Confusion caused by popular fiction about water in Los Angeles


The city of Los Angeles is much older than most people realize. It actually goes back to when California was owned by Spain, even before it was owned by Mexico, and certainly a lot longer ago than when it became part of the United States.

But you don't really need to be a history expert to know that Los Angeles, like all big cities, relies on water. It was, of course, along the LA River (you know, that big concrete-lined thing that you see people in movies ride motorcycles on). Of course, even then it was just a wash, so a reservoir was built in 1907 to retain water. But the city was growing, and needed more water, and this is where so many people get confused. And it's because of a movie from the 1970s.

Don't get me wrong, I love the movie "Chinatown", and have watched it many times. It's a fictionalized story of how William Mulholland (called "Mulray" in the movie) brought water in to Los Angeles from miles away. And yes, there really was a City of Los Angeles Engineer named William Mulholland, and yes, he really did design the aqueduct that brought water to Los Angeles, from the Owens Valley. There are still some hard feelings up there in the Owens Valley! But hang on here, Mulholland died in 1935, and the movie "Chinatown" is set in 1937.

And I know what you're saying, "forget about it, it's Chinatown". And really, I'm not going to embarrass people by correcting them if they think that the water from the Owen's Valley arrived in 1937, and that before that the San Fernando Valley was a dry, dusty place. That's just the movie, and they make no claims to historical accuracy.

The reality, of course, is that it happened long before that, and if there was a conspiracy, I can't imagine that I would have been interested in secretly buying up land in the San Fernando Valley, or Los Angeles, in 1912. I really wouldn't have believed that it could happen. That's nearly 200 miles, and in 1912, it wasn't as if they had the type of modern equipment that they have now, or even in the 1930s (sorry, that's another reference to "Chinatown").

I bought that booklet that I have pictured at the top of this post back when I started doing my detective work on the history of the Owen's Aqueduct back when I was in my twenties. And they really did build it, it was under construction at the time, it opened in 1913. The Cascades, which show the water flowing, are still there, in the San Fernando Valley, although it's not much of a tourist attraction. It must have been amazing to see in 1913.


Oh yeah, and here's the part that I like the best: Mulholland's Speech in November of 1913. Apparently the signals got confused, and the water started flowing before he had much of a chance to begin his prepared speech, and all he said was, "There it is, take it!"


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