The Land and the Site
The San Fernando Valley, a 10 mile by 20 mile rectangle at the North West corner of Los Angeles, CA, was once a lake fed by four rivers (now creeks). From the West, Calabasas creek and from the Northwest, Chatsworth/Bell creek converge in Reseda to form the Los Angeles River. This is soon fed, in Van Nuys, by Bull creek from the North then, in North Hollywood, by Tujunga creek from the Northeast. The River then leaves the Valley, ocean-bound. The TWRP-JG site is located at the junction of the River and Bull creek, almost in the direct center of the Valley.The soil is finely divided clay about 1000 feet deep, the water table is about 35 feet below the surface. Conditions ideal for both building and gardening. Because of its composition, seismic soil liquefaction is not considered to be probable. The site is behind the Sepulveda Dam in the Sepulveda Flood Control basin which could impound 17,300 acre feet of water in about 2.25 square miles. The dam is earthen, 57 feet high, and located at the Northwest corner of the San Diego and Ventura Freeways. The basin is roughly bounded by Balboa and Victory Blvds. In 1980 the TWRP-JG was built near the basin's Northeast corner at an altitude of 706 feet. more

History of the Area

In North America the southern California coast was second only to the Valley of Mexico in the population density of Indians. There were between 150,000 and 300,000 here with perhaps 25,000 Castaics, Tujungans, Cahuengans, etc. (collectively known as Gabrielenos) in the Valley. They were generally peaceful hunters and gatherers living in a land of plenty. They fabricated nothing permanent, e.g. pottery, stone artifacts, or anything metal. Recent cave painting discoveries at Burro Flats, about 10 miles from TWRP-JG, indicated the Chumash, the Gabrielenos' neighbors, had some sort of religion and a rudimentary knowledge of astronomy. The Gabrielenos lived in continually changing small bands moving between the different valleys. Interbreeding between bands was common but the offspring of breeding with non-Indians were strangled by their mothers. Their societal structure was never the least bit understood by the invading Europeans, Africans and Orientals. They lived at TWRP-JG for probably 9,000 to 11,000 years. None is alive now. more

Development

In 1965 Congress, reacting to an Atlantic Ocean befouled with sewage sludge, passed the Federal Water Quality Act. Amongst many other things this mandated improving the Los Angeles sewage disposal system. Mayor Sam Yorty, and the President of the Board of Public Works, Louis Gill, involved Donald C. Tillman, Chief Deputy City Engineer, in improving the wastewater processing of the City. He was ordered to come up with a scheme.By 1970 a complete plan for TWRP-JG was in place. It would meet Federal Standards for sludge control, as ordered by Congress, but was so expensive it would require Federal subsidy. A court trial ensued; Los Angeles Vs. the Federal Environmental Protection Agency, and in 1975 a Consent Degree (compromise) was issued. Tillman's plans for the TWRP were adopted with 75% Federal funds, 12.5% State funds and 12.5% City funds; $75,000,000 budgeted for wastewater processing. No funds were allocated for the JG.
Tillman, now City Engineer, continued to press for the garden, now with another Mayor, Tom Bradley. In 1979 Los Angeles agreed to finance the JG with S3,000,000. Kawana, who had designed it about 1970, had since actually built two gardens elsewhere. With his new experience he redesigned the JG and added the teahouse and Shoin building. Construction on TWRP-JG was started in 1980 and substantially finished by 1983.
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