Transforming early Los Angeles: Integration of Power, Infrastructure, and Knowledge

Rapid urban growth and sprawl marked the twentieth century in Los Angeles, leading to increased energy production, investment in scientific research, and transportation initiatives. The Big Creek Hydroelectric Project pushed electricity production well beyond the city’s natural limits, becoming the fuel behind industrialization. The growing energy demand necessitated organization through transportation efforts. A report on the Transportation Problem of Los Angeles from the Caltech Archives outlined below demonstrates the planning behind creating a network around how people, goods, and resources are to be moved across the rapidly growing metroplex. However, to build sustainability around these infrastructures, institutions like the California Institute of Technology became centers for advanced research and training of scientific expertise. The High Voltage Laboratory constructed a way for large amounts of power to be transmitted across long distances. Together, these three pillars (power, infrastructure, and knowledge) became the driving force for the transformation of early Los Angeles.