We’ve just added photos from the Kenneth Breisch lecture, held on June 18 at the Central Library in downtown Los Angeles. Check them out at our Past Events and Photo Archive.
You are currently browsing the monthly archive for July 2011.
We’ve just added photos from our 2009 Annual Gala. Check out our Past Events and Photo Archive. We’re continuing to add more photos so check back in the next couple weeks to see more!
Press release from the LADWP website:
LOS ANGELES — Catherine Mulholland, the granddaughter of William Mulholland, who wrote a comprehensive and critically praised biography of the storied founder of the Domestic Water Works System, later the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, died today at her home in Camarillo.
To the world at large, Ms. Mulholland was known mostly as a noted historian and author of William Mulholland and the Rise of Los Angeles, which challenged many of the prevailing notions of her grandfather’s legacy as the chief engineer who built an aqueduct to bring water to Los Angeles via gravity alone from 233 miles away. Completed in 1913, the Los Angeles Aqueduct then, as now, is considered one of the engineering marvels of the 20th Century.
To LADWP employees of recent decades, Ms. Mulholland was known for her willing participation in activities that celebrated the Department’s history and William Mulholland’s accomplishments. She generously loaned numerous family artifacts to the LADWP for its lobby exhibit “William Mulholland: The Man and His Vision” that celebrated the sesquicentennial of his 1855 birth. The exhibit is currently open at LADWP headquarters in Downtown Los Angeles.
“We are very saddened to learn of Catherine Mulholland’s passing,” said Ronald O. Nichols, LADWP General Manager. “Ms. Mulholland was well known to the LADWP family through her gracious participation in events that celebrated her legendary grandfather, William Mulholland, a revered figure here at the Department. We are all going to miss her and the link she provided to our historic past.”
By bringing water to a semi-arid former pueblo that could only sustain a population of 400,000 with existing sources, Mulholland’s aqueduct helped the city grow to ten times that size. His achievements are marked by such well-known public landmarks as the Mulholland Dam at Lake Hollywood, the Mulholland Memorial Fountain adjacent to Griffith Park and the scenic Mulholland Drive.
The following is a free event open to the public. You can RSVP at the Library Foundation of Los Angeles website. Details below.
Event: The Hollywood Sign: Leo Braudy in conversation with Kevin Roderick, editor and founder, L.A. Observed
Time: Thursday, July 21, 2011 7:00 PM at the Mark Taper Auditorium-Central Library
Description: It took fifty years and more before a former real-estate billboard atop Mt. Lee became the world-wide symbol of Hollywood. How did it happen? A master interpreter of popular culture examines why the Hollywood sign is unique in the way cities show themselves to the world.
Leo Braudy is among America’s leading cultural historians and film critics. His most recent book, From Chivalry to Terrorism, was named Best of the Best by the Los Angeles Times and a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times. Among his previous books, The Frenzy of Renown: Fame and Its History was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and Jean Renoir: The World of His Films was a finalist for the National Book Award. Braudy’s writing has appeared in the New York Times, Harper’s, American Film, and Partisan Review. He currently is University Professor and Leo S. Bing Chair in English and American Literature at the University of Southern California.
Kevin Roderick is a journalist, editor, blogger and author living in Los Angeles. He is the creator and publisher of LA Observed, a widely cited news website that Forbes rated as Best of the Web. He is a Contributing Writer on politics and media at Los Angeles magazine, an award-winning radio commentator, and is often asked by the media to talk about Southern California issues. Currently, he is director of the UCLA Newsroom at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Directions/Parking: Unless otherwise indicated, ALOUD programs take place at the Los Angeles Central Library’s Mark Taper Auditorium, 630 W. Fifth Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071.