California Historical Society Collection, 1860-1960

Title Insurance and Trust and C.C. Pierce Photography Collection 1860-1960

Exterior view of Mission San Gabriel from the sidewalk near the belfry, San Gabriel, ca.1900

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Exterior view of Mission San Gabriel from the sidewalk near the belfry, San Gabriel, ca.1900

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Photograph of the exterior view of Mission San Gabriel from the sidewalk near the belfry, San Gabriel, ca.1900. The belfry stands about two stories tall and has six visible arched openings. About a dozen thick buttresses provide structure for the wall beyond the belfry. Immediately to the left is a gate that leads to the yard of one of the mission's buildings. Trees, including a palm, line the sidewalk shoulder (at right).; "This mission, although one of the most prosperous, was also one of the most difficult missions for the padres assigned there. Located along the well-traveled trails used by travelers from Mexico to Alto (upper) California - and later from eastern United States to the west coast - it was a stop off point for numerous travelers. Many of these were simply weary from long and difficult traveling and only in need of food and temporary shelter; but there were also plenty of unwelcome visitors. The mission was often crowded with the military, whose behavior was usually very disruptive to the missionaries as well as the Native American living within the mission. In 1775, the mission was moved to a new site. This new site was so prosperous that is became known as 'The Queen of the Missions'. It produced more wheat than any other mission as well as large crops of corn and beans. Large herds of cattle provided the means for the highly prized industries of tallow-rendering and soap-making, as well as tanning hides for leather goods. The Native Americans here were also highly skilled weavers and wine makers. Unique to this mission is the mosque-like appearance of the church. This is believed to be modeled after the Cathedral of Cordova (formerly a mosque) in Spain. The church was begun in 1779 but was not completed until 1805. When secularization was ordered in 1834 the mission and all its wealth was sadly taken away from the Franciscans. When, in 1843, the Franciscans regained control of the mission, almost nothing was left. Most of the buildings were too damaged for use, and the remaining natives were close to starving. President Buchanan restored the neglected property to the Catholic Church in 1859. A highlight of the museum there is a collection of canvases believed to be the oldest examples of sacred art done by native California painters." -- unknown author.

Asset Metadata

Title Exterior view of Mission San Gabriel from the sidewalk near the belfry, San Gabriel, ca.1900

Subject Architecture, Spanish colonial (lcsh), Bell towers (lcsh), buildings (lcsh), Churches, Catholic (lcsh), Mission San Gabriel (subject), Mission San Gabriel Arcangel (file heading), Missions -- Mission San Gabriel Arcangel (file heading), Missions, Spanish (lcsh), religious facilities (adlf), San Gabriel Arcangel Mission (subject), Trees (lcsh)

Tags OAI-PMH Harvest

Place California (states), Los Angeles (counties), San Gabriel (city or populated place), USA (countries)

Temporal Subject 1900

Type images

Format 1 photograph : photoprint, b&w ; 21 x 26 cm. (aacr2), photographic prints (aat), photographs (aat)

Source California Historical Society (contributing entity), California Historical Society Collection, 1860-1960 (collection), Title Insurance and Trust, and C.C. Pierce Photography Collection, 1860-1960 (subcollection)

Date Created 1900

Creator Pierce, C.C. (Charles C.), 1861-1946 (photographer)

Publisher University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Repository Email specol@lib.usc.edu

Repository Name USC Libraries Special Collections

Repository Location Doheny Memorial Library, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0189

Rights Public Domain. Please credit both “University of Southern California. Libraries” and “California Historical Society” as the source. Digitally reproduced by the USC Digital Library.

Copyright Public Domain. Please credit both “University of Southern California. Libraries” and “California Historical Society” as the source. Digitally reproduced by the USC Digital Library.

Access Conditions Send requests to address or e-mail given

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/chs-m6299

Identifier 5915 (accession number), CHS-5915 (call number), CHS-5915 (filename), chs-m265 (legacy collection record id), chs-c65-6392 (legacy record id), chs-m6299 (legacy record id), USC-1-1-1-14086 (legacy record id), USC-1-1-1-6410 (legacy record id), 1-133-65 (microfiche number), USC (project)

IIIF ID [Document.IIIFV3ID]

DM Record ID 6392

Unique identifier UC121170

Legacy Identifier CHS-5915.tiff

Type Image

Internet Media Type image/tiff

Resolution 17.0 in × 13.5 in at 300dpi
43.1 cm × 34.4 cm at 300dpi

Inherited Values

Title Title Insurance and Trust and C.C. Pierce Photography Collection 1860-1960

Description The nearly 15,000 unique photographs of this collection contain the work of C.C. Pierce which cover the Los Angeles region city, street and architectural views, California Missions, Southwestern Native Americans, and turn-of-century Nevada, Arizona, and California. Pierce, active from 1886 to 1940, was one of the leading photographers of his day and amassed a collection of 15,000 images, including his own and those bought and copied from his contemporaries, George Wharton James and Charles Puck. The James collection contains over 2,000 images of portraits, customs, ceremonies, arts, and games of various groups of Southwestern Native Americans.

Date Created 1860/1960

Linked assets

Title Insurance and Trust and C.C. Pierce Photography Collection 1860-1960

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