San Gabriel | Mission, Los Angeles County & Historic | Britannica (original) (raw)

San Gabriel, city, Los Angeles county, southern California, U.S. It lies in the San Gabriel Valley, east of downtown Los Angeles. Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, founded in 1771 by Father Junípero Serra and the fourth in the California chain of 21 missions, was moved 4.5 miles (7 km) to its present site in 1775. The fortresslike mission church, which resembles the Córdoba Mosque in Spain, formed the nucleus of a mixed-farming and citrus-growing community. The city was laid out during the land boom of the 1880s; it has grown as a residential community of greater Los Angeles and has some manufacturing. The San Gabriel Mission Playhouse, dedicated in 1927, is an opulent theatre and important cultural landmark. Inc. 1913. Pop. (2000) 39,804; (2010) 39,718.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.