The original caretakers of this area now called Los Angeles have been living in this region for thousands of years. The LA River Watershed and greater Southern California region was, and still is, the homeland of several indigenous tribes including: the Gabrieleño Kizh, the Gabrieleño Tongva, the Fernandeño Tataviam, and the Chumash. Indigenous peoples lived in harmony with our streams and rivers, and organized their lives around the bounty of natural resources for food, shelter, and sustenance.

The San Gabriel Mission is established by Spanish Missionaries, marking the beginning of colonization of what would become greater Los Angeles. Five years later Juan Bautista de Anza, following native footpaths along the LA River, would lead an expedition from present day Los Angeles to present day San Francisco. Missions enslaved native populations and marked an end of undisturbed native life in California.

Spanish settlers establish the original Pueblo near present-day Olvera Street, choosing this location for its proximity to the River and the lush and fertile environment surrounding it. That settlement becomes the city of Los Angeles, which remains a small ranching and agricultural village for most of the next century. Before establishment of this settlement, the indigenous Tongva people inhabited the watershed for thousands of years, relying on and respecting the River as a life-giving source.

Southern Pacific Railroad arrives in Los Angeles, followed shortly thereafter by the Santa Fe Railroad and the discovery of petroleum in the city, spurring dramatic population growth and expansion. To accommodate this growth, leaders build increasingly complex water projects, such as the Los Angeles Aqueduct, which displaces the LA River as the primary water source for the fledgling city.

With a booming population, more and more land in the River’s floodplain is converted into residential, commercial, and industrial development. A series of dramatic storms and devastating floods in the 1930s leads civic leaders, under the supervision of the US Army Corps of Engineers, to channelize the entire length of the River with millions of cubic yards of concrete, transforming the River into a flood control channel and destroying much of its natural riparian environment.

Dismissing the mindset of the time of the River as a concrete scar that ran through the city, poet and activist Lewis MacAdams, along with two friends, whiskey in their blood and wire cutters in their hands, cut a hole in the chain link fence separating the River from the city, declaring the LA River “open to the people.” With that, Friends of the LA River is founded. Realizing its potential for habitat restoration, open space, and recreation, FoLAR begins fighting to change the cultural perception of the River and restore its identity as an amenity to its communities.

Calling for 10,000 Angelenos to come together for a day of service for the River, FoLAR’s first Great LA River CleanUp has an encouraging turnout of 10 people in Los Feliz, starting what would turn into a yearly tradition of organizing LA River CleanUps each spring.

In response to the County Flood Control Dept and the Army Corps’ proposal to raise the channel walls along the Lower LA River, FoLAR and Heal the Bay file a lawsuit against the county. Although the lawsuit is not successful in completely halting the project, some aspects of the project are altered, and more importantly, the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council is formed to guide public agencies on more environmentally-friendly watershed management practices.

After learning of the County’s intention to dredge the riverbed in the Glendale Narrows and destroy the life that thrives there - oak trees, cottonwood trees, nesting birds - Lewis MacAdams stands as a human obstacle in front of the bulldozers. This leads to a meeting with the County Dept of Public Works, during which Lewis fiercely defends the River’s identity as so much more than merely a flood control channel.

FoLAR, the Sierra Club, and the Urban Resources Partnership host The River Through Downtown, a historic conference aimed at reimaging the LA River and spurring collaboration and creativity when thinking about the future of the River and the role it can play in the city. Among the tangible outcomes is the selection of the Cornfield, a former Union Pacific railyard in Chinatown, as having the potential to be the “downtown Central Park for Los Angeles.” When a developer reveals plans to purchase the Cornfield for industrial warehouse development, FoLAR helps to form the Chinatown Yard Alliance, a coalition of community and environmental organizations, to sue the developer.

Growing public interest in a restored LA River encourages the purchase and development of two more park spaces adjacent to the River in the Glendale Narrows. In 2001 and 2003, after another successful lawsuit filed by the Coalition for a State Park at Taylor Yard - which included FoLAR, The River Project, and many other environmental and social justice organizations - California State Parks acquires two parcels of land, both formerly part of the Southern Pacific railyard at Taylor Yard and slated for industrial development, with the intention of transforming those parcels into much-needed greenspaces and public parks in a very park-poor neighborhood of LA. Río de Los Angeles State Park opens to the public in 2007, and, at the Bowtie Parcel, local community members and River-goers can enjoy special events and activations curated by Clockshop in collaboration with State Parks.

As the city begins to turn its collective attention to the River, FoLAR works with the City of LA to develop official river signage. You will now find these iconic royal blue signs, which feature a Great Blue Heron, dotting the streets, highways, and bridges that cross over the LA River.

The US Army Corps of Engineers begins its ARBOR Study, a look into the potential of restoring an 11-mile stretch of the LA River running from Griffith Park to Downtown Los Angeles. The most ambitious urban waterway restoration project proposal of its kind, the study’s completion becomes threatened after funding runs out.

After launching in 2011, FoLAR’s Source to Sea Watershed Education Program becomes the only program in LA to connect original, standards-based curriculum about the LA River to classroom content. With lessons that align with Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards, Source to Sea provides hands-on and enriching educational experiences for 3rd through 12th grade students throughout LA County, reaching over 2,000 students each year.

The US Army Corps of Engineers is short on funds needed to complete the ARBOR Study. In true advocate fashion, FoLAR raises $1 million and gifts it to the Army Corps to complete the study.

Our community roots and the River residents that support us are our most valued asset. To strengthen our ties to the community and further our impact in creating River stewardship, FoLAR opens the Frog Spot, a seasonal River visitor center and community space in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Frogtown. Every summer, the Frog Spot would attract thousands of people to the River for a wide variety of free or low-cost activities, engaging over 40,000 Angelenos total from 2014 until its closing in 2017.

The LA River Rover is FoLAR’s 38-foot mobile River museum that can be found traveling all over the LA River Watershed to bring the River to the people with interactive exhibits that teach visitors about the River’s past, present, and potential future. The US Fish and Wildlife Service selected the LA River Rover as one of the eight original Urban Wildlife Refuge Partners, a program to engage urban dwellers with ecology and inspire environmental stewardship. Since launching in 2014, the LA River Rover attracts some 10,000 visitors of all ages and backgrounds each year.

Proposition 1 is a $7.5 billion water bond written by Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon to address California’s water infrastructure needs, including crucially allocating $100 million towards LA River restoration specifically. Applauding the State’s approval of Prop 1 in 2014, FoLAR hopes to see these funds go towards multi-benefit River projects which support watershed protection, capture and treat stormwater runoff, create open spaces for people, and reestablish natural habitat for urban wildlife.

After mobilizing thousands of community members to send emails directly to LA City Council in support of ARBOR’s most ambitious and comprehensive plan for restoration, the City Council votes unanimously to approve Alternative 20 as their locally-preferred plan, thereby kicking off the planning and design process for 11 miles of River restoration. Alternative 20 calls for some degree of concrete removal and wetland restoration, habitat restoration and connectivity, and the incorporation of public access and recreational opportunities.

With extensive voter outreach and education supported by FoLAR and a coalition of partner organizations, voters pass Measures A & M - promising over $300 million in funding for River projects - as well as Measure H and Proposition HHH - approving funding for homeless services and affordable housing.

After 30 years at the helm of the single most powerful River advocacy organization in LA, Lewis MacAdams decides his visionary work is best served from a board position and hands over the reins to Marissa Christiansen as Executive Director.

After mobilizing well over 6,000 volunteers to remove some 60 tons of trash from 15 different sites along the upper, middle, and lower stretches of the LA River, FoLAR’s Great LA River CleanUp is officially named the nation’s largest urban river cleanup by American Rivers.

Thanks in large part to the grassroots activism of FoLAR and the Chinatown Yard Alliance, the Los Angeles State Historic Park opens in Chinatown, named in honor of its culturally significant location as the site of the historic zanja madre, the original water supply system for El Pueblo and the city. The park’s opening fulfills the aspiration of local community members and delivers a resource to one of the most underserved neighborhoods in the city.

The City of LA purchases the G2 parcel of the Taylor Yard, the “crown jewel” of the Alternative 20 vision set forth in ARBOR. The G2 parcel is 41 acres and adjacent to the River, Río de Los Angeles State Park, and the Bowtie Parcel. At the council meeting, Mitch O’Farrell recognizes Lewis MacAdams as the “Father of the River” and credits him for his steadfast vision and the tireless work of FoLAR in making such an investment in the LA River possible. The G2 parcel is set to be transformed into critical public open space, with opportunities for extensive habitat restoration and connections to the River.

At FoLAR’s annual Gala, in honor of his commitment to the restoration of the LA River, the Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority surprises Lewis by renaming Marsh Park after him. A monument of Lewis is also installed in the park, so that his mark on the River outlasts the concrete channel.

With the implementation of civic planning efforts on the River giving way to opportunities and park development, FoLAR launches Crack the Concrete to continue the push for concrete removal to strengthen our urban ecosystem and provide open space for River-adjacent communities. Crack the Concrete focuses the energy and advocacy of River Stewards behind the most pressing opportunities to realize River restoration, while growing the River Movement.

FoLAR joins in a statewide coalition to mobilize voters behind passage of a $4 billion parks and water bond aimed at delivering environmental restoration and water infrastructure projects, increasing park equity across the state, and preparing California to remain resilient in the face of climate change. Funding favors underserved counties - like Los Angeles - and enables deeper investment into opening new and maintaining existing parks, while also funding programs aimed at activating youth and communities to visit parks. Los Angeles is expected to receive over $140 million, some of which is specifically set aside for restoration projects along the LA River and within its watershed.

At eleven sites throughout all three stretches of the LA River, FoLAR hosts the largest urban river cleanup in the nation once again for its 30th birthday, proving our CleanUp is Thirty & Thriving. Our CleanUp mobilized several thousand volunteers to remove over 100 tons of trash from the River, preventing harmful waste from reaching our ocean and providing Angelenos with a way to make a hands-on, immediate impact on our River’s health.