The Waters of Eagle Rock

You can't look at the history of Eagle Rock without seeing how closely it is related to water—water that begins near Mt. Wilson, in the Arroyo Seco.

To see the source of the Arroyo Seco, you’ll need to go up behind Mt. Wilson. Unfortunately, Angeles Crest Highway is closed. You can get back there, though, by going to Highway 14, toward Palmdale, and then taking the Los Angeles County Route N3 toward Mt. Wilson.

The official source—or headwaters—of the Arroyo Seco is Bear Canyon. Although not far away, this canyon is only accessible by hiking. If you aren’t a big hiker, a great place to see where the waters for the arroyo start is Switzer Falls, a comfortable hike for the casual hiker.

The falls are active most of the year, so you’d probably want to head there and enjoy this wonderful bit of nature, which isn’t too far from where you are right now, at least as the crow flies. Sure, you’ll have to drive. But what’s time and gas when it comes to being that close to beauty and history.

Switzer Falls is in the Angeles National Forest, where you need a parking/hiking pass. The link will show you a map of where the canyon and the falls are as well as how to obtain a hiking pass.

You’ll also note on the map that you can actually drive to Mt. Wilson, where you can see those big TV broadcast antennas every time you gaze at the San Gabriel mountains. Whether you choose to hike or drive, rest assured that that once you get to Mt. Wilson, you’ll get a great view of the arroyo, San Gabriel Valley, most of L.A. What’s more, on a clear day, you can see Catalina Island—and on a very clear day, Santa Barbara Island. Finally, get this: Up on Mt. Wilson is the historic telescope where Hubble figured out the shape of the universe.

The waters of the arroyo come down from the mountains along the same canyon as Highway 2, the Crest Highway, and you can see it most of the way down.

While it is called the Arroyo Seco, “seco” being a Spanish word for dry, in this mountain section, the water flows most of the year in most years. Right about where you would lose site of it, the Arroyo Seco meets up with a few other creeks in what is called the upper mountain watershed, on this side of the San Gabriel Mountains. This area is known the Hahamongna Watershed.

Hahamongna, like topanga, cucamonga, pacoima, cahuenga and, some say, azusa, are all Tongva words, the language of the first people in our neighborhood.

Here the arroyo meets other waters and spreads into what is called an alluvial plain, a geological formation that is said to be rare in California. Sand gravel and other goodies brought down from the mountain by the arroyo waters leave a wonderful place for animals and plants to grow and frolic.

To give you an idea of the amount of water that once flowed through the area, there are reports of the Tongva fishing for steelhead trout and even salmon in these waters. If anyone has information about that bit of history, please leave it in the comment section below. 

Just past the Colorado Boulevard Bridge, the arroyo narrows, and a walk, bike ride, or drive will show you beautiful rock formations carved by the waters. You may think that the water only flows down the arroyo. Indeed, much of it does. But a lot of it goes underground to feed springs that used to spring between Hahamongna Watershed and the Los Angeles River. 

Around the area where the Eagle Rock stands, there used to be a park built by Henry Huntington—of Huntington Gardens fame. Where there are now the ramps of the 134, there was a park with all the things you’d want in a park—picnic tables, barbeque pits, playgrounds and possibly even a dancing pavilion, malt shop and merry-go-round.

The streetcar line was built to the end of town—at Townsend Avenue (town’s end, get it?) and an extension was built to the park. The canyon above it was possibly going to be used to generate hydroelectric power. I would guess that is why the big power lines run through there—because the rights were still there.

When the freeway was built, most of that part of Eagle Rock canyon was filled. But if you wander along the office buildings on the east side of Figueroa and sneak a look behind, you will see that nature still maintains a little creek, and most of the year water still flows. In fact, there was a reservoir built in the 1950s to hold water that still flows in the hills.

At the top of Eagle Vista street, near the , was a spring, and also a tunnel that brought water to this area, which was a working grove of fruit trees.

Since this is basically below the reservoir on the opposite side of the freeway, does anyone know if there is a direct relationship between the historic tunnels and the present reservoir?

Does anyone know if the Rec. Center Park is the remnant of Huntington’s Eagle Rock Park?

There were also, springs and water tunnels at the end of Dahlia, Argus and Hermosa Avenue.

Residents around Hill Drive have told me that during heavy rains, springs often sprout up in yards, under houses, and once I heard of one that came up in a bedroom.

The Eagle Rock Springs Mobile Home Park on Argus Drive didn’t get its name because is sounds nice but because there is a spring there. Now it is covered with the concrete and asphalt that covers so much of what was once there. 

Despite the wealth of water in Eagle Rock, the powers that be covered, plugged up and paved over this natural source of water. The resulting need for water was one of the reasons Eagle Rock, incorported as an independent city a century ago on March 1, 1911, became part of the city of Los Angeles in 1923.

What’s more, Eagle Rock played a large part in the machinations of William Mulholland to bring water to Los Angeles from the north.

But that is another story. For those who have lived long enough in Eagle Rock or were fortunate enough to hear now-departed relatives tell stories of old springs and creeks and swimming holes, this aspect of the neighborhood’s history is a truly magical one—and it needs to be kept alive for posterity.