Old Mulholland & Van Norman

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4. CHORUS (Continued) CHORUS MEMBER #1 MULHOLLAND A CITY ENGINEER MULHOLLAND MULHOLLAND CHORUS MEMBER #3 MULHOLLAND A MAN WHO KNEW NO FEAR CHORUS MEMBER #2 HE MADE LOS ANGELES GROW CHORUS MEMBERS #1-#4 WHAT WOULD BECOME OF IT HE'D NEVER KNOW CHORUS CHORUS MEMBER #4 MULHOLLAND BUT AS TIME ELAPSED MULHOLLAND MULHOLLAND CHORUS MEMBERS MULHOLLAND #1,3,4 ST. FRANCIS DAM COLLAPSED CHORUS MEMBER #2 TO HIS EVERLASTING SHAME ALL CHORUS MULHOLLAND WAS HIS NAME. GOD REST YE MERRY GENTLEMEN (Song ends) Scene 2 Christmas Eve at the Owens Valley branch of the DWP, 1928. Water Baron, WILLIAM MULHOLLAND, now in his 70s, is sitting at his desk going over some calculations. His assistant, HARVEY VAN NORMAN, approaches. MULHOLLAND (to himself) At 11.4 billion gallons, the St. Francis Dam should provide the water capacity we need to insure that Los Angeles will continue to grow indefinitely. Heh heh heh. VAN NORMAN Mr. Mulholland, sir? MULHOLLAND What is it? 5. VAN NORMAN I've been employed with the DWP for a number of years, sir, and I have a question to ask which I wouldn't consider asking if it weren't for the season. MULHOLLAND Out with it, man. What do you want? VAN NORMAN Might it be possible to perhaps release some of the water out of the Alabama Gates to allow the local farmers to water their crops for Christmas? MULHOLLAND That is positively out of the question. VAN NORMAN But sir, it's Christmas! MULHOLLAND Bah! Bullshit! VAN NORMAN Christmas a bullshit, sir? You don't mean that, I'm sure! MULHOLLAND Mr. Van Norman, you may be a resident of the Owens Valley, but for the time being, until I see fit to release you from your duties, you are an employee of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. As such, I expect you to do everything in your power to ensure that every drop of the Owens River is diverted to Los Angeles. I expect the St. Francis Dam to be filled to capacity in three months. (music begins to vamp) Once the reservoir is filled, I shall close this office to return to Los Angeles. You may then return to the riffraff with whom you choose to identify yourself. VAN NORMAN But sir, surely you don't want to take all of the water from the Owens Valley. MULHOLLAND ("Mulholland's Theme") I COME FROM DUBLIN MOTHER DIED WHEN I WAS EIGHT LEFT HOME WHEN I WAS FOURTEEN JOINED THE NAVY, MOVING FREIGHT I ARRIVED IN L.A. AT THE AGE OF TWENTY-ONE.

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LACEA Alive Feb05 7.Qxd
01-48_Alive_April_v6.qxd 3/29/11 4:06 PM Page 34 34 April 2011 City Employees Club of Los Angeles, Alive! lassic Comes C by Hynda Rudd, from June 2005 Tales From the City Archives City Archivist (Retired), Alive! and Club Member Was Fred Eaton the ‘Real’ Father of LA’s Aqueduct? I Who was more responsible for the L.A. Aqueduct, Fred Eaton or William Mulholland? designs can still be seen today. Photos are from the Security Pacific Collection, Fred Eaton persisted through Los Angeles Public Library Photo Archive, his entire life to be dedicated to courtesy Carolyn Cole, Director the City, as well as contributing to the development of this future hile writing last month’s issue on the megalopolis. In 1885, he was Wpast Mayors of Los Angeles, I kept appointed City Surveyor and finding more and more interesting informa- Engineer, where he was partially tion about Mayor Frederick S. Eaton. It responsible for mapping and estab- became obvious that this man impacted Los lishing City property. This was a Angeles in so many ways, that he deserved one-year term; eventually the term an article for himself. So here is Mr. Eaton’s City Surveyor was abolished. story. During the years 1889-90 he was Fred Eaton was born in Los Angeles in appointed City Engineer. During September 1855. He was the sixth American this active period, Eaton designed child born in the City. His father was Judge a sewer system, the precursor and Benjamin S. Eaton, who migrated with his core of today’s contemporary sys- wife, Helena Hayes Eaton, in 1849 from tem.
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