Hundreds of years ago, the Los Angeles Basin’s river and
tributaries sat at the center of daily life for our first
ancestors, the Tongvas Indians. They understood the river’s
changing, mercurial nature and built their homes and town
centers above its flood plains. Yangna, sitting just a few miles
from the river near Spring Street, was the largest Tongvas
village. It was a center for commerce, governance and religious
ceremonies, and it is the birthplace of Los Angeles. The Los
Angeles State Historic Park was once an industrial brown field.
After much debate among real estate developers, community
activists, and artists, the land is now available for public use
and awaits transformation into a state park. The Zanja Madre, or
"Mother Ditch," is the original aqueduct that brought water to
El Pueblo from the Los Angeles River. The remains of the Zanja
where uncovered in the 1970's and can be seen sitting just
behind a fence in the Los Angeles State Historic Park. KCET is
the nation's largest independent public te