The Zanja Madre
Departures is KCET's hyper-local web documentary, community engagement tool and digital literacy program about the cultural history of Los Angeles' neighborhoods.
Watch.Listen.Learn.
Click on the thumbnails for videos, slideshows, and more.
The Zanja Madre, or "Mother Ditch," is the original aqueduct that brought water to El Pueblo from the Los Angeles River. Built in 1781, the zanja pumped water from the river using a water wheel, sending it into brick pipes that lead to the center of La Placita Olvera. The remains of the Zanja where uncovered in the 1970s by archeologist Julia Costella and can be seen sitting just behind a fence in the Los Angeles State Historic Park.
More resources:
Return To The Mural
Funders and Partners
Support for the Departures' Los Angeles River installment is provided through these funders and local community partners, as well as from viewers like you.
Click here to see all funders and community partners for Departures.
-
KCET Departures Receives NEA Art Works Grant
Departures receives one of 832 Art Works grants totaling $23.3 million...
-
A Guide to Departures: Little Tokyo
Here's how you can explore Little Tokyo through the lens of Departures...
-
A Kosher Slice of Pico-Robertson
The professor of planning at USC and author of "Urban Tomographies" do...
-
Pat's Restaurant
It's almost a rite of passage among the Latino staff that at first the...
flickr.com/kcetdepartures
departures@kcet.org
YouTube.com/Webstories
histarch says :
The Zanja Madre was not built in the 1850s but was first built with the founding of the pueblo in 1781 and upgraded numerous during Spanish (1781-1821), Mexican (1821-1848), and American (1848+) period. History of LA does not begin with the American period and I would think KCET would do a better job at getting their information straight. The fact that it's called the Zanja Madre, spanish for 'mother ditch' should be a big clue.