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Sources for The Concrete River Was Built to Make Water Leave

Published Aug 8, 2026

Sources Used

  1. Los Angeles District — Los Angeles River Subproject No. 129 — E.R.A. and Regular Funds — Hired Labor — Taken June 13, 1938

    National Archives and Records Administration / 1938-06-13 / primary image source

    The location, date and construction operations visible in the opening photograph.

    Accessed 2026-08-12

  2. Flood Control Act of 1936, Public Law 74-738, 49 Stat. 1570

    United States Congress / 1936-06-22 / primary source

    The expansion of federal responsibility and funding authority for flood-control work.

    Accessed 2026-08-12

  3. River History

    Los Angeles County Public Works / n.d. / primary planning source

    The river’s pre-channelization floodplains, wetlands, shifting paths and cultural history.

    Accessed 2026-08-12

  4. Background

    Los Angeles County Public Works / n.d. / primary planning source

    The 1930 Olmsted-Bartholomew plan, its limited implementation, the river’s 51-mile length and the need to combine flood management with public and environmental goals.

    Accessed 2026-08-12

  5. Existing Flood Risk Reduction

    Los Angeles County Public Works / n.d. / primary technical source

    The 1936 start and 1959 completion period of modern channelization, variable channel geometry and capacity, and the hydraulic effects of vegetation and sediment in soft-bottom reaches.

    Accessed 2026-08-12

  6. The LA River and the Corps: A Brief History

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District / 2013-10-03 / primary institutional source

    Federal involvement, the sequence of channelization and the flood-control purpose of the engineered river system.

    Accessed 2026-08-12

  7. Historical Ecology of the Los Angeles River Watershed and Environs

    Philip J. Ethington and project collaborators / 2020 / scholarly secondary source

    The historical distribution of riverwash, riparian forest, wetlands and other habitats, along with the loss of public memory about the river’s former ecological extent and flood power.

    Accessed 2026-08-12

  8. 51 Miles of Concrete: The Exploitation and Transformation of the Los Angeles River

    Blake Gumprecht / 1997-12-01 / scholarly secondary source

    The political, developmental and engineering history behind the river’s transformation into flood-control infrastructure.

    Accessed 2026-08-12

  9. Los Angeles Flood of 1938: Cementing the River’s Future

    Justin Cram / 2012-02-28 / reported secondary source

    The 1938 storm sequence, regional deaths, damaged structures, flooded acreage and the scale and methods of subsequent channel construction.

    Accessed 2026-08-12

  10. Willful Waters

    Vittoria Di Palma / 2018 / scholarly critical essay

    Interpretive context for understanding the river as both a hazardous natural system and a designed urban artifact.

    Accessed 2026-08-12

Image Sources

  1. View downstream from the Fletcher Drive Bridge showing excavation, steel piling, stone placement and concrete work during construction of Los Angeles River Subproject No. 129.

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District; photographer unidentified / 1938-06-13 / Public domain in the United States as a federal government work; also marked with the Creative Commons Public Domain Mark 1.0 by Wikimedia Commons.

    Permission contact: No permission required. National Archives at Riverside may be contacted for archival questions.

    Original file: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Los_Angeles_District_-_Los_Angeles_River_Subproject_No._129_-_E.R.A._and_Regular_Funds_-_Hired_Labor_-_Taken_June_13..._-_NARA_-_295359.jpg