Pio Pico State Historic Park sits on land that has an intimate connection with water. From nearby mountains, water delivers minerals and nutrients down to the coastal plain of Los Angeles County. Water has helped the region flourish, but it has also devastated the area with perpetual flooding. The floods of 1867 and 1884, in particular, destroyed large portions of Pio Pico’s adobe mansion. Over time, Pio Pico State Historic Park has witnessed a transformation in the landscape as a result of community efforts to control and contain water. This interpretive plan invites you to learn about the region’s long history of flooding and how communities have responded and endured.
Communities of and surrounding Pio Pico State Historic Park coped with floods in a variety of ways. An exploration in these responses offers a better understanding of how floods contributed to the region’s identity. This interpretive plan strives to highlight the frequency of these floods and pauses to consider the complex decisions people made to find solutions for flooding. Ultimately, flood control projects disrupted communities. Support and opposition for flood control projects reveal the conflicting needs of different communities. The investigation of the process that advocated for some community needs over others encourages more extensive conversations that include inequity and racial discrimination.
“Los Angeles New Year’s Flood” by Woody Guthrie
This interpretive plan aims to accomplish learning, behavioral, and emotional objectives. After visiting the museum, visitors will have the ability to identify flood control measures that have changed the landscape of Los Angeles County and recognize how these structures have become a distinct feature in regional identities. Additionally, the interpretive plan attempts to reinforce a better understanding and development of empathy for community members who have endured loss and displacement from flood control projects.
In the Pio Pico Adobe House Museum, visitors will be able to use an application on a tablet that includes photos, documents, and videos about floods, flood control projects, and community involvement in flood control efforts. Visitors can also listen to recordings of oral histories ranging from flood survivors to flood control experts. The most interactive feature is a collection of narratives that resemble situations communities faced when finding solutions for flood control. Visitors will have the opportunity to make choices throughout a story that will influence the outcome. In the end, visitors can view and compare their decisions with ones made by other visitors. A simple modification of this app can accommodate large groups. Guides can project the app onto a screen and provide clickers for visitors to record the choices they make. Headsets will also be made available for audio narration, and various languages will be made available.
Example of an
Interactive Story
Story: Tragedy has struck again. The flood of 1938 has caused approximately $80 million of damage and 35 people have died. The city of Long Beach has suffered the most. You are relieved to hear that your extended family who live in Long Beach have survived, but your grandparents have lost their home. Now there is talk of constructing a dam in your city of El Monte! The proposal insists that the Whittier Narrows Dam will prevent future floods which will save lives and loss of property. The proposal also threatens to forcibly remove thousands of homes in El Monte including your own! What will choose to do?
Choices: Support the construction of the Whittier Narrows Dam Or Oppose the construction of the Whittier Narrows Dam
Visitor Selection: Oppose the construction of the Whittier Narrows Dam
Story continued: You have chosen to oppose the project. You join a citizens group and attend meetings to discuss possible alternatives to the construction of the dam. During one of the meetings, you learn about three retired engineers that have come up with an alternative plan of flood control and have criticized the construction plans of the Whittier Narrows Dam. You also learn that Congressman Voorhis represents your district and may be helpful. Your citizens group wants to focus on one collaborative effort. What will you choose to do?
Choices: Support the retired engineers' fight Or Seek the support of Congressman Voorhis
Photo Credits
1. Elkind, Sarah S. “Flood Control and Political Exclusion at Whittier Narrows, 1938-1948.” In How Local Politics Shape Federal Policy : Business, Power, and the Environment in Twentieth-Century Los Angeles, 89. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2011. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/fullerton/reader.action?docID=797772&query=.
2. Elkind, Sarah S. “Flood Control and Political Exclusion at Whittier Narrows, 1938-1948.” In How Local Politics Shape Federal Policy : Business, Power, and the Environment in Twentieth-Century Los Angeles, 95. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2011. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/fullerton/reader.action?docID=797772&query=.
3. USC Digital Library. “Whittier Narrows (dam), 1953.” Los Angeles Examiner Photographs Collection, 1920-1961. July 20, 1953. http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/ref/collection/p15799coll44/id/54391.
4. Guthrie, Woody. “Los Angeles New Year’s Flood,” Library of Congress Recordings. Rounder Records, 1989. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ilByYpsLI&t=37s.
5. USC Digital Library.”Whittier Narrows dam project (copy), 1957.” Los Angeles Examiner Photographs Collection, 1920-1961. October 9, 1957. http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/ref/collection/p15799coll44/id/62154.
6. Van Wormer, Stephen R. “A History of Flood Control in the Los Angeles County Drainage Area.” Southern California Quarterly 73, no. 1 (1991): pp. 85. https://www-jstor-org.lib-proxy.fullerton.edu/stable/41171560?sid=primo&origin=crossref&seq=8#metadata_info_tab_contents.
7. Pearson, Donald Edward. The Whittier Narrows Dam. Alabama: University of Alabama Press, 1953. Hathi Trust Digital Library. https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.l0076774322.
8. Water and Power Associates. "Los Angeles River- The Unpredictable!" Accessed May 10, 2021. https://waterandpower.org/museum/Los_Angeles_River_The_Unpredictable!.html.
9. “Protest Flood Dam.” La Habra Star, February 23, 1940. https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=LHS19400223.2.69&srpos=8&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-Whittier+Narrows+Dam-------1.