Page 12 - delcastillo1980

California History

A view of the courtyard of the Camulos Adobe
with a few of the citrus trees planted by Ygnacio del Valle.

Service Board, which later became the Los Angeles proposal Mulholland put before them. 39
Board of Water and Power. Reginaldo and Bill Mulholland shared a common
Through an accident of history, Reginaldo del vision - that of creating a water system that would
Valle literally presided over the triumph of urban in- ensure the urban growth of Los Angeles. During the
dustrial society and the physical destruction of what 1920s this involved constructing a system of reser-
was left of his California past. For years, he was a voirs and dams. One of these projects was the St.
close friend of the eccentric genius William Mulhol- Francis Dam located in the San Francisquito canyon.
land, Los Angeles' Chief Water Engineer. Working Mulholland, a self educated hydrologist, had person-
closely with Mulholland he had helped construct the ally overseen the construction. When the dam began
Owens Valley project, an endeavor which provoked to spring leaks early in March, 1928, he considered it
dynamitings, ridicule and protracted legal battles. 38 normal for projects of this type. The night of March
Throughout the 1920s del Valle and the other four 12, the St. Francis Dam crumbled. A mountain of
members of the Board unanimously passed every water, mud and concrete rushed down the canyon

12