- City:
- Los Angeles, CA
- Site Type:
- Flood and Erosion Control, Infrastructure and Utilities, Roads, Bridges, and Tunnels
- New Deal Agencies:
- Federal & Military Operations, Army Corps of Engineers
- Started:
- 1935
- Completed:
- 1939
- Designer:
- Army Corps of Engineers and the Los Angeles County Flood Control District
- Quality of Information:
- Very Good
- Marked:
- No
- Site Survival:
- Extant
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.
Source notes
Operation and Maintenance Manual LA District Corps of Engineers
Site originally submitted by Andrew Laverdiere on October 18, 2016.
Additional contributions by Richard Walker.
At this Location:
- Ballona Creek Channel: La Cienega Blvd. Bridge - Los Angeles CA
- Ballona Creek Channel: Culver Blvd. Bridge - Los Angeles CA
- Ballona Creek Channel: Duquesne Ave. Bridge - Los Angeles CA
- Ballona Creek Channel: Higuera St. Bridge - Los Angeles CA
- Ballona Creek Channel: Lincoln Blvd. Bridge - Los Angeles CA
- Ballona Creek Channel: Overland Ave. Bridge - Los Angeles CA
- Ballona Creek Channel: Washington Blvd. Bridge - Los Angeles CA
View all sites at Ballona Creek Channel - Los Angeles CA (8 Sites)
Contribute to this Site
We welcome contributions of additional information on any New Deal site.
Submit More Information or Photographs for this New Deal Site
Join the Conversation