Map of Early Los Angeles and Zanja Madre
Map of Early Los Angeles and Zanja Madre
On the cusp of cityhood in 1849, the roads, plots of land, fences, the river and the Zanja Madre of El Pueblo de Los Angeles were inked into memory. The Zanja Madre, meaning Mother Ditch, was the first attempt to control the wild Los Angeles river. The settlers of El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Angeles created the open, earthen ditch within a month of settling the area to divert the river water to the center of town, on present-day Olvera Street. As the town attracted more settlers and developed more agricultural fields, the demand for water grew as faster than the Zanja Madre could provide. Brick and mortar were used in 1884 to make the Zanja Madre keep up with the settlers, as if cementing the ditch would make the water flow faster, better, greater. However by the early 1900s when the population had doubled to over 100,000 residents within ten years, the settlers understood the futility of their actions. Floods continually wrecked the Zanja Madre’s waterwheel, the demand for water could not be satiated and so the city leaders retreated the town’s dependence on the Zanja Madre and searched for another source. In 1908, the city began construction on their solution, the Los Angeles Aqueduct system, and William Mulholland leads the path as chief engineer to force water along a 233 miles journey south from the Owens River to the city of Los Angeles in an open concrete canal. Over $20 million dollars poured into the creation of this concrete waterway and the Los Angeles Aqueduct opened in 1913.
During this time, the Los Angeles River continued to be as it always had. Powerful, unpredictable floods continued to damage the man-made structures and agricultural fields. After the flood of 1938 took over 100 lives, the citizens demanded for the river to be under greater control. With time, the solution again used concrete. The life of the river was cut off for nine months in the 1950s and then reopened under the city’s terms. As a result, the river became entombed and useless for the people. The life source of the land became drained from its purpose so others may profit and feel safe within an artificial landscape.