Spring 2026

peoples hundreds, if not thousands, of years prior to their arrival. The Spanish Revival movement of the late 19th century sparked renewed interest in all things Iberian, particularly architecture, especially in Los Angeles. Pasadena resident and history buff Anna Pitcher launched a campaign in 1892 along with Los Angeles Public Library Head Librarian Tessa Kalso to promote and preserve the route of El Camino Real and create aware- ness of the sad state of the missions they loved. The initiative was embraced by the Native Daughters of the Golden West, the California Federation of Woman’s Clubs and, perhaps most enthusiastically, by the Automobile Club of Southern California. Author, historian and preservationist Harrye Rebecca Piper Forbes was also passionately interested in saving the deteriorating missions and joined in forming the El Camino Real Association of California in 1904. She designed the bells we see today to be placed as mile markers along the route and cre- ated The California Bell Company to produce them. The first bell was installed at the Plaza Church on Olvera Street in Los Angeles on August 15, 1906. Original Mission Bells are cast iron, measure 18 by 18 inches, weigh around 90 pounds, are mounted 15 feet above ground and are inscribed Bells were cast in a foundry estab- lished by Forbes and her husband. The bottom photo shows Forbes with a worker pouring molten iron into a mold utilizing the “lost wax” method still in use today. The Spanish Revival movement of the late 19th century sparked renewed interest in all things Iberian, particularly architecture, espe- cially in Los Angeles. Photos: Courtesy of CaliforniaBell.com C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S P R I N G 2 0 2 6 129