Birdseye View Plan of 18 Powerhouses at Big Creek
Dublin Core
Title
Birdseye View Plan of 18 Powerhouses at Big Creek
Description
Starting in October 1900, John Eastwood was set on creating a power plant in the upper San Joaquin River and created Mammoth Power Company (Jackson 60). By early 1902, Eastwood decided to expand his previous design to include a network of power plants rather than a singular one. Eventually, Eastwood managed to cooperate with the Pacific Light and Power Company (PL&P) to build dams and power plants at Big Creek.
This image showcases a design of 18 powerhouses to be built at Big Creek. Although it is only known that this image came from the Southern California Edison Photographs and Negatives, it is very likely that Eastwood was the creator as “Eastwood envisioned 18 powerhouses, [though] only half were built” (Johnson). As Johnson mentions, only half of the original 18 planned were built, but Eastwood was gradually removed from the building process as he fell out of favor with the upper management of PL&P (Jackson 78).
Currently, the Big Creek Hydroelectric “system consists of nine major powerhouses, six major reservoirs, numerous dams and small diversions, various water conveyance facilities, access roads, electrical transmission lines, and other appurtenant facilities” (California Water Boards). Though it may not be as impressive as the system that Eastwood had designed in this image, it remains a crucial power source and a key player in the development of electricity in Los Angeles.
Works Cited:
Jackson, Donald C. Building the Ultimate Dam: John S. Eastwood and the Control of Water in the West. University Press of Kansas, 1995.
Big Creek Hydroelectric System | California State Water Resources Control Board. https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/water_issues/programs/water_quality_cert/big_creek/. Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.
Johnson, John. “Lights Dim in an Edison Company Town.” Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2000, https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-aug-21-mn-7792-story.html.
This image showcases a design of 18 powerhouses to be built at Big Creek. Although it is only known that this image came from the Southern California Edison Photographs and Negatives, it is very likely that Eastwood was the creator as “Eastwood envisioned 18 powerhouses, [though] only half were built” (Johnson). As Johnson mentions, only half of the original 18 planned were built, but Eastwood was gradually removed from the building process as he fell out of favor with the upper management of PL&P (Jackson 78).
Currently, the Big Creek Hydroelectric “system consists of nine major powerhouses, six major reservoirs, numerous dams and small diversions, various water conveyance facilities, access roads, electrical transmission lines, and other appurtenant facilities” (California Water Boards). Though it may not be as impressive as the system that Eastwood had designed in this image, it remains a crucial power source and a key player in the development of electricity in Los Angeles.
Works Cited:
Jackson, Donald C. Building the Ultimate Dam: John S. Eastwood and the Control of Water in the West. University Press of Kansas, 1995.
Big Creek Hydroelectric System | California State Water Resources Control Board. https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/water_issues/programs/water_quality_cert/big_creek/. Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.
Johnson, John. “Lights Dim in an Edison Company Town.” Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2000, https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-aug-21-mn-7792-story.html.
Creator
Southern California Edison Company
Source
The Huntington Digital Library
https://hdl.huntington.org/digital/collection/p16003coll2/id/5451/rec/1
https://hdl.huntington.org/digital/collection/p16003coll2/id/5451/rec/1
Format
Photograph of drawing
Still Image Item Type Metadata
Original Format
Drawing
Physical Dimensions
8 x10
Citation
Southern California Edison Company, “Birdseye View Plan of 18 Powerhouses at Big Creek,” Electrifying Los Angeles, accessed July 2, 2026, https://www.electrifying.collopy.net/items/show/19.