Cross going back on L.A. County seal

A motion by Supervisors Michael D. Antonovich and Don Knabe to "fix the inaccurate architectural depiction" of the San Gabriel Mission currently on the Los Angeles County seal was approved on a 3-2 vote with Supervisors Antonovich, Knabe and Ridley-Thomas voting in favor and Yaroslavsky and Molina opposed. "To accurately reflect the role of the San Gabriel Mission in the historical and cultural development of Los Angeles County, today's action corrects the current rendering of the mission on the county seal which is artistically and architecturally inaccurate." said Supervisor Antonovich. "The history of Los Angeles County began with the founding of the San Gabriel Mission by Father Junipero Serra in September, 1771. Also known as the 'Pride of the California Missions,' its doors opened directly to the El Camino Real which connected all of California's great missions, pueblos and presidios." "For hundreds of years, the mission has been the historic center for culture and art in our region and has had a vital influence on the expansion and development of Los Angeles County. It was the site of the area's first hospital and the birthplace of the last Spanish governor of Alta California, Pio Pico." "Learning about the missions is a part of the California 4th grade curriculum where students are asked to build model missions and complete reports on a particular mission. In addition, two other California counties, Ventura and San Benito, have missions with crosses on their seals, as does the city of San Luis Obispo." "At the time that the seal was redesigned in 2004, the cross had been missing from the top of the Mission since 1989, when it was taken down to retrofit the structure after damage from the Whittier Narrows earthquake. The cross was subsequently returned to the top of the mission in 2009." "We appreciate the input and participation from the community whose strong support for the mission, its significance to our county and the need to ensure the architectural accuracy of the county seal, resulted in today's action."

********** Published: Jan. 16, 2014 - Volume 12 - Issue 40