LEARNING JOURNAL AND LITERATURE REVIEW
~ PROJECT REPORT ~
We are all connected through complex webs of past and present social interactions and what harms one person or group cannot be viewed in isolation from other groups or individuals. As we continue to marginalize people outside of our own tribes, we lose connections to inclusive solutions that meet the needs all of the groups and individuals of our region. This can have dire consequences for everyone, especially the most vulnerable communities, which are often the least represented in our legal system. To address this, a key element is to give a real voice to neglected groups and areas, more power through the use of community control in education, organizing, businesses, neighborhood councils, non profit organizations and the internet as an tool for grassroots efforts to improve the quality of life for everyone.
Within the colorful past of Los Angeles lies forgotten chapters and overlooked obstacles that manifests our current predicament and questionable future. Southern California is known world wide as a mecca of superficial glamor and paradise climate, but other than that being advertised by corporate media outposts, what was it and how will it be in the future is quite speculative simply because of the vastness and diversity ecologically, geologically, geographically, socially, and economically. While california was and still is considered an earthly paradise, since the first contact with european explorers it has undergone vast changes, polar opposite, some might say. From hunter gatherer to megalopolis, egalitarian to egocentric, ecology to economy. From spears and arrows, muskets and pistols, to 9MMs and AK-47s. California and Los Angeles have seen their fair share of change in the last 400 years. How will the next 400 years manifest?
- ECOLOGY OF FLUX -
Formation
The Los Angeles basin was formed around 15 million years ago when it was underwater. Layers of sediment collected and the crust beneath sank, leaving a basin of sediment 5 miles deep, with oil from ancient micro-organisms below. Los Angeles is susceptible to earthquake liquefaction, a process largely due to major fault lines and hundreds of minor ones in combination with the loose sediment beneath our feet, scientists have compared it to "a bowl of jello" in a tremor.
The basin was once tropical and swamp like, with large mammals and plant life. A sampling of these animals remains can be found at the La Brea Tar Pits, where Saber Toothed Tigers, Wooly Mammoths and other large beasts were trapped in the ancient ponds of oil. As temperatures have warmed for most of the Holocene (last 11,000 years), plants and animals have evolved, become smaller, drought tolerant, endangered or extinct.
Today the Los Angeles area's climatic geography is known as a chaparral or Mediterranean climate zone. Only a few of these small regions exist on earth (mainly around the Mediterranean Sea, Chile, Brazil, Mexico and Southern California). There are numerous micro-climates including beaches, wetlands, pine and cedar forests, oak savannas, deserts, mountains and meadows within a few hundred square miles.
The Los Angeles River, it's flood plains and wetlands, were home to one of the largest convergence of migratory birds in the world. Grizzly bears, mountain lions, deer, big horn sheep, foxes, coyotes, ducks, egretts and eagles congregated on the banks of the river, (what is now a concrete trench).
Inundation
As noted by author Michael Rochlin, many of the modern thorough fares in metropolitan Los Angeles and other rural areas were previously established travel, hunting, foraging and trade routes of Tongva, Chumash and other Southwestern Native American tribes. These early routes followed the natural patterns of the landscape and caused minimal disturbance. The same routes were used by the first European explorers seeming to be the most convenient, passing through the valleys of mountains that straddle the coast from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Catholic missionaries and soldiers built missions near native settlements both because they relied on them, and also preyed forced labor.
Father Crespi, on expedition from Spain described what is now Los Angeles as "a well watered area, capable of producing any type of grain or fruit planted" His understanding of the landscape was apparent, quite similar to the climates at home in southern Spain and neighboring regions. While the area may have looked dry, under the surface lies aquifers and springs of good quality water. However the local animals and vegetation that were of little use to the newcomers from Spain who brought horses, cows, chickens, and the seeds of their native fruits, vegetables and grains, were in danger of neglect and extinction.
As new vegetation and animals were introduced to the local ecology, many of the originally native species were decimated and eradicated. Many being seen as competition for human food, (cougars, wolves and bears) were killed off in large numbers. Grizzly cubs and paws were a favorite at local restaurants.
Resource Capitalization
Corporate American history nurtures a bond with nature in the "wilderness segregation" spirit of John Muir, Theodore Roosevelt and other well known naturalists, for over a century, protected symbolic wild-lands through the National Parks and Monuments, while isolating and overlooking the devastating effects of industry on natural ecosystems.
Environmentalists like Lewis Mumford who took a critical stance on massive human manipulations to landscapes were not as welcomed in mainstream American culture.
Wilderness preserves and National Parks had their origins as recreational edens for the wealthy elite, the only people who had the time, money or transportation to get there. Theodore Roosevelt relished charging through farms and orchards on horseback hunting deer, rabbits and pigs in southern California.
The century wore on and automobiles rolled into the culture with drive in movie theaters, drive thru restaurants, and the birth of fast food. The landscape became ubiquitously linked with fast cars to get around and create a private experience for passengers. And nature is no exception. Most State and National Parks can be difficult to access without a car, the preferred method of enjoyment, with vast areas dedicated to environmental destruction from constant "off-road" vehiclular use.
Visitors from temperate climates enjoyed the sunny days and cool nights, but were often shocked by the endless parade of extremes and disasters (earthquakes, flash-floods, fires, mudslides and smog) compared to a more steady, temperate climate where an abundance of water keeps more balance in the ecosystem.
From the egos of men who aim to tame natural forces and patterns rather than work cooperatively, we have seen disasters such as the 1883 railroad accident on Tehachapi Pass, the St. Francis Dam collapse in 1928, or other less apparent, long term disasters like the California Aqueduct. The cementing of the LA River banks, relentless over-development, suburban sprawl, industrial production and agriculture were created in the same spirit that allows humans and their wares to be distributed all over the landscape without regard for much else.
Perhaps the worst disaster of all is the rate in which our history of, and connection with nature is lost or worse, ignored. News corporations sensationalize social and environmental disasters only when they strike, without addressing the root problem, (our own infrastructure and management sytems). All is forgotten when the next story of a celebrity oddity emerges. Little attention is paid to the myriad of environmental concerns facing populations of large urban areas that have experienced unhampered industrialization and growth without regard for lives of the future.
- SOCIAL FABRICS -
Indigenous Roots
California has always had one of the most dense and diverse populations. There were at least 100 different languages and culture groups before the first explorers arrived in California . The south western US also has some of the oldest remains of ancient peoples on the continent of North America. The oldest human remains in the Los Angeles area have been found in the Channel Islands, around 10,000 - 13,000 years old (possibly the oldest in North America), and there is no evidence to suggest the area has ever been abandoned for long periods of time since then. The Tongva, Chumash and other tribal groups thrived in large areas, with facilitating trading networks that stretched thousands of miles, trading marine foods, acorns and pinyon (pine nuts), meats, medicines, garments, beads and tools to hundreds of other tribes.
Animism and religious rituals play a large role in the daily life and economy of Tongva / Gabrielinos, however little is known as a result of skepticism with outsiders. Redistribution of surplus food, basic needs and luxury goods were a central element of their culture. Individuals could be banished or executed for mismanagement of food supply or distribution. Men often managed aquaculture and game, while women, children and elderly gathered seeds, nuts, herbs, fruits and roots. Certain harvests including rabbits, and grain involved the whole community during peak seasons. Warfare and violence was rare, and commonly avoided through discussion and dancing. Possible encounters with Zheng He's Chinese fleets date around 1421, while Spanish explorers were first documented sailing north into what are now the Catalina Islands of Los Angeles in 1542.
Sprouts of Imperialism
Colonization of La Iglesia de Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los Angeles began when Spanish soldiers and missionaries (priests) took a land expedition through Alta California (California above the Baja Peninsula) and incorporated LA as a pueblo under the King of Spain. The pueblo area was chosen by the Spanish soldiers because of inland location, protected from marine invasion, and it's proximity to a year round spring now known as The Los Angeles River. It was also the site of a Tongva village in use for thousands of years. All indigenous peoples who were baptized were forced to live on the mission grounds, worked all day and were sexually restricted. Beatings, rape and molestation were not uncommon as the "neophytes" were indoctrinated into Spanish customs and culture. When women died in their segregated and cramped quarters, soldiers simply raided another exploits. After a few small revolts, most natives began to submit. Labor, prayers and strange new foods were introduced. A condition of the "trust" held the "savages" land until they were "civilized". Land grants were given to soldiers, gente de razon (men of reason) and catholics
In 1833 Mexico gained independence from The Spanish Crown. The missions were to be disestablished by the Mexican authorities and the Franciscans left quickly and quietly with everything of value. The natives were allowed to leave only if they were Christians for 15 years and married. None of the mission lands were deeded to Natives by the Spanish after they had been enslaved for over 40 years. The missions sat neglected until an architectural revival period in the early 20th century. The Mexicans commonly referred to as "californios" were now being visited more frequently by immigrants (mostly United States citizens) and other trappers, traders and travelers. After the Louisiana Purchase, and under the guise of "manifest destiny", US forces became more hostile towards the Mexican government. After a rebellion in Texas and Northern California, President James Polk felt a war with Mexico was strategically benificial. Little military action was taken to gain what is now California and other western states. In 1848, Mexico was forced to sell 525,000 square miles for 15 million US dollars which includes parts of the modern-day U.S. states of Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Wyoming, as well as the whole of California, Nevada, and Utah. California gold was discovered just north of Los Angeles in 1842, but was more widely reported at Sutter's Mill in 1848, prompting a famous fury of immigration and exploration the following year also known as San Francisco's football team "The '49 ers" .
Wilted Democracy
Native Americans that had not died from disease, murder or neglect were now at risk of addiction, abuse, labor exploitation, and being forcibly removed from their ancestral lands. The Los Angeles city council approved an ordinance which stated " when the city has no work to employ the chain gang, the Recorder shall, by means of notice conspicuously posted, notify the public that such a number of prisoners will be auctioned off to the highest bidder for private service, and in that manner they shall be disposed of for a sum which shall not be less than their fine for double the time they were to serve at hard labor". This involved almost exclusively Native Americans, as they were often fined for public intoxication and having no currency or property, they were forced into labor by the new Anglo Americans. An individual, J. Ross Brown commented in a local newspaper that "the inhabitants of Los Angeles are a moral and intelligent people, and many of them disapprove of the custom (of auctioning off prisoners and payment in alcohol) on principle, and hope that it will be abolished as soon as the Indians are all killed off".
When the gold rush faded into the silt, many Anglo immigrants were looking for work, but most would not build the railroads for 30 dollars a month. A vast number of Chinese came to fill the labor void, and were soon the subject of complaints, beatings and quarantines. When an epidemic broke out, whole communities were burned to the ground by city authorities. La raza, an ethnic group now known as Chicano or Hispanic, shared a similar fate. But when white families fell victim, their houses were simply evacuated.
Brutality and cruelty did not end there, however. Race, gender, religion and class ideals of Victorian origin have left their mark on California, and Los Angeles especially. A racist, anti - union reputation from the outset was clear, as a contrast to San Francisco, which was more union friendly at the time. When one minority group reached their limits of oppression, another was lured here by fanciful tales of climate, health and wealth - a tradition that continues today.
As the price of rail tickets declined, more people with less money began to venture to Los Angeles, prompting one of many housing market booms. At the turn of the century, as economic depression and labor disputes filled the air, socialism was at point of high popularity. In 1910 there were strikes for trolley car operators, brewers, butchers and high-rise iron workers. Job Harriman ran for US Vice President with the Socialist Party, and for mayor of Los Angeles twice. Though he was never elected to office, he made a strong impression as a lawyer in early Los Angeles. Representing people like Upton Sinclair for speech violations (Harrison Gray Otis had managed to ban free speech in Los Angeles). In a scandalous affair, the union organizing McNamara brothers, were arrested in the bombing of the Los Angeles Times building. They were represented by Harriman, and when the brothers reversed their plea to guilty, days before the election, Harriman dropped in the polls.
Dry Socialism
After his failure in the 1913 Los Angeles mayoral candidacy, Harriman bought land to the north east of Los Angeles near Palmdale and began to develop a socialist colony in the desert. A hotel, sawmill, lime kiln, farm, dairy, cannery, bakery, printing plant, offices, houses and a school were all built in the first year. The colony grew incredibly fast and was not able to provide enough water or secure any from neighbors. The Llano Del Rio Colony moved to Louisana where it thrived with the help of agriculturist George Washington Carver.
More successive waves of immigration came again in the 1930's to escape the dust bowl of the mid-west and economic depression. They arrived to find that financial crisis had not missed Los Angeles. Soup kitchens and tent cities proliferated. Anti-immigrant propaganda circulated as African Americans, Chinese and Japanese became more numerous. All Japanese were put in desert interment camps during World War II for unfounded fears of spies and attacks.
Land of Landless
Skid Row became a permanent homeless fixture downtown that still exists today, growing more rapidly than ever before in the past 25 years. Recently the city attorney has filed civil suits against hospitals that drop off transient patients illegally in the skid row area. The Los Angeles Chapter of the ACLU has filed suit against the city for a law banning sleeping on city sidewalks of the largest homeless population of any city in the United States. Well over 100,000 people are chronically without shelter and basic needs. There are less than 10,000 beds available in shelters during the winter, when the most homeless services are available. Skid Row sits adjacent to one of the most powerful financial corridors in the world, and an area that is being rapidly redeveloped for upscale urban lofts and offices. The LAPD conducts frequent sweeps, arresting hundreds of people at a time without filing any paperwork. The county jails are more than double capacity and felons often serve less than 1/3 of their time. Recent publicity of heiress Paris Hilton has brought light to this subject when she was released after serving less than 10% of her jail time assigned by a judge.
Heated Rebellion
February 2007 marks the 40th anniversary of the Watts Uprising in Los Angeles. Today, many of the same economic inequalities persist for African American and Latino residents of both South and East Los Angeles. The Watts uprising began a more militant era of the civil rights movement as African-Americans took to the streets in a mass protest and rebellion against white economic exploitation and police brutality.
Branching and Pruning
In the 1970's and 1980's, as America was experiencing production peaks in crude oil, many Central and South American refugees fled civil war and violence to Southern California seeking careers to support their families back home. Tijuana, San Diego, Los Angeles and the Central Valley have become the hub for undocumented laborers both in California agriculture and other large, related industries across the nation. Grapes, avocados, oranges and strawberries each constitute billions of dollars worth of the California agriculture industry. Strawberries are the second largest cash crop for the state, just after marijuana. Few, if any of these crops would be available or considered affordable without large numbers of undocumented migrant workers receiving less than minimum wage. (see Reefer Madness by Eric Schlosser). In a Los Angeles city council district, more than 2/3 of the adults are
not citizens, consequently, less than 2% of that district voted in a
recent election (see Magical Urbanism by Mike Davis).
As the American economy shifts from a manufacturing to service based economy, the workforce still acknowledges one aspect that remains the same in Los Angeles, and elsewhere, is a fervent anti-union climate. One that is hostile to any type of direct representation of people's voices, be it elected leaders, unions, community organizations or advocates. The robust history of protest for workers rights testifies to systemic injustice, abuse and neglect of employees. The city has been shutdown on numerous occasions by walkouts, strikes and other union actions from grocery workers to teachers and bus drivers, including many governmental unions. Union groups have been fighting for living wages since before the turn of the century.
Bitter Seeds
As prisons in California began crude privatization and desgregation, new gangs began to form. Among them, the Aryan Brotherhood (AB), Public Enemy No. 1 (PEN1 or PENI) and The Nazi Low Riders (NLR) are among the most well known and hateful, with ideology built on white supremacy through violence and thousands of members. More than prison yard or street gangs, they control drug rings, murders, robberies, identity theft, extortion and forgeries in and out of prison. They attempt to position themselves (and their loved ones) in government organizations and positions of power. They have strongholds in the blue collar suburbs of Orange, San Bernadino and Riverside Counties, all of which surround Los Angeles County. Although they value murderers, they rejected Charles Manson because he murdered a pregnant woman.
- INFRASTRUCTURE OF ECONOMY -
Eternal Enterprise
The native tribes of the area had used tar or "pitch" as a sealant for their prized baskets and canoes that were of value in pre-columbian times. It is know to surface in several areas, mainly The La Brea (meaning tar in spanish) tar pits. There, skeletons have been preserved for thousands of years, giving a unique perspective into the spectrum of life that had been present in one location. In 1880, the first commercial oil well began operation, and until the 1930's Los Angeles produced 1/4 of the world's oil supply. In 2001 the state of California began to import more oil than they produced, shifting an era in California's history of exploitation from local to global. Many petroleum operations remain however, such as off coast drilling, refineries, and derricks.
Transportation corridors used today in California and it's cities were routes used by native americans, and adopted by the spanish as the mission roads. As the combustion engine emerged over animal power, the dirt paths were laid in concrete and molded into the megalithic interstate highways that still rely on ancient observation and knowledge of geography. Spanish place-names like La Cienega (the swamp) and La Brea (the tar) still adorn busy street names.
In the 1870's the transcontinental railroad was completed with the labor of thousands of Chinese immigrants working for 31 dollars per month, minus food supplies. Waves of midwestern settlers flocked to Southern California, mostly from articles in the Los Angeles Times, which was more or less a advertisement for real estate speculators owned by Harrison Gray Otis, a retired Army General. When the train rates from Kansas and Oklahoma to Los Angeles fell to one dollar, thousands poured into downtown Los Angeles, creating an economic boom, and never-ending housing, water, employment and transportation crisis and shortage.
Water and Power
A street car system was developed in 1900 and soon became the largest and most advanced system in the world at the time. Reaching up into the mountains, down to the valleys and out to the sea, faster than most car trips across the same distance today. Billions have been invested into congested megalithic freeway systems. It operated smoothly for almost 50 years until it was bought and dismantled by Goodyear, General Motors and Union Oil among others. These companies were convicted of conspiracy to dismantle street car systems in 45 cities across the US and were required to pay a nominal fine.
After securing 200 acres of property and many water surveys in Owens Valley, more than 200 miles north of Los Angeles, LA Times owner and member of the San Fernando Syndicate, Harrison Gray Otis began publishing articles about water shortages while quietly draining reservoirs into the city sewers and buying up land near the outlet of the 233-mile Los Angeles (aka California) Aqueduct, taking water from the Owens River in Central California. The project requiring over 2000 workers and 164 tunnels. In the 1940's, the aqueduct system taped the water of Mono Basin and The Colorado River. The story has been fictionalized in the Academy Award Winning film "Chinatown". Massive building projects are not cheap, and have costs far beyond materials and labor. The damages that has been done to The Colorado River, Mono Lake and the Owens Valley ecosystems are still costing Los Angeles taxpayers huge amounts of money in litigation fees, and the largest cost is repairing ecologies we have devastated, hundreds of miles away.
Around the same time, the Army Corps of Engineers, who have jurisdiction of all navigable rivers in America, (and there has never been a vessel larger than a canoe on this river) lined the banks in slick concrete with a straightened trough down the middle to quickly remove winter floods from urbanized areas into the ocean. There are now over 400 miles of concrete channels. Most of the time, there is very little water flowing and sewage is discharged by treatment plants and the heavily industrialized corridor that follows the river through downtown.
End of Education
Since the time of the mission period (1770 - 1850) Both the Spanish, Mexican and American authorities used European models of education and discipline to control native populations. The University of Southern California was the first Institute of higher education in the west, located in a mustard field close to what is now downtown Los Angeles in 1880. The second president, (and first head of the board of directors) Joseph Widney published a book in 1907, "Race, Life and the Aryan Peoples". In this book Widney stated "Los Angeles ... would become the world capital of white domination in the pacific" In 1935, he wrote "The Three Americas", reasserting his previous predictions of Aryan ascendancy." USC is still the largest private employer in the city of LA.
The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is the second largest school district in the country. The subject of numerous scandals, currently involving a bitter power struggle between the mayor and the school board. It is the largest employer besides the city of Los Angeles itself, and one of the largest property owners. Several schools have been closed down due to contamination from former industrial use.
Education in Los Angeles has been in decline since at least the 1960's, when people all over the country envied the California education system. Los Angeles has historically marginalized schools in areas with high Chicano, Asian and African American populations. In 1968 Chicano students organized mass walkouts. Robert Kennedy Jr. met with the student organizers (and César Chávez of the farm workers branch of the Chicano movement) while on a campaign for President.
The Belmont High project is the most expensive public school ever built in America. Already more than 500 million dollars have been spent, and the cost is projected to exceed a billion dollars. It is well known that the property was the former belmont oil field, built atop methane gasses, carbon sulfates and earthquake fault lines. The construction project, started almost 10 years ago sat vacant for almost a decade after it was put on hold. Another project has torn down the historic Ambassador Hotel and Coconut Grove, a famous early film star watering hole, and the site of Robert Kennedy Jr. assassination.
Gentrification Enforcement
The budget for Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is more than 20 times the budget of LAUSD. A disneyland version of LAPD history is available on the official police web site, but depiction of corruption and minority repression is visible only from the oral and visual history rendered by the community on street corners and concrete walls, like tattoos that mark a body. From the Zoot Suit Riots to Bloody Christmas, Rodney King to Rampart, the department is no stranger to shame. In the 1980's heavy investment was made into high tech helicopters, swat teams and patrol units. In response to gangs and crime in low income neighborhoods, the CRASH (Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums) was formed. It was heavily publicized in the Rampart Scandal when one officer (Raphael Perez) was caught stealing one million dollars worth of cocaine from a police locker and admitted in court that the unit had routinely framed and shot suspected gang members. The unit still patrols neighborhoods in South Central, Koreatown, MacArthur Park and other low income neighborhoods near downtown Los Angeles. See Rampart.
In April of 1992, four white officers caught on videotape beating a black man were acquitted. Over the next few hours, people took to the streets in protest of injustice. However, the verdict of one trial was not the only reason for citizens to rebel. Ethnic tension had been increasing for decades as industrial jobs disappeared and newcomers to the area fought for scarce resources. Recently a Korean liquor store owner had shot a black honor student in the back of her head after a dispute over a can of orange juice. While the police use terminology like "riot" to instill a sense of violent chaos, fear and panic, most sociologists would call such a massive unrest an uprising or rebellion. Never before in American history have so many people participated in such a monumental act. In statistical evidence, there was more damage to the city than in Newark, NJ, Detroit, MI in 1967, Watts, CA in 1965 and Washinton DC in 1968 uprisings combined, totaling more than 1 billion dollars in damage. Over 500 fires burned with a few days. The heat was picked up as a possible volcano by NASA space probes and data was sent to labs for analysis.
Macro Economoron
But the Los Angeles Police Department are not the only prowlers in town; developers, banks and business leaders exploit weaker economic regions, disrupting community continuity at every turn. The myth of affordable housing appears more a mirage everyday as the "market forces" or "invisible hand" converts remaining affordable housing into luxury condominiums. In some parts of "South Los Angeles" (as it has been renamed from South Central after the 1992 rebellion) almost 90% of the businesses are either liquor stores or automotive shops.
California is the 6th largest economy in the world, and Los Angeles is the 12th largest, mainly due to exploitation of human labor and natural resources in California, and increasingly, globally. The largest industry sectors today include imports from Asia into the Port of Los Angeles, financing, entertainment, aerospace, science and technology, fashion and apparel, petroleum and tourism. Los Angeles is also the largest manufacturing center in the United States, and shadowing other cities, factories are being quietly shut down as labor is exported and outsourced to more vulnerable populations and markets worldwide. Agriculture has almost disappeared from Los Angeles, which was the largest agricultural producing county in the United States from 1900 - 1950. Today the only agricultural operations are turf farms. Except for community gardens, which are multiplying rapidly.
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watch the slide show of the great wall of los angeles
other videos from the people of los angeles . . .
panoramas of los angeles 1890 - 1990
in the footprint of the city 1913 - 1990
st francis dam collapse 1928
driving on street car tracks 1950
watts rebellion of 1965
lincoln place evictions 2005
great wall of los angeles class of 2007
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internet of interest
Los Angeles; a history of the future
tongva burial at playa vista development
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
• Widney, Joseph Pomeroy.. Life and its problems, as viewed by a blind man at the age of ninety-six, by Joseph Widney; edited by T. Cameron Taylor. Hollywood, Calif., Joseph P. Widney Publications [1941?]
• Widney, Joseph Pomeroy, 1841-1938. Race Life of the Aryan Peoples, by Joseph Widney. New York, Funk & Wagnells [1907].
• Widney, Joseph Pomeroy, 1841-1938. The Three Americas: Their Racial Past and the Dominant Racial Factors of their Future, by Joseph Widney. Los Angeles, Pacific Pub. Co. [1935]
• Widney, Joseph Pomeroy, 1841-1938. Civilizations and their diseases and Rebuilding a wrecked world civilization, by Joseph Widney. Los Angeles, Pacific Pub. Co. [1937] 2 v. in 1. front. (port.) pl. 24 cm.
• City of Quartz; Excavating the future of los Angeles, by Mike Davis Publisher: Pimlico; New Ed edition (June 4, 1998) ISBN-10: 0712666230
Ecology of Fear: Los Angeles and the Imagination of Disaster by Mike Davis Publisher: Vintage; Vintage edition (Sep 7 1999) ISBN-10: 0375706070
• Ancient LA by Mike Rochlin Publisher: Unreinforced Masonry Studio (May 1999) ISBN-10: 0964830418 ISBN-13: 978-0964830417
• Bread & Hyacinths: The Rise and Fall of Utopian Los Angeles by Paul Greenstein Publisher: California Classics Books (June 1992) ISBN-10: 1879395215
• The First Angelinos by William McCawley Publisher: Ballena Pr (April 1996) ISBN-10: 0965101606
The Other Californians by
Prejudice and Discrimination under Spain, Mexico, and the United States to 1920
Cadillac Desert The American West and its Disappearing Water,Marc Reisner, 1986, Penguin (ISBN 0-14-017824-4) by
(also see UCLA student michael tank's documentary here )
The Los Angeles River: Its Life, Death, and Possible Rebirth
by MR Blake Gumprecht - 2001
Morrison, Patt; photographs by Mark Lamonica. rio LA: Tales from the Los Angeles
River. Santa Monica, Calif.: Angel City Press
Los Angeles: Capital of the Third World by David Rieff, 1991, Simon and Schuster
