Los Angeles County hired world-renowned architect Frank Gehry to work up a master plan for the restoration of the 51-mile Los Angeles River, two county supervisors announced Monday.
Gehry, who is known for his fanciful building designs, including the Disney Hall in downtown L.A., will work with OLIN, a worldwide landscape and
urban design firm, known for landscaping the Washington Monument and the plaza in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
They will work with engineering firm Geosyntec, which will keep the flood-control aspects and hopefully create more storm-water capture elements, said Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, who along with Supervisor Hilda Solis, made the joint announcement.
Kuehl said the county has been working since 2016 to coordinate what she called piecemeal plans around since 1996 into something that is more cohesive.
“The master plan is an attempt to pull together a lot of smaller plans in order that there would be a vision, a continuous idea of what the river is for,” Kuehl said in an interview Monday.
River LA, a nonprofit involved with conceptualizing improvements to what is mostly a concrete flood control channel, will work with the two firms. Also, a steering committee is being formed of community leaders and technical experts to work with the architects.
“This world-class team, including LA County, Frank Gehry, and other partners, as well as wide community input and participation, will ensure that the L.A. River serves the mental and physical well being of residents and tourists for generations to come,” said Solis in a prepared statement.
Gehry has already studied the river for several years, which flows out of Big Tujunga in the Angeles National Forest and Bell Creek near Canoga Park, into the Sepulveda Dam and through the western San Fernando Valley, then turns east past Universal City, Griffith Park and south through downtown Los Angeles and also through various smaller cities and empties into Long Beach. It also receives water from several other tributaries, including the Arroyo Seco above Pasadena.
Kuehl said the cost of the restoration will be determined as projects are suggested. Some may include park space, a pedestrian/equestrian bridge over the river, and possibly cafes. Money will come from parks and water bonds.