San Gabriel Valley Tour

San Gabriel Valley Tour

Mission San Gabriel, San Gabriel Civic Auditorium, and Santa Anita Race Track

Mission San Gabriel
537 W. Mission Drive, San Gabriel
Built in 1771 under the Spanish crown, San Gabriel was the first mission in the Los Angeles area. Though highly romanticized as an idyllic period when Franciscans brought civilization and Christianity to Native Americans, the actual experience of the mission system was often starkly more about conquest, dispossession, widespread death, and forced labor, as was the case at Mission San Gabriel. Indians were forced to work the 1.5 million acres of mission land, turning it into a highly productive and lucrative institution. San Gabriel Mission was the site of at least two known Indian revolts, the most notable led by a woman, Toypurina in the early 1800s. Toypurina mobilized the Indians to unsuccessfully attack the mission and the priests. She was considered a bruja (witch), as, at the time, there was no other way to explain Toypurina’s anger. At her trial, Toypurina was banished to the Monterey mission where she lived out her days.

Travel down the street to the visit the next stop.

San Gabriel Civic Auditorium
320 South Mission Drive, San Gabriel
The San Gabriel Civic Auditorium, built in 1927, is part of the historic mission complex. It was essentially built to house performances of the “Mission Play”, one of the most successful plays of the time. The play was first performed in 1912 and was such a success and drew so many visitors to San Gabriel that civic leaders decided to build a new playhouse modeled after Monterey’s Mission San Antonio de Padua to house it. The “Mission Play”, which consisted of three acts over 4 1/2 hours and featured a cast of 150, was a spectacular pageant that ran for approximately twenty years. It attracted million viewers and was performed over 3,000 times.

Written by Los Angeles Times columnist, John McGroarty, the “Mission Play”, presented a romanticized and deeply Catholic telling of California history from 1769 to 1844, focusing on the role of the missions and Father Junipero Serra. Indeed, the local Catholic hierarchy reviewed the script in order to ensure that the Church was “accurately” represented. Similar to the novel and play, Ramona, by Helen Hunt Jackson, the “Mission Play” offered a romanticized history that is not only devoid of Native-Spanish violence and resistance, but also portrays Indians and Mexicans as an historic people. Such a narrative was essential to paving the way for Anglo dominance in the early 20th century, as it tidely “resolved” the issue of the region’s past. Today the Civic Auditorium looks much as it did during the heyday of the Mission Play and is currently a modern facility used for cultural performances.

From the Auditorium take Mission to Huntington and turn left, traveling north. After 6 miles the Race Track will be on your right hand side.

Santa Anita Race Track
285 W. Huntington Drive, Arcadia
On February 19, 1942 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 calling for the mass incarceration of West coast Japanese and Japanese Americans during World War II. On March 30 almost 100,000 Japanese Americans in California were sent to Temporary Detention or Assembly Centers, such as the Santa Anita Race Track and Pomona Fairgrounds. Riots and protests occurred at both sites. Detainees were held here until more permanent camps were completed, such as Manzanar and Tule Lake. The Internment of Japanese Americans was the single largest violation of any groups’ civil rights in the history of the US. Internment lasted from 1942 to 1944. Most Nikkei lost their property, homes, and businesses, as they had days in which to pack-up and move. After years of organizing by Japanese American activists, a Congressional Committee determined that Internment was due to “race prejudice, war hysteria and a failure of political leadership.” President Ronald Reagan issued a formal apology to Japanese Americans & authorized monetary reparations. These sites represent examples of how everyday places can be turned into sites of terror by the state.

San Gabriel Valley Tour	AUDIO TOUR
Mission San Gabriel, San Gabriel Civic Auditorium, and Santa Anita Race Track	Maps Care of Yahoo.com
Mission San Gabriel 537 W. Mission Drive, San Gabriel Built in 1771 under the Spanish crown, San Gabriel was the first mission in the Los Angeles area. Though highly romanticized as an idyllic period when Franciscans brought civilization and Christianity to Native Americans, the actual experience of the mission system was often starkly more about conquest, dispossession, widespread death, and forced labor, as was the case at Mission San Gabriel. Indians were forced to work the 1.5 million acres of mission land, turning it into a highly productive and lucrative institution. San Gabriel Mission was the site of at least two known Indian revolts, the most notable led by a woman, Toypurina in the early 1800s. Toypurina mobilized the Indians to unsuccessfully attack the mission and the priests. She was considered a bruja (witch), as, at the time, there was no other way to explain Toypurina’s anger. At her trial, Toypurina was banished to the Monterey mission where she lived out her days.
	Travel down the street to the visit the next stop.
San Gabriel Civic Auditorium 320 South Mission Drive, San Gabriel The San Gabriel Civic Auditorium, built in 1927, is part of the historic mission complex. It was essentially built to house performances of the “Mission Play”, one of the most successful plays of the time. The play was first performed in 1912 and was such a success and drew so many visitors to San Gabriel that civic leaders decided to build a new playhouse modeled after Monterey’s Mission San Antonio de Padua to house it. The “Mission Play”, which consisted of three acts over 4 1/2 hours and featured a cast of 150, was a spectacular pageant that ran for approximately twenty years. It attracted million viewers and was performed over 3,000 times. Written by Los Angeles Times columnist, John McGroarty, the “Mission Play”, presented a romanticized and deeply Catholic telling of California history from 1769 to 1844, focusing on the role of the missions and Father Junipero Serra. Indeed, the local Catholic hierarchy reviewed the script in order to ensure that the Church was “accurately” represented. Similar to the novel and play, Ramona, by Helen Hunt Jackson, the “Mission Play” offered a romanticized history that is not only devoid of Native-Spanish violence and resistance, but also portrays Indians and Mexicans as an historic people. Such a narrative was essential to paving the way for Anglo dominance in the early 20th century, as it tidely “resolved” the issue of the region’s past. Today the Civic Auditorium looks much as it did during the heyday of the Mission Play and is currently a modern facility used for cultural performances.	From the Auditorium take Mission to Huntington and turn left, traveling north. After 6 miles the Race Track will be on your right hand side.
Santa Anita Race Track 285 W. Huntington Drive, Arcadia On February 19, 1942 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 calling for the mass incarceration of West coast Japanese and Japanese Americans during World War II. On March 30 almost 100,000 Japanese Americans in California were sent to Temporary Detention or Assembly Centers, such as the Santa Anita Race Track and Pomona Fairgrounds. Riots and protests occurred at both sites. Detainees were held here until more permanent camps were completed, such as Manzanar and Tule Lake. The Internment of Japanese Americans was the single largest violation of any groups’ civil rights in the history of the US. Internment lasted from 1942 to 1944. Most Nikkei lost their property, homes, and businesses, as they had days in which to pack-up and move. After years of organizing by Japanese American activists, a Congressional Committee determined that Internment was due to “race prejudice, war hysteria and a failure of political leadership.” President Ronald Reagan issued a formal apology to Japanese Americans & authorized monetary reparations. These sites represent examples of how everyday places can be turned into sites of terror by the state.