CaliforniaGreat Expectations

By: Kyle Kaliher

Great Expectations

California’s infrastructure was established 90 years after becoming a state. It required a state wide water system for it to be inhabitable and productive. California established legal and political framework for irrigation districts, this later would turn southern California into an agricultural empire. President Roosevelt promised the South Pacific compensation for railroad companies after they saved Southern California from being flooded, however Congress did not agree with Roosevelt and refused to pay. There was a rising population in Los Angeles and the Bay area, which meant California needed more water and quickly.

Great Expectations

Each city in Southern California established their own administrative board to create a water plan for themselves. It took four to six years to construct the Los Angeles water system but all of the systems in southern California caused a lot of damage to the environment. They needed to re-think the water plan. One such plan was the Nolen plan which was created by the most notable architects of the generation. The monumental Hoover Dam was constructed between 1930 and 1935. And lastly, the Golden Gate Bridge was built in San Francisco between 1933 and 1937.