Ballona Creek Channel – Los Angeles CA

Description

The US Army Corps of Engineers played an instrumental role in developing this important Los Angeles urban waterway.  Much of the creek was “channelized”, i.e.,  lined with concrete, as part of a massive flood-control project undertaken by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Los Angeles County Flood Control District following the great Los Angeles flood of 1938.

Ballona Creek is short river in southwestern Los Angeles County that drains an area exending from the Santa Monica Mountains on the north, the Harbor Freeway (I-110) on the east, and the Baldwin Hills on the south. It flows through Culver City and the Del Rey district before emptying into Santa Monica Bay between Marina del Rey and the Playa del Rey district.

In fact, portions of the channel were being worked on before the 1938 flood. The Vista del Mar to La Salle Ave section was started in 1935 and completed in 1936. The Washington Blvd. to Redondo Blvd. section was started in 1936 and completed in 1937.  The sections from the Pacific Ocean to Vista del Mar and from La Salle Ave. to Washington Blvd. were started in 1938 and completed in 1939.  

This was done during the era of “channelization” as a means of flood control, which is no longer considered wise as flood control and is devastating to riverine ecologies.

A number of bridges that cross over the channel were also New Deal projects including La Cienega Boulevard (1937) Washington Boulevard (1938) Higuera Street (1938) Duquesne Avenue 1938) Overland Avenue (1938) Inglewood Boulevard (1937) Lincoln Boulevard/State Route 1 (1937) Culver Boulevard (1937)

All the bridges have similar steel stringer designs with ornate metal guard rails, except for the Culver Blvd and Lincoln Blvd bridges, which have concrete guard rails.