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La Puente
Exterior view of the Rowland Hotel. Built in 1887, the hotel is of the Queen Anne Revival architectural style. Despite La Puente's fairly recent incorporation in 1956, the community is recorded to have begun in the 1840s when European settlers arrived at the 48,000 acre Rancho La Puente. The name's history goes back to Gaspar de Portola`'s 1769 expedition, when members of the team built a bridge (Puente) over San Jose Creek, during a survey of the land for Spain. In old Spanish, Puente followed the feminine artcle La, whereas nowdays, the noun follows El, hence "La Puente" instead of El Puente.