[5] A third spring was located farther north, near Texas Avenue, but it ceased to flow during the 1940s when a local water company began drawing from the aquifer.

[10] The Tongva were described in an unpublished diary of Juan Crespí, who traveled with the Portolá Expedition of 1769: ... as we arrived and set up camp, six very friendly, compliant tractable heathens came over, who had their little houses roofed with grass, the first we have been seeing of this sort.

Later, around the turn of the 19th century, the two springs began to be called "The Tears of Santa Monica" because they brought to mind the weeping eyes of the saint as she cried for her erring son.

The canyon, the ranchos, the city, the bay, the mountains, the boulevard, the airport and the freeway are all called after a former turn-of-the-19th-century name for Kuruvungna Springs.

The waters of the upper spring were made to cascade down a small waterfall (still extant) and also fill a wishing well (demolished).

The pond was surrounded with manicured lawns and served as a gathering place for students and the setting for group graduation photos.

In 1975, a grave containing a small skeleton and soapstone bowls was discovered by students and a science teacher from what archaeologists now believe to be a burial site.

[8][10] The foundation currently leases the site from the Los Angeles Unified School District in order to use the location for their monthly ceremony and guided tours, and received a $7,000 grant from Los Angeles' Environmental Affairs Department to enhance the area with different types of trees, vines and herbs.

Previous events have drawn more than 600 people,[8] including Native Americans from various tribes, local politicians, community members and students and faculty from the school.

The Bill, introduced by Senator Tom Hayden, required the California Department of Parks and Recreation to, "seek to establish a permanent cultural and ecological site at the Gabrielino/Tongva Springs", and called for the creation of a task force created by University High School's administration, "in consultation with the Gabrielino/Tongva Springs Foundation and the Los Angeles Unified School District".

The bill appropriated $50,000 to the department to be spent on a local assistance grant to the task force, "to plan for the preservation of the Gabrielino/Tongva Springs, and property adjacent thereto...in order to enhance environmental, cultural, and educational opportunities.