The Balance of Controlling and Recovering the River

Essay by ecstasytouchUniversity, Bachelor'sA+, May 2005

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The Balance of Controlling and Recovering the River

The Los Angeles River stands as a relic of the physical, economic and intellectual landscape of Los Angeles' history. The Los Angeles River is indeed an integral part of L.A. and it is crucial to remember that the "L.A. River is where L.A. was founded" (Price, "In the Beginning"). In addition, the Los Angeles River Task Force concludes that in "the years since the river was paved, every condition of the 1930's landscape has changed" (Golding). The Los Angeles River has become a critical shared resource between the connecting 11 cities; across the entire San Fernando Valley, around the northeast, due south to downtown and finally into the Long Beach Harbor, swinging through its heart. Even though the L.A. River is an integral part of Los Angeles, efforts in restoring the river would prove Los Angeles' sustainability as it creates the ultimate vision for connecting people to favorable open space reserves.

The great architect of Los Angeles' sustainability, William Mulholland, failed to support the city with enough water after 10 years. Mike Davis labels William Mulholland and the city of Los Angeles as "Dracula's" and "Vampires" (Davis 23). While he was blamed for stealing the resources from Owen's Valley and for turning Owen's Valley into a "no man's land", this is a misrepresentation of William Mulholland's true vision of water, power, and wealth. William Mulholland is considered a hero for what he has done for the city of Los Angeles, and for giving an urban city what it needed in order to survive and modernize. Mulholland introduced water into Los Angeles with the slogan "if you can't bring L.A. to the water, bring the water to L.A." (Cadillac Desert 1). His motto indicates that the idea of restoring the river...