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Home America's West Occupation of the Alabama Gates, Los Angeles Aqueduct, Owens Valley, California

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Occupation of the Alabama Gates, Los Angeles Aqueduct, Owens Valley, California

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Identifier	ov061
Title	Occupation of the Alabama Gates, Los Angeles Aqueduct, Owens Valley, California
Creator	Detrick Studio (Bishop, Calif.);
Date Created	1924
Description	Owens Valley residents eating at the Alabama Gates of the Los Angeles Aqueduct. This photograph may record either the barbecue held the final day of the occupation (20 November 1924) or else the meals that wives of the occupiers served. The low water in the spllway indicates that the picture was shot towards the end of the occupation. Writing on canal wall: "Please don't throw trash in the AQUEDUCT." Title supplied by cataloger.
Historical Background	To meet the need for water of its growing population, the City of Los Angeles began buying land and corresponding water rights in the Owens Valley in 1905. In 1913, the great Los Angeles Aqueduct was completed to bring Owens Valley water to the city. In 1923, the City of Los Angeles began acquiring more land in the Owens Valley to gain further sources of water. To protest the failure of Los Angeles to address their grievances, Owens Valley farmers and ranchers, under the leadership of Bishop, California banker Mark Watterson, seized the Alabama Gates, on 16 November 1924. The Gates divert water to a spillway allowing water to flow to the Owens River, which leads to the now dry Owens Lake. During the occupation water was let from the aqueduct into the old Owens River bed, at that time dry (it has now been partially restored). After townspeople from Bishop joined the occupation, the number of occupiers reached seven hundred. It lasted until 20 November, and brought both national and international press coverage to the plight of the Owens Valley residents. The occupation and resulting favorable publicity did nothing to halt the City of Los Angeles' continued acquisition and subsequent control of land in the valley. The famous Alabama Hills, the site of many a western movie, are in the background.
Type	image;
Physical Description	1 postcard : b&w ; 9 x 14 cm
Institution	Center for the Study of Los Angeles Research Collection, Loyola Marymount University
Collection Identifier	http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt3w1022nb
Country of Creation	US
Copyright Status	Public Domain
Copyright Statement	http://library.lmu.edu/dlp/copyright.htm
Language	eng;
Subject (Name)	Los Angeles Department of Water and Power;
Subject (Place)	Los Angeles Aqueduct (Calif.); Owens Valley (Calif.); Owens River (Calif.)--Water rights; Bishop (Calif.); Eating and drinking
Subject (Topic)	Water rights--California--Owens Valley; Water rights--California--Los Angeles; Canals--California--Owens Valley; Protest movements--California--Owens Valley;
Form/Genre	Photographs; Postcards;
Metacollection Identifier	http://digitalcollections.lmu.edu/
Item/Call Number	J. D. Black Papers, CSLA-15, Series 3: Photographs, Subseries A: Photographic Postcards, Box 16, Sleeve 12