The Mission 's chapel functioned as a parish church for the City of San Gabriel from 1862 until 1908 , when the Claretian Missionaries came to San Gabriel and began the job of rebuilding and restoring the Mission . In 1874 , tracks were laid for Southern Pacific Railroad near the mission . In 2012 , artifacts from the mission era were found when the tracks were lowered into a trench known as the Alameda Corridor-East . On October 1 , 1987 the Whittier Narrows earthquake damaged the property . A significant portion of the original complex has since been restored
Whittier Narrows earthquake
1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake
Mission San Gabriel Arcángel