Who Killed the Los Angeles River?

The Los Angeles River was never the grandest river but it certainly had beauty to it. “…closing the coffin on a river that was by then almost dead.” Blake Gumprecht wrote this quote in his article “Who killed the Los Angeles River?”. By 1935 the federal government knew that the Los Angeles River was not going to last much longer so they knew they had to take precautions. In 1876, Gumprecht said, “the first transcontinental railroad line to Southern California was completed…” The completion of this railroad meant more people would begin to populate the Los Angeles area, but with more people meant a greater amount of resources would be needed.

The Los Angeles River used to be a small river that was surrounded by an abundance of trees, shrubs, and other wild life, but since the river ran through the center of the city it was only a matter of time until the river matched the city. Even though the city was beautiful it was made to be the city of the future. With a futuristic city everything is man-made and this had to be true with the river as well. By the time the government was going to start cementing the Los Angeles River and make it a straight away many people did not care if the river completely sealed or not. The river was not producing enough water to sustain the city so it was kept as more of a visual appeal. The once beautiful flowing river was turned into what looks like an abandon freeway with a small stream running through the middle of it.

I have driven past the river a few times and the one that comes to mind is sad. This piece of property was not maintained to the high class standard of the city. But what is strange is the Los Angeles River and the city of Los Angeles have many things in common. The river is a direct translation of the city because it used to be a beautiful cite. Once the city took what it can from the river they decided to enclose it so they could move on to the next thing. The city is similar; what used to be a beautiful city is now full of trash and homeless individuals. I think the city of Los Angeles needs to be grateful for what they have instead of trying to cover up something that used to beautiful.