bell from 1830 weighs over a ton and was used for over a 100 years to ring the Angelus (a prayer said 3x a day in commemoration of the Incarnation).
In 1781, missionaries from San Gabriel were the planners for the building of the Church of our Lady of the Angels at the nearby pueblo of Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Angeles. From that development grew the downtown area of the city we now know as Los Angeles and it is the final reason all Angelenos should visit Mission San Gabriel Arcangel. A visit here allows us the chance to see, experience, touch, and feel the history of who we are and how this city began.