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 at approximately at 3:38 p.m the Baldwin Hills 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 and more than 50 homes were destroyed in the canyon below. 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. Pictured here, a woman appears to be taking down information from two unidentified men sitting in what appears to be at the Dorsey High School evacuation center. Both men have taken their shoes off and have rolled up their pants, showing dried mud up to their ankles. A third man sits in front of them. Photograph dated December 16, 1963.
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;26 x 21 cm. Photographic prints
Dorsey High School (Los Angeles, Calif.) 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) Women--California--Los Angeles Men--California--Los Angeles Disaster relief--California--Los Angeles Mud--California--Los Angeles Schools--California--Baldwin Hills (Los Angeles) High schools--California--Los Angeles Baldwin Hills (Los Angeles, Calif.) Baldwin Hills Reservoir (Calif.) Baldwin Hills Dam (Calif.) Valley Times Collection photographs
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