March 20, 2019
Mulholland Dam was built in the early 1920’s in the hills above the Hollywood section of Los Angeles by the LA Department of Water Supply(now the DWP). It was the first concrete built by the city(the second we’ll get to in a bit). I’ve been planning to hike to the dam from the back of the lake, but discovered that there’s a road(with parking) that leads to the top of the dam on it’s eastern side. So last Friday, with a hour or so to kill, I headed up to the dam.
Mulholland Dam
The Department of Water Supply built a bit of infrastructure in the 1920’s to hedge against disruptions in water supply(drought, earthquakes, or sabotage by the fine folk in Inyo County). After completion of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913 there a number acts of sabotage on aqueduct in the Owens Valley. Now looking at the picture the dam doesn’t look all that tall, well it is, it’s just been buried a bit. After the construction of the Mulholland Dam in 1924, the DWP built another dam based on the same design in San Francisquito Canyon north of the current communities of Canyon Country. After it’s completion in 1928, Saint Francis Dam collapsed, killing over 430 souls(they never figured out how may died). The water level in Hollywood Reservoir was immediately lowered and earth was eventually piled up against the face of the dam and trees were planted there keep the soil in place(and possibly hide the dam from the residents down the hill in Hollywood).
There are a couple of commemorative markers at the center of the dam, including one that lists the Board of Water Supply. One name that looked familiar was C A Dykstra, he was later Provost at UCLA and the first undergrad residence hall was named for him and was my home for my first 2 years at UCLA.
Hollywood ReservoirHollywood SignLake HollywoodMulholland Dam
