First Jewish Site in Los Angeles

The first thing Jewish Los Angeles organized was a burial ground. The Hebrew Benevolent Society formed in 1854 as the city's first charitable organization for exactly that purpose, and the city council deeded it three acres in Chavez Ravine on April 9, 1855. It served for nearly fifty years. When the plots ran out and the oil derricks crowded in, the congregation opened Home of Peace in East Los Angeles, and the remains of some 360 people were carried there between 1902 and 1910.

What the plaque says

The Hebrew Benevolent Society of Los Angeles (1854), first charitable organization in the city, acquired this site from the city council by deed of April 9, 1855. This purchase of a sacred burial ground represented the first organized community effort by the pioneer Jewish settlers.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Colorado Street Bridge — 6.9 mi
  Beaux-Arts concrete arches curving 150 feet above the Arroyo Seco, opened in 1913 and later a link in Route 66.
• Mission San Gabriel Arcangel — 7.9 mi
  The fourth Alta California mission, built on Tongva land with Tongva labor, rebuilt after arson and now telling that story straight.
• Santa Monica Pier — 15 mi
  Where the Mother Road runs out of continent, and where the End of the Trail sign gives the drive somewhere to finish.

More markers nearby

• Navy and Marine Corps Reserve Center — steps away
• Portolá Trail Campsite (1) — 0.8 mi
• Avila Adobe — 0.9 mi
• Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles — 0.9 mi