Long before Uni High was Uni High, indigenous Tongva people occupied the area in a village known as Kuruvungna (“a place where we are in the sun”). At the heart of the village were lush, productive fresh water springs. The springs and evidence of the village were rediscovered in 1925, when University High School was under construction. The area was cleaned up, but later fell into disrepair. In the 1990s, spurred on by Tongva descendant Annie Behrens, the Gabrielino-Tongva Springs Foundation was established to restore and preserve the site and educate the public about its history and culture.
Located behind gates on the Uni campus near what is now the lower Barrington parking lot, the site is a California State Historical Landmark and can be visited on the first Saturday of each month from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Learn more at the Kuruvungna Sacred Springs page on the Santa Monica Conservancy website, find additional details and photos at the Gabrielino-Tongva Springs Foundation, and read a recent story by Denise Hamilton.
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Thanks to Jeff Kirshbaum for the link!