Tuesday, December 15, 2009

After the Rain is Gone - View of Los Angeles...

...from the 110 or Harbor Freeway, taken on Sunday (12-13-09).
"On Wednesday, August 2, 1769, Father Juan Crespi, a Franciscan priest accompanying the first European land expedition through California, led by Captain Fernando Rivera Y Moncado, described in his journal a "beautiful river from the northwest" located at "34 degrees 10 minutes." They named the river Nuestra Señora de los Angeles de la Porciúncula. In the Franciscan calendar, August 2 was the day of the celebration of the feast of the Perdono at the tiny Assisi chapel of St. Francis of Assisi. Early in St. Francis’ life, the Benedictines had given him this tiny chapel for his use near Assisi. The chapel, ruined and in need of repair, was located on what the Italians called a porziuncola or "very small parcel of land." Painted on the wall behind the altar was a fresco of the Virgin Mary surrounded by angels. Now contained within a Basilica, the chapel was named Saint Mary of the Angels at the Little Portion. The newly discovered "beautiful river" was named in honor of this celebration and this chapel. In 1781, a new settlement was established along that river. The settlement came to be known as El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciúncula or The Town of Our Lady the Queen of Angels of the Little Portion although its official name was simply El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Angeles." [Ref. Los Angeles Almanac]

8 comments:

Cezar and Léia said...

oh gosh...
:(
Il est difficile de lire les lettres si petit! LOL
Just kidding, I need my glasses now!
Beautiful day at Sunday...lovely sky and no traffic! Cool!
Léia

Tina Epperson Freelance Photography said...

It's amazing how clear the air is after a good rain! ... Nice photo!

Cafe Pasadena said...

Great photo while driving & ladyshutterbugging!

Julie said...

Good wide angle shot, Tash with lovely cloud definition. Cities can be magnificent creations when viewed in perspective like this.

I note is still a fairly high proportion of "large" vehicles on your roads = of the 4WD variety. These have been greatly reduced over here with more and more people chosing 4 cyclinder cars with improved fuel consumption.

Tash said...

It's the best time of the year here. So all of you won't worry, when I took this photo, I was the passenger.

Julie, you are right about all the SUV's that are still on the road in California...it's just not hitting the pocketbook yet. But as the SUVs wear out, they are replaced by smaller cars. My husband drives a Honda Civic as of a year ago.

Antjas said...

I wonder how Father Juan would feel if he saw his little Pueblo of the Angels all grown up. It's a lovely to think that the L.A. River at one time a real river and not a concrete aquaduct used for filming cop shows and drag races when it's dry.

On another note, are your Boeing buttons busting with pride today? Can you see your son flying that bad boy one day?

Rune Eide said...

Much better without the rain!

Pat said...

Now I'm humming, "I can see clearly now, the rain is gone!"