Los Angeles

The River is Stolen

In 1905, construction was begun. Twelve foot wide steel pipes were shipped from Germany and around Cape Horn for construction of the aqueduct. The scorching heat of the desert-110 degrees-prevented all but a small number of workers to work at the same time. During the night, though, the temperature would drop considerably, sometimes even eighty degrees. Mulholland all but lived in the desert, overseeing all aspects of the construction. The aqueduct had to cover 223 miles with 53 miles of tunnels. Because of the lack of water along the route, electrically powered equipment-which had only been invented months before-was necessary. Despite the heat, the project was finished before schedule and under budget.

The aqueduct was dedicated on November 5, 1913. Somewhere between thirty and forty thousand people attending the dedication. Mulholland, who, after working for six years on his project, was sleep-deprived, unfurled an American flag and declared to the mayor of Los Angeles, motioning to the water beginning to role down the aqueduct, "there it is, take it." A city had just acquired an entire river.

While Mulholland's projections indicated that the city had fourtimes as much water as it needed, he was far off in his estimation of future growth. The capture of the waters of the Owens River had started a golden age in construction in Los Angeles, which would continue through the 1920s and 1930s. Hollywood began to grow once the city got water. Soon Los Angeles was growing eleven times faster than New York City. By 1922 the city had reached a population of one million people.

Doomed to Success

Mulholland was right that there was more than enough water in the beginning. As any westerner knows, if you do not take the water, someone else will. Contrary to what the residents of the Owens valley believed, Mulholland planned to the entire valley dry.

The path of the aqueduct passed through the San Fernando Valley, an entirely arid piece of desert. For no apparent reason, Chandler had been touting the 'fertility' of the valley in the Times. In the original article that ended the secret of the aqueduct, Chandler began by talking of how the aqueduct would break the bonds that tied the valley to the desert. How were the San Fernando Valley and the Owens River aqueduct related?

It was discovered that a large real-estate syndicate of the most powerful residents of Los Angeles had bought up the entire valley. The city would not need all the water from the aqueduct for a long time-it was up for grabs. If the San Fernando Valley could be irrigated the value of the land would skyrocket and the members of the syndicate would become millions of dollars richer. It went just as planned.

In the West, water equals power. Ergo Los Angeles was now the most powerful city in Southern California. It began offering water to communities that began popping up around the city-proper. In exchange, the towns became part of the city. Los Angeles was growing amazingly fast in its geographic boundaries. Its huge size has made its residents entirely dependent on cars for transportation. Los Angeles is the only huge, sprawling American city, similar to the likes of Mexico City.