Sobs, tears mark victims' reaction to ruined homes
Alternative Title
Valley Times Photo Collection
Contributor
This project was supported in whole or in part by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian Made accessible through a grant from the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation and Photo Friends
On December 14, 1963, the dam collapsed, spilling 300 million gallons of water into the hillsides that swept away houses and cars and left three dead. Most of Baldwin Village, including the historic Village Green community, was flooded as well. The crack in the dam was ultimately attributed to subsidence caused by overexploitation of the Inglewood oil field. The disaster caused the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power to phase out small local reservoirs, opting instead to store water in groundwater basins and behind the Hansen Dam in Lake View Terrace. Photograph caption dated December 16, 1963 reads, "Assembly point for stricken residents - Residents of the flood-ravaged Baldwin Hills area assembled at command post mobile van at La Brea Avenue and Jefferson Street to ask questions and secure passes from police to enter the neighborhoods. Persons without passes were restricted from the area to prevent looting, police said."; See images #00117255 through #00117263 for all photos in this series.
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;21 x 26 cm. Photographic prints
Dam failures--California--Baldwin Hills (Los Angeles) Floods--California--Baldwin Hills (Los Angeles) Dams--California--Baldwin Hills (Los Angeles) Disasters--California--Baldwin Hills (Los Angeles) Police--California--Los Angeles Crowds--California--Los Angeles Women--California--Los Angeles Men--California--Los Angeles Baldwin Hills (Los Angeles, Calif.) Baldwin Hills Reservoir (Calif.) Baldwin Hills Dam (Calif.) Night photographs Valley Times Collection photographs
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