“In 1815 the Los Angeles River floods washed away the original Pueblo de Los Angeles.”
“The 1914 flood caused $10 million in damages throughout the developing basin and brought a public outcry for action to address the recurrent flooding problems.”
“After two more destructive floods in the 1930s, Federal assistance was requested and the Army Corps of Engineers took a lead role in channelizing the River. Channelization began in 1938, and by 1960, the project was completed to form a fifty-one mile engineered waterway.”
https://ladpw.org/wmd/watershed/LA/History.cfm
“engineered waterway”
I guess that’s one way to describe a massive cement eyesore.