we've all seen images of these dirty spillways across the Great city of
Los Angeles and perhaps on account of their manufactured appearance few of us realized
that what we were looking at is actually a river that's right and for hundreds of years
the Los Angeles River flowed freely throughout the city however frequent flooding caused the
construction of concrete channeling to Now guide this otherwise Wild River through a
fixed path but what was the impact was this River always so filthy and how did it almost
start a mini Californian Civil War well stay tuned because today we discover the history
of the LA River I'm your host Ryan silkash and you're watching it's history foreign
so that we have a better overall context I'd like to start this video with a quick presentation of
the Los Angeles River from start to finish the route of the Los Angeles River begins in
kanuga park then Bell Creek and Arroyo Calabasas meet flowing East and North respectively these
two streams surround Coastal mountain ranges historically contributing to River flooding as
the two streams converge the concrete channeling Begins the concrete Channel system of the LA River
features a trapezoidal shape Channel which facilitates low river flow in the center
the channeling aims to resolve the frequent flooding that La used to experience as flooding
was a common environmental issue because of these surrounding mountain ranges continuing East the
almost 50-foot River intersects other bodies of water from nearby Creeks including Brown's Canyon
wash and Alissa Canyon wash flowing through the city of Los Angeles the river continues
South additionally receiving Bull Creek Crossing through the paths of Southern California roads and
it's here that the river begins paralleling major freeways then the river continues traveling south
eventually turning sharply around Griffin Park where finally the Los Angeles river passes through
downtown Los Angeles continuing its Journey until it reaches the Port of Long Beach although we will
cover this in depth later channelizing was added in 1938 after thousands of dollars of property
damage motivated construction of this modification now if you're surprised to learn that La has a
flooding issue you're not alone since indeed the county is considered a semi-desert region
receiving less than 15 inches of rain yearly despite the relative droughts nearby counties
would receive almost four times as much rain each year eventually flooding the river's surrounding
land and it seems that this has been the case throughout history the history of the Los Angeles
River dates back centuries before the state of California joined the union looking further back
to a time before European settlers colonized North America the LA River was home to native
tribes and the area near today's Los Angeles City Hall was their most vast water source as we know
today as time went on the river was discovered by Spanish colonizers in 1769. it soon became
culturally significant to the European inhabitants of California explore Juan crespi declared the
river would be named the river of our Lady the queen of the angels of porcingula centering the
spaniard's Catholic faith in the region however the future state became the property of the United
States following the Mexican-American war in the 1840s even so as most locals preferred the Spanish
version of the river name the United States government chose Los Angeles as the new name under
the American jurisdiction California soon became a state in 1850 and the westward expansion movement
massively brought American settlers to the river where the city of Los Angeles grew around it and
as is the case with any River the natural state of the Los Angeles River was unpredictable its
flowing changed often and frequent floods brought nearly a hundred years of damage to the region by
the start of the 20th century citizens of Los Angeles became frustrated with the river and
hence a solution was needed the first attempted solution to the Los Angeles River problem was the
creation of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1905. Los Angeles voters approved a 1.5 million dollar bond
for purchases and then a 24.5 million dollar bond for construction costs two years later in turn the
city of Los Angeles quickly acquired the rights for this project which would be built around the
Owens River despite the media attention and public approval for revision the citizens of Los Angeles
should have treated the river with more respect as to put things frankly throughout this era the
river was rather filthy see the large population of American settlers frequently used it as their
garbage disposal assuming that their waste would flow into the ocean without any consequences this
directly harmed the area's water quality so by the 1920s the Los Angeles Department of
Water and Power stepped in purchasing all Owens Valley region water rights igniting the start of
the California Water Wars the water wars were conflicts between the local government and the
previous owners of the water who were primarily local farmers the farmers unionized to attempt to
negotiate a deal with the government but after failing to strike a favorable deal the farmers
resorted to violence hence on May the 21st no 1924 and rather radical move the farmers of Owens
Valley bombed part of the aqueduct the local government was Furious demanding the citizens
confess to who was responsible the farmers were described as terrorists and the water
wars was now labeled California's little Civil War while the farmers were ultimately unsuccessful
they reached their goal of gathering national attention as California senator Frank Flint met
with President Theodore Roosevelt and members of his cabinet to discuss the dispute the president
ultimately sided with the city and jurisdiction of water rights allowed the local government to
continue its construction efforts the 1930s faced unprecedented levels of flooding in
the Los Angeles area in particular in 1938 flood cost up to 78 million dollars in Damages so there
needed to be more than the aqueduct for the river problems as February turned into March in 1930
8 Southern California was drenched in over a foot of rain the city of Los Angeles is infrastructure
crumbled in that storm isolating its citizens from the outside world media attention highlighted the
celebrities affected by the flood including Lucille Ball and Milton barley during this
disaster a massive prop of a whale was stolen from the Warner Brothers prop yard and sailed down the
LA River towards the sea well indeed this created an amusing site for locals the stunt would cost
the Los Angeles County flood control authorities a lawsuit this natural disaster affected Hollywood
postponing the academy awards ceremony for a week many actors and actresses scheduled to attend the
event could not safely travel through the storm after five long days of flooding the storm ended
leaving Los Angeles in Devastation over a hundred people were killed in This Disaster the initial
response to the 1938 flood was to criticize the pre-existing measures you see concrete dams were
already partially implemented in the LA River but they needed to be increased and rapidly hence
authorities cited an increase in the velocity of the river and it was for these reasons that
Warner Brothers Studios and Ralph Bellamy found grounds for a lawsuit against Los Angeles County
a year after this unprecedented flood the Army Corps of Engineers decided to take action and
fix the river's flooding problems once and for all this was in part thanks to the permission
given by President Franklin D Roosevelt with the signage of the Flood Control Act of 1941 while
its origin came from the tending of the LA River the ACT allowed for construction of various flood
control methods most notably dams other than the channeling of the LA River The Flood Control Act
has mainly focused on Dam related projects notably the Kinzua Fort Gibson and Allatoona dams the army
Corps of Engineers plan to encase the entire River including the surrounding Banks concrete creating
a channel in the center to allow for a much smaller River flow the only portions of the larger
Rivers spared from the channeling were the Basin behind the Sepulveda Dam the Glendale narrow east
of Griffith Park and The River's End as it Trails through Long Beach this construction project not
only preserved future flooding disasters but also provided relief to many unemployed workers during
the end of the Great Depression this made the initiative very popular however the project
also came with environmental and social concerns the issue of groundwater storage was raised in
scientific America you see the natural flow of the LA River supplied groundwater for the city
of Los Angeles for decades with the construction of the channeling the river would stop flowing for
extensive periods therefore removing the city's groundwater practically all together even so by
World War II focus on the river lessened but by the 1950s many political concerns surrounding
the river were brought to the Forefront as the altered version of the river had Direct
societal impact you see throughout its history many marginalized groups had found safety and
Community around the river and the landmark was often a border between the Latino population and
the upper classes many of the minority communities were displaced by construction around the river
but it wasn't only the channelizing that caused this displacement it was also caused by nearby
Highway projects the ramifications of this were comparable to displacement in other U.S cities
but in La there was an unusual addition since people were pushed into areas with higher air
pollution which might not sound like a big deal but La has notoriously poor air quality caused by
smog while the water wars were most prominent in the 9 1920s and 30s the residents of Owens
Valley continued to battle with the city of Los Angeles well into the 1980s by 1983 the city was
still utilizing large quantities of Owens Valley groundwater for their General Supply leaving Owens
Valley unnaturally dry the residents once again attempted to fight back against the city but as
you know history repeats itself hence once again they were unsuccessful so now that we are up to
date on the river's background let's have a look at the state of it in modern times considering
its size the Los Angeles River has many notable features and points of interest for example a
bicycle path through the glendale's narrow section of the river is parallel to the 5 freeway around
the East Bank of the river in Cypress Park is Rio de Los Angeles State Park said to be beautiful
many other parks and recreational services are connected to the river including North Valley
heart Riverwalk and the Los Angeles River Center and Gardens the city of Los Angeles's Department
of Recreation and Parks manages these Services which is a good thing since the Los Angeles River
is also home to diverse Wildlife that's right both native and non-native species of fish are
abundant within the river and many birds also call the area home the local birds and fish utilize the
river's resources for their survival curiously before the channeling there were many mammals
local to the river as well but two species the California Golden Bear and the gray wolf were
removed by humans in the 1890s throughout the 20th and 21st centuries various forms of media
have featured the LA River in their footage rather than appearing as just a backdrop many films and
television shows utilized the river for deserted City scenes particularly in racing scenarios
movies featuring the Los Angeles River include Greece Terminator 2 Judgment Day and The Dark
Knight Rises the Los Angeles River has survived for decades thanks to its concrete channeling
however this came at a great cost conservation groups were formed by the end of the 20th century
to maintain the structures and keep this River alive even the activists don't desire the complete
restoration of the river because removing the concrete would once again expose Los Angeles to
the vulnerability of floods hence conservation here is the trend the first significant group
dedicated to revitalizing the LA River was the friends of the Los Angeles River established in
1986. the friends were focused on public access and habitat restoration organizing General River
cleanups starting in 1988. at first these cleanups were barely attended with less than 20 volunteers
at the first event despite the early struggle the friends continued to plan these cleanups
which by 2019 became the most extensive River cleanups in in the United States where thousands
of volunteers clean up waste in and around the river yearly the friends also dedicated their
activism to fundraising specifically they donated a million dollars to the Army Corps of Engineers
in 2012 to complete a study that resulted in a Monumental restoration plan for the river the
friends of the Los Angeles River were not the only people interested in restoring the river either
restoration efforts have existed for decades but there has been a constant push since 2002. most
of which are focused on the recreational use of the area the Los Angeles city council formed an
ad hoc committee that year dedicated to the accessibility and revitalization of the LA
River a revitalization master plan began to form by the mid-2000s hence the Department of Public
Works Bureau of engineering formally proposed the start of this plan in 2005 and strived to make the
LA River the City's front door paying tribute to the river's original Landmark status in 2011
the LA River recreational Zone was created which officially legalized the recreational use of the
river space in the following years advancements were made to this master plan which included the
schedule for constructing a continuous bike path along the river in 2013. the projects continued
and in 2018 Los Angeles County decided to update their revitalization master plan once again the
updated master plan was formally released in 2020 and aimed to reach nine goals related to the river
they ranged from weather and environmental concerns to the social issues surrounding the
river this plan is unique because it focuses on the present and 25 years into the future perhaps
most importantly the 2020 plan aims to create an everlasting sustainable Los Angeles River
will do it for today thank you thank you for watching please consider subscribing and don't
miss our playlist about the history of Los Angeles click right here see guys
I learned where The annotation goes until next time this is Ryan silkash signing off