William Mulholland and the Rise of Los Angeles

by Catherine Mulholland

William Mulholland presided over the creation of a water system that forever changed the course of southern California's history. Mulholland, a self-taught engineer, was the chief architect of the Owens Valley Aqueduct—a project ranking in magnitude and daring with the Panama Canal—that brought water to semi-arid Los Angeles from the lush Owens Valley. The story of Los Angeles's quest for water is both famous and it has been the subject of the classic yet historically distorted movie Chinatown, as well as many other accounts. This first full-length biography of Mulholland challenges many of the prevailing versions of his life story and sheds new light on the history of Los Angeles and its relationship with its most prized water. Catherine Mulholland, the engineer's granddaughter, provides insights into this story that family familiarity affords, and adds to our historical understanding with extensive primary research in sources such as Mulholland's recently uncovered office files, newspapers, and Department of Water and Power archives. She scrutinizes Mulholland's life—from his childhood in Ireland to his triumphant completion of the Owens Valley Aqueduct to the tragedy that ended his career. This vivid portrait of a rich chapter in the history of Los Angeles is enhanced with a generous selection of previously unpublished photographs. Los Angeles Times Best Nonfiction Book of 2000

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History, American History, Biography Memoir

434 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 23, 2000

Reviews

[Sidney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really really enjoyed this well-researched book on Mulholland and the Los Angeles Aqueduct. I could go on and on (I keep typing and deleting) about every part that interested me but best to read it yourself.

[Vince · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best and more balanced biographies of the man who, more than any other, enabled the city of Los Angeles to thrive and grow into the metropolis that it is today. One might expect that a book authored by William Mulholland's granddaughter would paint a glorifying portrait of the self-taught engineer and hydrologist who developed a modern water system in the late 1800s for a town of 9,000 citizens and went on to design and build one of the greatest engineering marvels in world history. To my surprise I found this meticulously researched and fluidly written tome to be pretty even handed in its depiction of Mulholland. The California water wars have been ripe subject matter for conspiracy theorists from the inception of the Owens Valley aqueduct to the St. Francis Dam disaster and beyond. The reality, while not as salacious, still reveals some of double dealing schemes by local power brokers and land owners to enrich themselves at the expense the city and of small farmers and ranchers. How much is still left unsaid is hard to say but there are no shortage of heroes and villains filling these pages. I do think the author filled too few pages covering Mulholland's singular great failure, the St. Francis Dam disaster and resulting death of four hundred souls. Although Mulholland took full responsibility for the dam's collapse there is little said about it from a design, engineering, and administrative standpoint. I suggest supplementing this bio with "Floodpath" by Jon Wilkman, a terrific account of the disaster and its aftermath. Whether you reside in Southern California or are simply interested in its history you'll enjoy the journey through the life of William Mulholland.

[Tony Gleeson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being a longtime Los Angeleno I figured it was time to acquaint myself with the life of the man who brought the water here and, as much as any one individual, made this city possible. I deliberately chose the biography by his granddaughter, who claims to set straight a variety of "bad raps" suffered by Mulholland in his previous bios. There are many tales of dark conspiracy around the growth of L.A. and like most conspiracy theories, they are based in truth but are overly simplistic and sometimes just plain wrong (e.g. the public transit system was not simply bought up by cynical automobile magnates and trashed). The "Chinatown" paradigm of southern California's water acquisition might also hold some water (pun intended) but Mulholland's story as told here is much more complex and fascinating. Ms. Mulholland might gloss over some of the hanky-panky but she readily acknowledges many of the self-interested industry barons of the day who schemed for land and water, many of them allied with WIlliam and many arrayed against him. He emerges in this portrait as a strong-willed and principled man, a convinced free-enterpreneur but equally dedicated to a vision of an empowered benevolent municipal government rather than that of capitalism run rampant. His granddaughter obviously has a horse in this race but she remains reasonably even-handed and objective. The book makes the California of another age and its innumerable personalities come alive.

[Rick Kamlet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being as I live in the area where the St Francis Dam disaster occurred, I decided to read it. For anyone who wonders how this disaster could have happened, this book tells the full story about Mulholland's life, his successes, and this major failure. It tells about the politics around water at the time of the dam. Of course, LA needed water. They didn't want anything to stand in the way, so based on Mulholland's earlier successes, they set it up so that Mulholland did the design AND he was the only one who could double-checked and certify his own design. Nobody else was allowed to review it or question it (ie, delay the project). Being self-taught, it turns out that Mulholland wasn't up on the most recent dam engineering. There wasn't any drainage for leakage under the dam. It was built on a seam between two different kinds of rock, one of which was mica. When the powers that be wanted the reservoir to hold more water, Mullholland simply added height to the dam without widening the base. This book is a somewhat technical read, but it's a well-written biography of Mullholand by his granddaughter, showing both the good and bad side. It's a part of our history.

[Ryan Hyatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoroughly researched compilation of William Mulholland’s career and the ins and outs, ups and downs, planning, politicking, and astounding engineering related to Los Angeles water development. Important reading for any L.A. history buff.

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most comprehensive biography that will be in the mainstream? Probably. The most definitive story? Not exactly. Nonetheless, the breadth and scope covered in this corner of California water history is impressive.

[Iniville · Rating 5 out of 5]

The real story behind Los Angeles Water and Power.

[Eric_W]

Got interested in the career of Mulholland after reading about the St. Francis Dam collapse. (http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...)

[Cathy Cann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very heavy, more academic reading. Slosgged my way through it feeling like I was working on a thesis. Also pretty one sided portrait of W.M., written by his grand-daughter after all.

[Carlye.peterson]

this book has been on my "to-read" shelf for 3 years :/

[Jeff · Rating 2 out of 5]

"While Mulholland laid pipe during the summer of 1880, Fred Eaton went off..."