William mulholland house
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| William Mulholland (1855 - 1935) |
The Man Who Built the First Los Angeles Aqueduct*
Water is the life-blood of every community. The man who did more than any other to furnish that vital element to Los Angeles is William Mulholland, who for many years was chief engineer and general manager of the city-owned Bureau of Water Works and Supply (now the Water System of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power). He died in 1935 but his work lives on. Every time a faucet is turned the water it releases is a reminder of the man whose life was devoted to public service.
Los Angeles is no longer a one-horse town but it is a one-river town - or, at least, it used to be. That river is the Los Angeles River. Spanish explorers discovered it in 1769 and with prophetic vision said that the area surrounding it "has all the requisites for a large settlement." Their prediction was made seven years before the Declaration of Independence was signed. They were right. Founded in 1781, Los Angeles grew from a humble pueblo founded into the second largest city in t
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From the Archives: William Mulholland of Aqueduct Fame Dies
Quietly as he slept, William Mulholland, veteran engineer and renowned the world over as the builder of the Owens River Aqueduct, died yesterday at his home, 226 South St. Andrews Place.
A son and a daughter were at his bedside when he died. He was critically ill for months, having suffered a stroke last December, at which time his death had been expected momentarily. His remarkable vitality and strength that sustained him through many a hard battle and years of heavy work, carried him on. Had he lived until September 11, he would have been 80 years of age.
Funeral Planned
Under tentative plans, funeral services will be conducted tomorrow at 2 p.m. at the Little Church of the Flowers, interment being at Forest Lawn Memorial Park. Arrangements are being made to have the body lie in state in the rotunda of the City Hall tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
News of this death brought tributes from public officials and men and women in all walks of life who had known him. Flags on public buildings were flown at half-mast as
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William Mulholland
Engineer and builder of the Los Angeles Aqueduct (1855–1935)
William Mulholland (September 11, 1855 – July 22, 1935) was an Irish American self-taught civil engineer who was responsible for building the infrastructure to provide a water supply that allowed Los Angeles to grow into the largest city in California. As the head of a predecessor to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Mulholland designed and supervised the building of the Los Angeles Aqueduct, a 233-mile-long (375 km) system to move water from Owens Valley to the San Fernando Valley. The creation and operation of the aqueduct led to the disputes known as the California Water Wars. In March 1928, Mulholland's career came to an end when the St. Francis Dam failed just over 12 hours after his assistant and he gave it a safety inspection.
Early life
William Mulholland was born in Belfast, Ireland, part of the United Kingdom.[1] His parents Hugh and Ellen Mulholland were Dubliners and they returned to the city a few years after William's birth. His younger brother
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