San Gabriel Valley Tutors

About San Gabriel Valley

Just ten miles east from the downtown skyscrapers, San Gabriel, California is a suburb of Los Angeles. Following the Spanish military exploration of California in the late 1700’s Franciscan priests led by Father Junipero Serra established 21 missions throughout the state including the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel. Considered the “Pride of the California Missions,” Mission San Gabriel was the fourth mission built in California after Mission San Diego, Mission San Luis Rey and Mission San Juan Capistrano. Designed and built by Franciscan missionary Antonio Cruzado with the labor of the local Native Americans, the Mission became a focal point for culture, art and government in the San Gabriel area. City Hall, the Mission Playhouse and several other historic buildings are nearby. The mission was the site of thousands of baptisms including future important Los Angelenos such as Pio Pico, the last governor of California under Mexican rule. As years passed the mission fell into disarray but in the 20th century was restored and is today an historic landmark and fully functioning Catholic church. For most of its history San Gabriel was a small farming community centered around the mission. Today, San Gabriel has a majority Asian population and San Gabriel Square is often referred to as “Chinese Disneyland” or the “Great Mall of China.”

A San Gabriel tutor will keep you ahead of the academic curve so you can get out and enjoy the exciting things to do in San Gabriel and the greater Los Angeles area. Built in 1927 right next to the mission, the Mission San Gabriel Playhouse is the cultural center of the city. For many years, it hosted the “Mission Play” which originally ran for 3,198 performances. Recently the playhouse has been renovated to appear as it did when it opened. The building is done in the Spanish style with a façade resembling the Mission San Antonio de Padua in Monterey County. The playhouse offers a wide range of events including Chinese opera, classical ballet, jazz and hip-hop.

It’s just a short drive north to the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in nearby San Marino. The Huntington features rare books, famous paintings and more than a dozen spectacular gardens over 120 acres. Famous European paintings by the likes of Thomas Gainsborough, Joshua Reynolds and J.M.W. Turner grace the walls of the Huntington as well as American masterpieces by Mary Cassatt and Edward Hopper. Gardens include the Chinese “Garden of Flowing Fragrance,” the “Desert Garden” and the “Rose Garden.” The Huntington’s famous library holds over 420,000 rare books with collections dating from Medieval times through the 21st century.

An equally short drive brings San Gabriel residents to Santa Anita Park in Arcadia. The historic track has been the center of horse racing in California for the last 80 years. The iconic Seabiscuit, subject of book and movie, won the 1940 Santa Anita Handicap, at the time the most expensive race in the nation offering $100,000 in prize money. In the 1940’s and 1950’s the track was a virtual playground for the Hollywood stars of the time such as Betty Grable, Cary Grant and Bing Crosby. Triple Crown winners Affirmed, in 1978, and American Pharoah, in 2014, both raced at Santa Anita before going on to conquer the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont.