BELLS TO RING OUT AGAIN AT SAN GABRIEL MISSION.Byline: Associated Press Six old bells were restored to the campanile campanile (kămpənē`lē, Ital. kämpänē`lā), Italian form of bell tower, constructed chiefly during the Middle Ages. of the historic San Gabriel Mission on Tuesday, more than eight years after structural damage from the Whittier Narrows Earthquake The Whittier Narrows earthquake struck the southern San Gabriel Valley and surrounding communities of southern California at 7:42 a.m. (Pacific Daylight Time) on October 1, 1987. The magnitude 5.9 earthquake was originally assigned a magnitude of 6. forced their removal. A crane hoisted the biggest, the 1-ton Angelus bell, into place after Gabrielino-Tongva American Indians chanted a blessing and wafted smoke from burning sage over it with eagle feathers. Five smaller bells followed it up. ``We'll ring them again one day, and that will be a fine one,'' said Helen Nelson, director of the $3 million restoration of the mission, which was founded by Spanish missionaries under Junipero Serra during the early exploration of California - and has been battered by earthquakes ever since. The bells will remain silent until a Sept. 8 rededication Noun 1. rededication - a new dedication; "the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem" dedication - a ceremony in which something (as a building) is dedicated to some goal or purpose ceremony on the 225th anniversary of the founding of Mission San Gabriel Archangel archangel, in religion archangel (ärk`ānjəl), chief angel. They are four to seven in number. Sometimes specific functions are ascribed to them. The four best known in Christian tradition are Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel. . Hanging the bells was the last step in a seismic strengthening and restoration of the old stone, brick and mortar See bricks and mortar. building. The big bell, dated 1830, was placed on a wheeled pallet, lifted by a crane, rolled into its niche and attached to a beam with iron straps. Once used for the daily prayers known as the Angelus, the bell's ringing is said to have been heard 10 miles west, in what is now downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The sprawling, multi-centered megacity is such that its downtown core is often considered just another district like Hollywood or , before suburbs and freeways sprawled across the San Gabriel Valley The San Gabriel Valley is one of the principal valleys of southern California. It lies to the east of the city of Los Angeles, to the north of the Puente Hills, to the south of the San Gabriel Mountains, and to the west of the Inland Empire. . The smaller bells date to the 1790s and 1820s. San Gabriel was the fourth of 21 missions established by Franciscan missionaries from San Diego north to Sonoma between 1769 and 1823. It was founded in 1771, initially located by the San Gabriel River San Gabriel River is the name of watercourses in two states:
Its scars are testament to California's vigorous seismic history. An original arched roof had to be torn down after an 1804 quake and was replaced with a peaked roof. A bell tower by the main entrance was toppled by a big quake in 1812. It was replaced by the campanile at the opposite end. Since then the tall, narrow building has absorbed blows from many more earthquakes, including in recent years: 1971 San Fernando, 1987 Whittier Narrows, 1991 Sierra Madre, 1992 Landers-Big Bear, and 1994 Northridge. The Whittier Narrows jolt on Oct. 1, 1987, centered southeast of San Gabriel, caused seven deaths in the region. An aftershock af·ter·shock n. 1. A quake of lesser magnitude, usually one of a series, following a large earthquake in the same area. 2. killed one more. The church, 172 feet long, with walls ranging from 5 to 7 feet in thickness, remained standing. The bells were removed in February 1988. Making the adobe church safe required strengthening with modern methods, such as injecting polymer grout Grout A binding or structural agent used in construction and engineering applications. Grout is typically a mixture of hydraulic cement and water, with or without fine aggregate; however, chemical grouts are also produced. into the walls. The bell tower was partly disassembled so concrete could be added. The location of each brick was documented and put back in place, Nelson said. The old mission church, centerpiece of a large parish which also has a larger modern chapel on its grounds, was closed in 1987 and reopened in 1993. The 1994 quake closed it again, for a month, for cosmetic repairs. The mission will be rededicated by Cardinal Roger Mahony, whose 120-year-old cathedral, St. Vibiana's in downtown Los Angeles, was badly damaged by the Northridge Earthquake. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos PHOTO (1) Ron Phillips peeks out at the first of six bel ls installed in the San Gabriel Mission. (2) Five replacement bells sit at the mission currently under repair for damage from a string of quakes. Associated Press |
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