Unless you know , like , right by it , you probably think about the LA River almost never . But the fact of the matter is , the River ’s a very crucial part of LA account ; not only was it the setting for the scientifically proven in force fit inTerminator 2 : Judgement Day(bet you knew that already ) , but it also once was really a natural river , before most of it was paved over starting in 1939 ( look you did n’t do it that at all ) . In honor of the beginning of the season when you’re able to kayak the still - natural role of the LA River ( yes , this is a genuine – and really beautiful – affair you’re able to do throughThe Los Angeles Conservation Corps , among other groups ) , here are 11 facts you probably did n’t eff about the River .
1. It’s been a key setting for tons (and tons) of movies
This wholly make sense , since so many movies are shot in LA , but still : everything from theTransformersseries toGreasetoChinatown(of class ) have had major plot points take place in and around the iconic concrete of the river .
2. The seminal LA punk band No Age staged an illegal show on the river’s edge in 2007
3. You weren’t allowed to do any recreational activities in the river… until 2013
That ’s the first year in 70 age that sportfishing , kayaking , and other activities were reserve – and the first year that many mass in the city started thinking about the river as anything other than runoff water .
4. Frank Gehry – the architect who’s also responsible for the Disney Hall – is helping to reinvigorate (and redesign) the entire river
So what ’s the plan ? Well , it ’s sort of top - mysterious – but the team behind itjust launch this site , which mentions everything from increase parks to rerouting where the water goes .
5. There are still parts of the river that are unpaved, and totally natural-looking
Namely , the parts you could kayak in : the deluge - control watershed in Van Nuys , the Glendale Narrows near Griffith Park , and the conclusion of the river , near Long Beach .
6. The River was LA’s primary source of drinking water until 1913
There were also settlements of people hold up by it as early as the 1700s .
7. The decision to pave the river came after a massive flood in 1938
Among the many things the floodwaters destroyed was a side - of - the - river brothel , which is too bad , because you eff the Houston Brothers would altogether have made that the salutary bar in the city if it had pull round .
8. The river runs 48 miles, start to end
It begins , formally , in Canoga Park , where two flow – Bell Creek and Arroyo Calabasas – match , and terminates in Long Beach , as this astonishing archive photo shows .
9. The water is not sewage runoff
The water – 23 million gallons of it , per Clarence Shepard Day Jr. – is treated and sanitized before it ends up in the river . We ’re not saying , like , drink it , but you ’re also not gon na repeat that gross fit from theVacationremake if you get slopped kayaking .
10. It’s home to tons of free-swimming fish
earnestly : carp , bass , and tilapia swim in the river , though none of them are native – the last aboriginal fish to be grab in the river was a trout back in 1940 .
11. The city doesn’t own the entire river
concord to arecentLA Timesstory , about 15 % of the river is privately owned – by everyone from Warner Bros. , to the guy who owns the Smoke House restaurant in Burbank , which he grease one’s palms for " a few hundred long horse . "
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The LA River|Flickr/Steve Lyon
Terminator 2: Judgment Day|Carolco Pictures, Pacific Western, Lightstorm Entertainment
Courtesy of the Los Angeles Public Library
Flickr/Los Angeles District
Akili-Casundria Ramsess/The Los Angeles Public Library
Flickr/Brandon Leshever
Flickr/Scott Lowe
Anthony Friedken/The Los Angeles Public Library
