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PHOTOGRAPHS WRITTEN HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE DATA FIELD RECORDS HAER CA-2318 HAER CA-2318 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON COMPANY SUBSTATIONS, MONUMENTAL TYPE 2244 Walnut Grove Avenue Rosemead Los Angeles County California HISTORIC AMERICAN ENGINEERING RECORD National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior 1849 C Street NW Washington, DC 20240-0001
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Page 1: SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON COMPANY SUBSTATIONS, …

PHOTOGRAPHS

WRITTEN HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE DATA

FIELD RECORDS

HAER CA-2318HAER CA-2318

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON COMPANY SUBSTATIONS,MONUMENTAL TYPE2244 Walnut Grove AvenueRosemeadLos Angeles CountyCalifornia

HISTORIC AMERICAN ENGINEERING RECORDNational Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior1849 C Street NW

Washington, DC 20240-0001

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HISTORIC  AMERICAN  ENGINEERING  RECORD    

SOUTHERN  CALIFORNIA  EDISON  COMPANY  SUBSTATIONS:  MONUMENTAL  TYPE    

HAER  NO.  CA-­‐2318    Locations:   There  are  13  substations  within  the  SCE  service  territory  that  are  identified  as  the  

Monumental  property  type.    Addresses  and  locational  data  for  each  of  the  13  substations  are  identified  as  follows:  

 #1.  Colton  Substation:  343  S.  Mount  Vernon  Avenue  West,  Colton,  San  Bernardino  County,  California.    Latitude/Longitude:    34.058798°N,  117.314262°W  (Substation  Building);  34.059107°N,  117.314096°W  (Communication  and  Dispatcher’s  Building).  

 #2.  Eagle  Rock  Substation  Property:  7888  N.  Figueroa  Street,  Los  Angeles,  Los  Angeles  County,  California.    Latitude/Longitude:  34.149852°N,  118.18344°W.  

 #  3.  Magunden  Substation  Property:  7500  Mills  Drive,  Bakersfield,  Kern  County,  California.    Latitude/Longitude:  35.361369°N,  118.922898°W.  

 #4.  Chino  Substation  Property:  14005  S.  Benson  Avenue,  Chino,  San  Bernardino  County,  California.    Latitude/Longitude:  33.997618°N,  117.680722°W.  

 #5.  Newmark  Substation  Property:  1319  South  Garfield  Avenue,  Monterey  Park,  Los  Angeles  County,  California.    Latitude/Longitude:  34.045585°N,  118.128984°W.    #6.  La  Fresa  Substation  Property:  17680  Yukon  Avenue,  Torrance,  Los  Angeles  County,  California.    Latitude/Longitude:  33.869315°N,  118.33275°W.    #7.  Laguna  Bell  Substation  Property:  6301  S.  Garfield  Avenue,  Commerce,  Los  Angeles  County,  California.    Latitude/Longitude:  33.975669°N,  118.147198°W;  33.976758°N,  118.148539°W  (Warehouse).  

 #8.  Rector  Substation  Property:  28361  Road  148,  Visalia,  Tulare  County,  California.    Latitude/Longitude:  36.304753°N,  119.243717°W.  

 #9.  Bixby  Substation  Property:  1719  E.  Fourth  Street,  Long  Beach,  Los  Angeles  County,  California.    Latitude/Longitude:  33.772137°N,  118.170466°W.      #10.  Dalton  Substation  Property:  16016  E.  Gladstone  Street,  Irwindale,  Los  Angeles  County,  California.    Latitude/Longitude:  34.114132°N,  117.933337°W.    #11.  Puente  Substation  Property:  Anaheim  and  Puente  Road  and  Arenth  Avenue,  City  of  Industry,  Los  Angeles  County,  California.    Latitude/Longitude:  34.008874°N,  117.930041°W.    #12.  Santa  Monica  Substation  Property:  Colorado  Avenue  at  9th  Street,  Santa  Monica,  Los  Angeles  County,  California.    Latitude/Longitude:  34.017377°N,  118.487788°W.      #13.  Saugus  Substation  Property:  25100  Magic  Mountain  Parkway,  Santa  Clarita,  Los  Angeles  County,  California.    Latitude/Longitude:  34.422687°N,  118.574584°W.  

 Owner:   Southern  California  Edison  Company     2244  Walnut  Grove  Avenue,  Rosemead,  CA  91770  

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Present  Use:   Transmission,  step-­‐down,  and  distribution  of  electric  power    Significance:     The  SCE  Historic-­‐Era  Monumental  Substation  Buildings  were  constructed  between  1912-­‐

1915  and  1923-­‐1940.    These  Monumental  type  buildings  were  designed  with  an  observant  Classical  Revival  or  Period  Revival  architectural  style  on  an  otherwise  utilitarian  property  type.    The  aesthetic  qualities  of  the  buildings  combined  with  the  overall  massing  and  scale  culminate  in  a  monumental  appearance.    The  buildings  embody  the  distinctive  characteristics  of  SCE’s  substation  programming  and  aesthetic  ideology  for  substation  buildings.    Some  of  the  substation  buildings  are  associated  with  the  industrialization  of  the  Southern  California  or  Los  Angeles  regions,  and  also  for  serving  as  part  of  the  backbone  of  SCE’s  early  66kV  system  or  the  220kV  system.    Three  of  the  substations  were  interconnection  points  between  electric  companies.    Additionally  some  of  the  substation  buildings  are  associated  with  the  SCE  Big  Creek  Hydroelectric  System  with  a  period  of  significance  from  1911-­‐1929.  

    Summaries  for  each  of  the  Monumental  Substation  Buildings  are  included  below.    

#1.  Colton  Substation:  With  an  observant  Classical  and  Period  Revival  influence,  the  Colton  Substation  Building  and  its  associated  Communication  and  Dispatcher’s  Building,  embody  SCE  architectural  programming  and  the  aesthetic  model  employed  at  substations  in  the  historic  era.    The  periods  of  significance  are  1912  and  circa  1924.  

      The  Colton  Substation  was  important  as  a  principal  nexus  between  San  Bernardino  County  

and  a  few  power  sources:  Los  Angeles  Plant  No.  3,  Mill  Creek  No.1,  and  the  Santa  Ana  River  Powerhouse  No.1  and  2.    The  construction  of  the  substation  is  also  associated  with  the  increase  of  the  SCE  transmission  lines  from  30,000  to  66,000  volts  and  the  complete  conversion  of  the  lines  from  wood  poles  to  steel  towers.  Power  came  into  the  substation  at  66,000  volts  and  33,000  volts  and  was  stepped  down  to  33,000  volts  and  10,000  volts  before  it  left  the  substation  for  local  use.    The  Colton  Substation  was  additionally  a  major  point  of  interconnection  between  SCE  and  Southern  Sierras  Power  Company,  allowing  the  companies  to  exchange  power  from  1918  to  1948.    A  frequency  changer  in  the  substation  converted  between  the  50-­‐cycle  frequency  of  the  SCE  system  and  the  60-­‐cycle  of  Southern  Sierras  Power  Company  until  SCE  switched  over  to  the  60-­‐cycle  standard  in  1948.    The  associated  Communication  and  Dispatcher's  Building  was  also  important  in  routing  the  communications  between  substations  in  Los  Angeles,  San  Bernardino  and  Riverside  Counties.    The  periods  of  significance  are  1918-­‐1948  for  the  Substation  Building  and  circa  1924-­‐1948  for  the  Communication  and  Dispatcher’s  Building.      

 #2.  Eagle  Rock  Substation  Property:  In  its  current  appearance,  configuration,  and  condition  the  Eagle  Rock  Substation  property  comprised  of  the  main  substation  building  and  entry  pillars,  represents  a  significant  example  of  SCE  Substation  design  and  construction  in  the  historic-­‐era  when  the  company  created  utilitarian  substation  properties  with  architectural  value  in  mind.    The  property  was  constructed  as  the  southern  terminus  of  the  Big  Creek  Hydroelectric  System,  which  produced  and  conveyed  electricity  to  Los  Angeles  and  helped  to  industrialize  the  region.    

   The  Eagle  Rock  substation  property  was  initially  constructed  and  owned  by  the  Pacific  Light  and  Power  Corporation  as  the  terminus  of  the  Big  Creek  Hydroelectric  System  to  convey  electricity  to  the  Los  Angeles  area.    As  such  the  Eagle  Rock  Substation  property,  comprised  of  the  Main  Substation  Building  and  the  entry  pillars,  is  considered  a  contributing  element  to  the  Big  Creek  Hydroelectric  System  Historic  District  (BCHSHD.    

 As  an  individual  building,  the  Eagle  Rock  Substation  Building  is  historically  significant  for  its  

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association  with  the  Big  Creek  Hydroelectric  System  as  the  southern  terminus  of  the  system  and  as  one  of  nine  substations  that  established  the  “backbone”  of  the  SCE  220kV  system.  The  substation  also  held  greater  importance  to  the  city  of  Los  Angeles,  because  power  was  directed  from  Eagle  Rock  substation  to  the  trolleys.    The  railway's  tracks  covered  Los  Angeles  and  its  surrounding  cities.    The  electricity  from  Big  Creek  Hydroelectric  System,  as  demarcated  by  its  southern  terminus  at  the  Eagle  Rock  substation,  also  lit  residences  in  Los  Angeles.    Overall,  the  Big  Creek  Hydroelectric  System,  of  which  the  Eagle  Rock  substation  was  a  part,  provided  for  the  growth  and  development  of  the  Los  Angeles  region.        Additionally  the  Main  Substation  Building  represents  a  distinctive  period  in  the  architectural  history  of  SCE's  (and  its  predecessor  companies)  substation  programming  wherein  architectural  aesthetics  were  incorporated  into  the  design  and  construction  of  substation  buildings.    The  building  is  distinctive  and  monumental,  designed  to  include  a  multi-­‐part  vertical  block  massing  applied  to  commercial  buildings  in  the  early  1900s.    The  large  size  and  elegant  massing  of  the  building  convey  the  importance  of  the  substation  being  the  southern  connection  point  from  the  Big  Creek  Hydroelectric  System.    In  contrast  to  the  six  stories  of  the  Eagle  Rock  Main  Substation  Building,  most  electric  substations  of  the  era  were  one  to  three  stories.    When  completed,  the  Eagle  Rock  Main  Substation  Building  substation  was  largest  of  its  kind  in  the  world  and  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  largest  substations  in  Southern  California  into  the  1920s.1    The  building  represents  an  early  period  of  substation  architectural  programming  wherein  a  historicist  aesthetic  was  still  employed.        The  period  of  significance  for  the  Eagle  Rock  Main  Substation  Building,  as  an  individually  eligible  property,  is  1913  (upon  completion  of  construction)  through  1929  (the  end  date  for  the  BCHSD  established  period  of  significance)  consistent  with  the  established  period  of  significance  for  the  BCHSHD.        #  3.  Magunden  Substation  Property:  As  a  key  transmission  element  of  the  Big  Creek  Hydroelectric  System,  the  Magunden  Substation  appears  to  be  a  contributing  element  of  the  Big  Creek  Hydroelectric  System  Historic  District  (BCHSHD).    In  addition  to  contributing  to  the  BCHSHD,  Magunden  Substation  appears  to  be  a  significant  representative  of  SCE’s  early  twentieth  century  substation  design.    The  facility  is  indicative  of  SCE’s  rapid  proliferation  during  the  period,  which  saw  an  increase  in  agricultural  and  urban  electrification  across  the  San  Joaquin  Valley.    In  addition,  Magunden  Substation  acted  as  a  switching  station  for  several  utilities  during  the  historic  period  until  SCE  switched  over  to  the  60-­‐cycle  standard  in  1948.    It  is  indicative  of  the  increasingly  complex  utility  framework  that  developed  across  California  during  the  1920s.      In  addition,  Magunden  Substation  also  exemplifies  the  architectural  and  planning  ideals  that  characterized  SCE  and  general  utility  development  during  the  period,  with  a  heightened  classical  treatment,  monumental  form,  and  self-­‐contained  residential  component  that  was  characterized  by  extensive  on-­‐site  residential  development.    The  two  periods  of  significance  are  1914  (upon  completion  of  construction)  through  1929  (the  end  date  for  the  BCHSD  established  period  of  significance)  and  1918  (estimated  year  for  start  of  frequency  changing)  through  1948  (the  end  year  for  the  frequency  changing).      

 #4.  Chino  Substation  Property:  The  Chino  Substation  Building  is  considered  to  be  associated  with  the  early  growth  period  and  development  history  of  the  City  of  Chino,  and  for  embodying  SCE’s  early  expansion  and  service-­‐provision  period  (1899-­‐1915)  and  the  Stripped  Classical  style  of  architecture  executed  for  SCE  buildings  during  the  1899-­‐1915  period.    The  period  of  significance  is  1912.      

                                                                                                               1  “Tremendous  Electric  Force  at  Our  Door,”  Los  Angeles  Times,  November  2,  1913.  

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 #5.  Newmark  Substation  Property:  The  Newmark  Substation  Building  is  one  of  the  earliest  constructed  substations  extant  in  the  SCE  portfolio,  and  is  one  of  the  six  substations  that  form  SCE’s  historic  66kV  sub-­‐transmission  system.    The  Newmark  Substation  is  part  of  that  finite  66kV  system  that  also  includes  the  Redondo,  Chino,  Colton,  Lindsay,  and  Puente  Substations.    The  Newmark  Substation  Building  embodies  the  distinctive  characteristics  of  SCE’s  architectural  program  and  aesthetic  ideology  in  the  historic  period  with  its  Classical  Revival  style  of  architecture  and  minimal  Art  Deco  articulations,  monumental  appearance,  and  Classical  form  and  massing.        It  is  a  significant  example  of  a  Classical  Revival  substation  building.    The  period  of  significance  is  identified  as  1913.  

 #6.  La  Fresa  Substation  Property:  The  La  Fresa  Main  Substation  Building  is  one  of  nine  substations  that  form  SCE’s  historic  220kV  transmission  system.    This  220kV  system  helped  to  industrialize  Southern  California  and  Los  Angeles.    The  La  Fresa  Main  Substation  Building  is  part  of  that  finite  220kV  system  that  also  includes  Lighthipe,  Laguna  Bell,  Eagle  Rock,  Gould,  Saugus,  Magunden,  Vestal,  and  Rector  Substations,  and  the  existing  Big  Creek  East  &  West  and  Vincent  220kV  Transmission  Lines.    The  building  embodies  the  distinctive  characteristics  of  SCE’s  architectural  programming  and  aesthetic  ideology  in  the  historic  period  with  its  Art  Deco  façade  details  applied  to  the  symmetrically  composed  building.    The  building  is  one  of  the  first  Art  Deco  substation  properties  observed  to-­‐date  in  the  SCE  portfolio,  and  demonstrates  the  broad  application  of  SCE’s  architectural  styles  employed  in  the  historic-­‐period  which  ranged  from  Classical  Revival  and  various  Period  Revival  styles,  to  this  more  modern  Art  Deco  example.    The  property  embodies  the  distinctive  characteristics  of  SCE’s  aesthetic  ideology  for  substations  and  is  a  significant  example  of  an  Art  Deco  substation  building.    The  period  of  significance  is  identified  as  1930.    #7.  Laguna  Bell  Substation  Property:  The  Laguna  Bell  Substation  appears  to  be  a  contributing  element  of  the  Big  Creek  Hydroelectric  System  Historic  District  (BCHSHD).    The  Laguna  Bell  Substation  property  comprised  of  the  main  substation  building  and  the  warehouse,  is  associated  with  the  historic  Big  Creek  Hydroelectric  System  and  the  SCE  220kV  system  in  its  position  as  an  end  point  in  the  Eagle  Rock-­‐Laguna  Bell  line  that  connected  to  the  Big  Creek  hydroelectric  system.    The  substation  and  its  1927  building  extension  helped  to  meet  the  increasing  demand  for  electricity  from  nearby  cities  and  industries,  facilitating  the  development  and  industrialization  of  central  Los  Angeles  County.    Additionally,  the  substation  building  and  related  original  warehouse  are  associated  with  the  historically  significant  Vincent  220kV  Transmission  Line  (put  in-­‐service  between  1925-­‐1927)  and  the  Eagle-­‐Rock-­‐Laguna  Bell  tap  line  (in-­‐service  by  1929),  having  served  as  one  of  the  main  substations  for  the  transmissions  lines  conveying  electricity  from  the  Big  Creek  Hydroelectric  System  to  the  Los  Angeles  region.    The  main  substation  building  is  also  an  excellent  example  of  the  Stripped  Classical  style  applied  to  a  substation  building.    The  period  of  significance  for  the  property  is  1924,  upon  completion  of  construction,  through  1929,  the  end  of  the  Big  Creek  Hydroelectric  System  period  of  significance.    #8.  Rector  Substation  Property:  The  Rector  Substation  appears  to  be  a  contributing  element  of  the  Big  Creek  Hydroelectric  System  Historic  District  (BCHSHD).    The  substation  is  a  significant  representative  of  early  twentieth  century  SCE  substation  design.    The  facility  is  indicative  of  SCE’s  rapid  proliferation  during  the  period,  which  saw  an  increase  in  agricultural  and  urban  electrification  across  the  San  Joaquin  Valley.    Rector  Substation  acted  as  a  switching  station  during  the  historic  period  until  SCE  switched  over  to  the  60-­‐cycle  standard  in  1948.    In  addition,  Rector  Substation  exemplifies  the  architectural  and  planning  ideals  that  characterized  SCE  and  general  utility  development  during  the  period,  

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with  a  heightened  Art  Deco  inspired  architectural  treatment,  monumental  form,  and  self-­‐contained  residential  component  that  was  characterized  by  extensive  on-­‐site  residential  development.    Further,  the  design  of  the  property  is  illustrative  of  evolving  stylistic  mandates  in  industrial  design,  as  classically  inspired  industrial  facilities  yielded  to  a  more  modern  Art  Deco  inspired  rhetoric  in  the  1920s.  The  period  of  significance  is  1928  (upon  completion  of  construction)  through  1929  (the  end  date  for  the  BCHSD  established  period  of  significance)  and  1928  (upon  completion  of  construction)  through  1948  (the  end  year  for  the  frequency  changing).      

 Historians:   Wendy  L.  Tinsley  Becker,  AICP,  RPH,  Principal  and  Christina  Chiang,  M.A.,  Associate  

Architectural  Historian,  Urbana  Preservation  &  Planning,  LLC  |  June  2015,  Finalized  October  2015.  

 Project  Information:   Report  prepared  by  Christina  Chiang,  M.A.,  Associate  Architectural  Historian  and  Wendy  L.  

Tinsley  Becker,  AICP,  RPH,  Principal  of  Urbana  Preservation  &  Planning,  LLC.    Existing  conditions  photographs  by  David  G.  DeVries  of  Mesa  Technical.    Project  sponsored  by  Southern  California  Edison  Company.

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INTRODUCTION    As  part  of  an  effort  to  identify  and  manage  all  historic-­‐era  substations  within  its  service  territory,  SCE  has  developed  a  typology  for  its  significant  substation  buildings  to  inform  the  creation  of  a  HAER  documentation  package  for  each  substation  type  identified.    There  are  six  types  of  historic-­‐era  substations  within  the  SCE  service  territory:  Monumental,  Commercial,  Residential,  Civic,  Religious,  and  Atypical.    This  HAER  documentation  package  with  contextual  and  site-­‐specific  information  has  been  prepared  for  the  Monumental  substation  type.    The  Monumental  type  substation  buildings  are  significant  examples  of  SCE  Substation  design  and  construction  in  the  historic  era  when  the  company  created  substation  properties  with  architectural  value  and  aesthetics  in  mind.    This  HAER  package  includes  documentation  for  eight  of  the  13  SCE  Monumental  Substation  Properties,  as  well  as  large  format  views  of  the  SCE  Colton  Substation,  one  of  the  eight  documented  properties,  which  includes  the  Main  Substation  Building  and  a  Dispatch  Building.    Both  buildings  exhibit  a  typical  appearance  of  the  SCE  Monumental  Substation  Type,  and  are  considered  representative  of  the  typology.        Digital  views  of  the  12  previously  unphotographed  Monumental  Type  Substation  properties  are  intended  for  inclusion  in  this  HAER  report  as  part  of  a  future  Amendment.    Documentation  of  the  five  previously  undocumented  Monumental  Type  Substation  Properties  are  intended  for  inclusion  in  this  HAER  package  as  part  of  a  future  Amendment.            

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PHYSICAL  HISTORY    Put  in  service  between  1912  and  1915  and  1923  and  1938,  the  SCE  Monumental  type  substation  buildings  were  designed  with  an  observant  Classical  Revival  or  Period  Revival  architectural  style  on  an  otherwise  utilitarian  property  type.    The  aesthetic  qualities  of  the  buildings  combined  with  the  overall  massing  and  scale  culminate  in  a  monumental  appearance.    The  buildings  were  designed  to  serve  as  transmission,  step-­‐down,  and  distribution  points  within  the  SCE  system.    Some  of  the  substations  were  designed  for  distribution  only.    Others  were  designed  to  function  as  interconnection  points  that  tied  SCE’s  system  to  other  utility  providers  as  part  of  the  larger  power  grid.    Monumental  type  substation  buildings  were  usually  constructed  of  reinforced  concrete  over  one-­‐to-­‐six  stories,  with  limited  façade  articulations  in  a  Block,  Box,  or  Multi-­‐Part  form  described  as  follows.    Block  Subtype  There  are  two  substations  of  this  subtype:  Eagle  Rock  and  Magunden.    These  buildings  are  over  three  stories.    They  have  bays  of  windows  and  overhangs.    Eagle  Rock  Substation  Date  of  Construction:    1913  Engineer:    Stone  and  Webster  Builder:  Stone  and  Webster      Magunden  Substation  Date  of  Construction:    1923  Engineer:    Stone  and  Webster  Builder:  Stone  and  Webster      Box  Subtype  There  are  six  substations  of  this  subtype:  Bixby,  Chino,  Colton,  Newmark,  Puente,  and  Santa  Monica.    These  buildings  have  either  cornice  or  recessed  panels  to  make  these  rectangular-­‐plan  buildings  monumental.    Bixby  Substation  Date  of  Construction:    1924  Engineer:    Southern  California  Edison,  Department  of  Engineering  Design  Builder:  Southern  California  Edison      Chino  Substation  Date  of  Construction:    1912  Engineer:    Southern  California  Edison,  Department  of  Engineering  Design  Builder:  Southern  California  Edison      Colton  Substation  Date  of  Construction:    1912  Engineer:    Southern  California  Edison,  Department  of  Engineering  Design  Builder:  Southern  California  Edison      Newmark  Substation  Date  of  Construction:    1913  Engineer:    Southern  California  Edison,  Department  of  Engineering  Design  Builder:  Southern  California  Edison      

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Puente  Substation  Date  of  Construction:    1915  Engineer:    Southern  California  Edison,  Department  of  Engineering  Design  Builder:  Southern  California  Edison      Santa  Monica  Substation  Date  of  Construction:    1938  Engineer:    Southern  California  Edison,  Department  of  Engineering  Design  Builder:  Southern  California  Edison      Multi-­‐Part  Subtype  There  are  five  substations  of  this  subtype:  Dalton,  La  Fresa,  Laguna  Bell,  Rector,  and  Saugus.    These  buildings  have  modernized  Classical  Revival  or  Stripped  Classical  features,  such  as  pediments  and  piers,  and  are  organized  in  two  or  three  parts.    Dalton  Substation  Date  of  Construction:    1927  Engineer:    Southern  California  Edison,  Department  of  Engineering  Design  Builder:  Southern  California  Edison      La  Fresa  Substation  Date  of  Construction:    1930  Engineer:    Southern  California  Edison,  Department  of  Engineering  Design  Builder:  Southern  California  Edison      Laguna  Bell  Substation  Date  of  Construction:    1923  Engineer:    Southern  California  Edison,  Department  of  Engineering  Design  Builder:  Southern  California  Edison      Rector  Substation  Date  of  Construction:    1927  Engineer:    Southern  California  Edison,  Department  of  Engineering  Design  Builder:  Southern  California  Edison      Saugus  Substation  Date  of  Construction:    1924  Engineer:    Southern  California  Edison,  Department  of  Engineering  Design  Builder:  Southern  California  Edison  

     

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HISTORICAL  CONTEXT    Formative  Years  of  the  SCE  The  SCE  is  comprised  of  electrical  infrastructure  built  by  SCE  and  its  predecessor  companies  obtained  through  a  series  of  mergers  and  acquisitions  in  the  company’s  history  from  1886  forward.    SCE  traces  its  origins  back  to  July  4,  1886.    On  that  day,  the  partnership  of  Holt  and  Knupp,  which  later  became  the  Visalia  Electric  Light  and  Gas  Company,  first  used  a  steam  engine  fueled  by  cord  wood  to  power  arc  lights  during  Visalia’s  evening  4th  of  July  celebrations.    Later  that  same  year,  the  Santa  Barbara  Electric  Light  Company  was  formed  and  quickly  installed  outdoor  arc  lights  to  illuminate  the  balmy  resort  evenings  in  downtown  Santa  Barbara.    Both  the  Visalia  and  Santa  Barbara  companies  would  later  be  merged  into  SCE  in  the  early  1900s.2    In  1887  the  first  commercial  hydroelectric  plant  in  the  west  was  built  at  the  community  of  Highgrove  near  the  city  of  Riverside.    Built  by  the  Riverside  Water  Company,  the  plant  took  advantage  of  a  50-­‐foot  water  drop  in  an  irrigation  canal  to  turn  three  waterwheels  and  direct  current  dynamos.    The  electricity  was  transmitted  a  very  short  distance  to  illuminate  30  arc  lights  in  Riverside  and  Colton.    In  1888,  the  Riverside  Water  Company  was  incorporated  as  the  San  Bernardino  Electric  Company  and  was  later  acquired  by  SCE  in  the  early  1900s.3    That  same  year  the  Pasadena  Electric  Light  and  Power  Company  installed  steam-­‐driven  current  generators  to  power  arc  lights  for  street  lighting  in  Pasadena.    Likewise,  in  1890,  the  Ventura  Land  and  Power  Company  installed  hydroelectric  generation  to  power  arc  lights  in  downtown  Ventura,  thereby  catching  up  with  their  neighbors  in  Santa  Barbara  further  up  the  coast.4    In  1891,  businessman  Henry  Sinclair  and  Dr.  Cyrus  G.  Baldwin,  the  first  president  of  Pomona  College,  co-­‐founded  the  San  Antonio  Light  and  Power  Company  with  the  intention  to  provide  electric  street  lighting  to  the  city  of  Pomona.    The  technical  challenge  they  faced  was  that  direct  current  power  could  not  be  practically  transmitted  long  distances.  Baldwin  hired  A.W.  Decker,  an  engineer  familiar  with  the  cutting  edge  of  advances  being  made  with  alternating  current.    Decker  installed  the  first  single-­‐phase  alternating  current  hydroelectric  generator  in  San  Antonio  Canyon  above  Claremont.    In  late  1892,  power  was  transmitted  14-­‐miles  to  Pomona  and,  one  month  later,  29-­‐miles  to  San  Bernardino.    The  age  of  long-­‐distance  transmission  had  begun,  thereby  opening  access  to  remote  hydroelectric  resources.    Most  history  texts  consider  the  Niagara  Falls  to  Buffalo,  New  York  transmission  line  as  the  first  long-­‐distance  line  in  the  nation  built  in  1896,  but  the  reality  is  that  the  San  Antonio  Light  and  Power  Company  (with  A.W.  Decker)  did  it  four  years  earlier  in  San  Antonio  Canyon.    A  bronze  plaque  marks  the  spot  on  Mt.  Baldy  Road.5    In  1892  Henry  Sinclair  formed  the  Redlands  Electric  Light  and  Power  Company  to  provide  power  to  the  Union  Ice  Company  for  the  new  electric  motors  in  its  ice-­‐making  facility  in  Mentone.    The  closest  hydroelectric  resource  was  eight-­‐miles  away  at  Mill  Creek.    This  long  distance  would  require  a  high-­‐voltage  alternating  current.    Decker  recommended  that  a  new  three-­‐phase  alternating  current  generator  be  installed.    The  new  three-­‐phase  system  enabled  electric  motors  to  start  and  stop  independently  of  the  generator  and  delivered  a  smoother  power  torque  to  the  rotating  equipment.    The  Mill  Creek  plant  was  the  first  commercial  power  plant  in  the  United  States  to  use  three-­‐phase  alternating  current.    Today,  the  three-­‐phase  power  generation  remains  the  standard  for  power  generation  worldwide.6    In  1894  the  Mill  Creek  plant  powered  electric  pumps  installed  to  irrigate  many  of  the  orange  groves  in  Redlands.    This  was  the  earliest  recorded  use  of  electric  pumps  for  irrigation  purposes.7    Although  the  original  equipment  was  upgraded  in  1934,  the  Mill  Creek  plant  remains  in  operation  today  as  the  oldest  active  poly-­‐phase  power  plant  in  the  United  States.    

                                                                                                               2  Edison  International,  “Lighting  Up  the  Town  of  Visalia  California  –  1886,”  A  Look  Back:  Our  History  http://www.edison.com/home/about-­‐us/our-­‐history.html#27764,  accessed  October  13,  2014.  3Ibid.,  “Hydroelectric  Power  near  Riverside,  Calif.  –  1887.”      4  Ibid.,  “Steam-­‐powered  Street  Lights  in  Pasadena,  Calif.  –  1888.”    5  Ibid.,  “Electric  Streetlights  for  the  City  of  Pomona  –  1981.”  6  Ibid.,  “Introducing  Three-­‐phase  Alternating  Current  Generation  –  1892.”    7  Ibid.,  “Irrigating  Orange  Groves  with  the  Help  of  Electric  Pumps  –  1894.”    

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In  1895,  the  Kaweah  Power  and  Water  Company  was  formed  to  survey  the  potential  development  of  hydroelectric  facilities  on  the  Kaweah  River  above  Visalia  and  Tulare  County.    The  Kaweah  Hydro  Plant  began  operating  in  1899  and  its  operations  were  folded  into  the  larger  Mount  Whitney  Power  Company.    In  1909  the  Mount  Whitney  Power  Company  was  renamed  as  the  Mount  Whitney  Power  and  Electric  Company,  and  in  1920  was  acquired  by  SCE.8    Based  in  the  central  valley,  the  Mt.  Whitney  Power  Company  focused  primarily  on  rural  customers  with  Visalia  being  the  largest  town  on  its  system.    The  company  covered  most  of  Tulare  County  and  portions  of  the  neighboring  Kings  and  Kern  Counties,  and  built  two  additional  hydroelectric  plants  on  the  Kaweah  River;  Plant  Two  in  1905  and  Plant  Three  in  1913.    The  company  purchased  the  Tule  River  hydroelectric  plant  in  1909  from  the  Globe  Light  and  Power  Company,  enlarged  its  existing  Visalia  Steam  Plant  in  1914  and  acquired  a  smaller  plant  at  Tulare  in  1915  from  the  Tulare  County  Power  Company.    Henry  Huntington,  of  the  Pacific  Light  and  Power  Company,  purchased  controlling  interest  of  the  Mount  Whitney  Power  and  Electric  Company  in  June  1916.9    West  Side  Lighting  Company  and  the  Edison  Electric  Company  In  1896,  in  Los  Angeles,  California,  a  syndicate  of  businessmen  formed  the  West  Side  Lighting  Company  in  response  to  the  city’s  increased  need  for  electricity.    The  West  Side  Lighting  Company  sought  to  utilize  the  “Edison  three-­‐wire”  conduit  technology  invented  years  earlier  by  Thomas  Edison.    They  soon  discovered,  however,  that  use  of  the  Edison  technology  was  prohibited  due  to  a  special  contract  negotiated  between  a  speculative  and  inactive  company  established  in  1884  under  the  name  Los  Angeles  Edison  Electric  Company  and  Thomas  Edison’s  own  General  Electric  Company.    The  contract  provided  the  Los  Angeles  Edison  Electric  Company  with  exclusive  Southern  California  rights  to  the  three-­‐wire  technology.    In  that  same  year,  Henry  Sinclair  of  the  Redlands  Electric  Light  and  Power  Company  teamed  up  with  Henry  Fisher,  a  prominent  Redlands  resident,  to  form  the  Southern  California  Power  Company  to  pursue  the  construction  of  a  new  hydroelectric  facility  on  the  Santa  Ana  River.    In  1897,  West  Side  Lighting  Company  President  George  H.  Barker  met  with  General  Electric  officials  in  San  Francisco  to  negotiate  for  use  of  the  Edison  technology  in  the  Los  Angeles  area  and  to  discuss  a  potential  merger  between  the  West  Side  Lighting  Company  and  General  Electric.    The  new  Edison  Electric  Company  of  Los  Angeles  (EEC)  was  incorporated  on  December  1,  1897,  and  with  George  Barker  as  the  company  head,  the  new  company  took  over  all  the  properties  and  franchises  of  the  West  Side  Lighting  Company  and  secured  the  valuable  equipment  licenses  of  the  inactive  Los  Angeles  Edison  Electric  Company.    Thirsty  for  more  power  supplies  for  downtown  Los  Angeles,  the  EEC  purchased  the  Southern  California  Power  Company  in  1898  and  constructed  the  Santa  Ana  River  No.  1  to  Los  Angeles  Transmission  Line,  an  83-­‐mile  high-­‐voltage  transmission  line  to  bring  the  power  into  downtown  Los  Angeles.    At  the  time,  this  was  by  far  the  longest  and  highest  voltage  transmission  line  built  anywhere  in  the  country.    Edison  engineer  Orville  Ensign  designed  “the  Redlands”  insulator  for  use  on  the  line.    This  innovative  insulator  design  was  rapidly  adopted  throughout  the  West.10    In  the  following  years,  EEC  merged  with  and  acquired  additional  electric  lighting  and  power  companies  and  soon  expanded  into  communities  outside  of  Los  Angeles  as  far  north  as  Santa  Barbara  and  as  far  east  as  Redlands.    The  West  Side  Lighting  Company  and  the  EEC,  with  the  Pacific  Light  and  Power  Company,  are  among  the  most  important  of  SCE’s  ancestral  companies.    At  the  turn-­‐of-­‐the-­‐century,  the  EEC,  alongside  its  primary  competitors,  Pacific  Light  and  Power  Company,  the  San  Joaquin  Power  &  Light  Company,  and  Pacific  Gas  &  Electric  Company,  served  as  the  pioneering  commercial  entities  for  electrical  generation  and  distribution  in  California.    In  California,  at  the  inception  of  electrical  transmission  technology,  power  was  distributed  via  wood  poles  and  later  iron  poles,  but  was  limited  to  short  spans  carrying  a  low  voltage.    The  development  of  hydroelectric  power  at  the  end  of  the  19th  century  set  precedent  for  satisfying  the  demands  of  commercial  electrical  needs  of  the  20th  century,  and  led  to  the  

                                                                                                               8  Ibid.,  “Developing  Hydroelectric  Facilities  on  the  Kaweah  River  –  1895.”    9  William  A.  Myers,  Iron  Men  and  Copper  Wires:  A  Centennial  History  of  the  Southern  California  Edison  Company  (Glendale:  Trans-­‐Anglo  Books,  1983),  92-­‐99.  10  Edison  International,  “Hydroelectric  Power  &  the  Santa  Ana  River  –  1898.”    

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installation  of  electrical  transmission  lines  spanning  great  distances  from  generating  facilities  at  California’s  river  banks,  through  mountain  ranges  and  deserts,  before  terminating  within  the  urbanizing  communities  of  southern  California.    Leading  the  company  in  this  period  of  innovation  and  expansion  was  John  Barnes  Miller.    He  had  joined  the  West  Side  Lighting  Company  as  its  General  Manager  in  1897.    Miller  coined  the  company  motto  that  survives  to  this  day:  “Good  Service,  Square  Dealing,  and  Courteous  Treatment.”    Known  as  the  “Great  Amalgamator”  he  recognized  that  lower  costs  could  be  achieved  by  expanding  the  scale  of  the  company  through  mergers  and  acquisitions.    Miller  served  as  President  of  the  EEC  (and  later  SCE)  for  31  years,  presiding  over  the  most  expansive  period  in  its  history.    He  died  in  1932.    To  date  John  Barnes  Miller  has  been  the  longest  serving  chief  executive  officer  of  SCE.11    In  1907  EEC  began  operations  at  the  Kern  River  #1  Powerhouse,  a  75,000-­‐volt  facility  on  the  banks  of  the  Kern  River  north  of  Bakersfield,  California.    Five  years  earlier,  in  1902,  EEC  Chief  Hydraulic  Engineer,  F.  C.  Finkle  surveyed  the  remote  area  of  Kern  Canyon  with  a  vision  of  a  great  hydroelectric  power  plant  supplying  the  electrical  needs  of  the  rapidly  growing  region  of  Los  Angeles.    Two  years  after  the  initial  survey,  EEC  Vice  President  Henry  Sinclair  chose  a  suitable  location  along  the  Kern  River  –  what  was  reckoned  to  become  the  location  of  Kern  River  Powerhouse  No.  1.      Situated  approximately  14-­‐miles  upstream  from  the  mouth  of  Kern  River,  the  EEC  Kern  River  Powerhouse  No.1  was  set  for  service  in  early  1907.12      The  Powerhouse  served  as  the  generating  facility  for  the  EEC’s  Kern  River  to  Los  Angeles  Transmission  Line,  a  117-­‐mile  span  supported  by  1,140  galvanized  steel  transmission  towers  that  were  modeled  after  windmill  frames,  and  supplied  by  the  Wind  Engine  and  Pump  Company  of  Batavia,  Illinois.    The  towers  are  generally  regarded  as  one  of  the  first  steel  lattice  transmission  tower  types  in  the  United  States.    The  Kern  River  to  Los  Angeles  Transmission  Line  conveyed  60,000-­‐volts  over  its  117-­‐mile  span,  and  terminated  at  EEC’s  pre-­‐existing  Steam  &  Transformer  Plant  No.  3  in  Los  Angeles,  where  the  electricity  was  then  distributed  into  Los  Angeles  via  EEC’s  wood  pole  distribution  system.13    The  Kern  River  to  Los  Angeles  Transmission  Line  was  cited  in  an  August  10,  1907  Electrical  World  article  as  one  of  the  longest  transmission  lines  operating  on  the  North  American  continent.    With  its  steel  towers  and  specially  designed  insulators  intended  for  a  voltage  capacity  of  75kV,  the  Kern  River  to  Los  Angeles  Transmission  Line  with  its  associated  Powerhouse  “typified  the  latest  modern  practice  in  hydroelectric  power  plant  design.”  14    At  the  start  of  operation,  the  Kern  River  Hydroelectric  Project  was  identified  as  the  “most  permanent  and  costly  hydraulic  waterway  in  the  country.15    SCE  Reincorporation,  Mergers,  Acquisitions,  Expansion,  and  Innovation  By  1909  the  EEC  provided  electricity  to  over  600,000  people  throughout  five  counties.    To  reflect  this  expanded  presence,  the  company  was  reincorporated  as  the  Southern  California  Edison  Company  (SCE).    In  the  first  two  decades  of  the  Twentieth  Century  SCE  continued  to  expand  throughout  the  growing  southern  California  region.    The  company  initiated  construction  of  its  Long  Beach  Steam  Plant  in  1910  and  implemented  a  new  system  of  66kV  steel  tower  transmission  lines  to  replace  its  previous  network  of  33kV  wood  pole  lines.    In  1916  SCE  merged  with  Henry  Huntington’s  Pacific  Light  &  Power  Corporation  (PLPC).  The  merger  was  viewed  as  beneficial  to  both  parties.  Huntington  received  about  $12  million  in  Edison  stock  and  SCE  gained  absolute  control  over  all  former  PLPC  holdings  and  future  expansion  efforts,  including  the  Borel  Powerhouse  and  associated  Borel  to  Los  Angeles  Transmission  Line,  and  the  Big  Creek  Hydroelectric  System.    After  the  successful  merger  between  SCE  and  PLPC,  the  company  focused  its  labors  at  expanding  the  Big  Creek  Hydroelectric  System,  initially  in-­‐service  in  1913  at  a  level  of  150kV,  and  upgraded  to  220kV  in  1923.    By  1916,  the  year  of  the  PLPC  and  SCE  merger,  56  Southern  California  communities  were  lit  by  SCE  

                                                                                                               11  Ibid.,  “Our  motto:  “Good  Service,  Square  Dealing,  and  Courteous  Treatment”  –  1901.”    12  Frederick  Hall  Fowler,  Hydroelectric  Power  Systems  of  California  and  Their  Extension  into  Oregon  and  Nevada,  Water-­‐supply  paper,  issue  493,  (Washington,  D.C.:  Government  Printing  Office,  1923),  632-­‐638.  13  “Kern  River  No.  1  Power  Plant  of  Edison  Electric  Co.,  Los  Angeles,”  Electrical  World,  vol.  50,  August  10,  1907,  277-­‐281.  14  Ibid.,  277.  15  Ibid.  

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infrastructure.    Of  those  56  communities  serviced,  22  were  initially  serviced  by  infrastructure  installed  in  the  EEC-­‐period  (1897-­‐1909)  and  34  were  serviced  by  SCE-­‐period  (1910-­‐1916)  infrastructure.    By  1920,  an  additional  153  communities  were  serviced  by  SCE  resulting  from  the  1917  merger  with  Huntington’s  PLPC  and  the  1920  acquisition  of  the  Mount  Whitney  Power  and  Electric  Company.16    Into  the  late  1920s  SCE  continued  to  develop  its  Big  Creek  Hydroelectric  System  through  the  creation  of  dams  and  reservoirs,  building  of  powerhouses,  rail  lines,  and  tunnels,  as  well  as  support  camps  replete  with  food  and  housing  for  workers,  recreation  and  entertainment  offerings,  medical  facilities,  and  administrative  offices.    Upgrades  were  completed  at  the  existing  East  and  West  Transmission  Lines,  and  additional  transmission  lines  were  installed  to  convey  electricity  from  Big  Creek  to  Los  Angeles.    By  1929,  when  the  initial  Big  Creek  Hydroelectric  system  was  completed,  its  capacity  consistently  generated  more  electrical  power  than  any  other  systems  in  place  at  the  time.    The  Big  Creek  system  boasted  many  innovative  engineering  features,  including  the  longest  water  tunnel  in  the  world,  the  243-­‐mile  Big  Creek  East  and  West  150  /  220kV  Transmission  Lines,  the  224-­‐mile  Vincent  220kV  Transmission  Line,  with  all  three  lines  spanning  between  the  Big  Creek  generating  facilities  on  the  upper  San  Joaquin  River  and  the  Gould  Substation  in  Los  Angeles,  the  longest  electrical  transmission  lines  in  the  world  at  that  time.    Developing  in  a  parallel  path  to  these  early  PLPC  and  SCE  projects  were  the  hydroelectric  facilities  at  Bishop  Creek.  Built  by  a  syndicate  of  investors  under  multiple  successor  corporations,  including  the  Nevada  Power,  Mining  and  Milling  Company  (incorporated  in  1904),  the  Nevada-­‐California  Power  Company  (incorporated  in  1907),  the  Southern  Sierras  Power  Company  (incorporated  in  1911),  and  the  Nevada-­‐California  Electric  Corporation  (incorporated  in  1914),  the  Bishop  Creek  Hydroelectric  System  included  multiple  powerhouses,  each  with  an  associated  residential  complex  for  operators  and  maintenance  crews,  and  a  control  station  which  served  as  the  switching  point  for  the  collection  and  distribution  of  electricity  from  the  system.    In  1941  the  Nevada-­‐California  Power  Company  was  renamed  as  the  California  Electric  Power  Company.  Several  early  long-­‐distance  transmission  records  originated  from  Bishop  Creek.    In  1905  a  high-­‐voltage  118-­‐mile  power  line  was  installed  between  Bishop  Creek,  Tonopah,  Nevada  and  Goldfield,  Nevada.  In  1905,  two  55,000  volts  (55kV)  a  high-­‐voltage  wood  pole  lines  were  installed  118-­‐miles  power  line  was  installed  between  Bishop  Creek  and  ,  Tonopah,  Nevada  and  Goldfield,  Nevada.  .  In  1912,  a  double  circuit  115,000  volts  (115kV)  transmission  line  was  constructed  on  double  circuit  lattice  steel  towers  from  Control  Substation  on  Bishop  Creek  to  the  San  Bernardino  Substation  (renamed  Caletric)  in  San  Bernardino,  California  for  a  total  span  of  239-­‐miles.  The  line  was  called  the  "Tower  Line"  because  of  the  new  “off  the  shelf”  towers  being  used  from  the  Milliken  Brothers  of  New  York,  which  had  become  the  norm,  as  opposed  to  the  wooden  or  metal  poles,  pole  towers,  or  windmill  poles  as  found  in  early  lines  like  the  Kern-­‐Los  Angeles  60kV  Transmission  Line  (built  in  1907).  In  1912  the  Tower  line  was  built  between  Bishop  Creek  and  San  Bernardino,  California  for  a  total  span  of  239-­‐miles17      On  April  26,  1930  SCE  entered  into  a  contract  with  the  United  States  Interior  Department  to  generate  electricity  for  itself  and  other  investor-­‐owned  electric  utility  companies,  and  to  distribute  that  power  to  its  southern  California  service  territory.    The  source  of  power  was  intended  for  construction:  the  Hoover  Dam,  and  SCE’s  contract,  along  with  similar  contracts  in  place  between  the  United  States  government,  the  City  of  Los  Angeles,  and  the  Southern  Sierra  Power  Company  (SSPC),  helped  to  guarantee  the  amortization  of  the  project  expenses  over  a  50-­‐year  period.18    The  SSPC  Boulder  Dam  to  San  Bernardino  transmission  line  was  energized  in  1931  to  initially  convey  power  to  the  dam  for  construction  purposes,  and  then  was  later  reversed  to  carry  electricity  to  San  Bernardino  when  the  dam  was  completed  and  in  operation.    

                                                                                                               16  Myers,  253-­‐261.  17  Dorothea  Theodoratus,  Clinton  M.  Blount,  Valerie  H.  Diamond,  Stephen  G.  Helmich,  and  Robert  A.  Hicks  /  Theodoratus  Cultural  Research,  Inc.,  Evaluation  of  the  Historic  Resources  of  the  Bishop  Creek  Hydroelectric  System  (July  1988),  9.  18  Myers,  184.  

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Into  the  late  1940s,  in  the  post-­‐WWII  period,  additional  SCE  projects  were  undertaken  at  Big  Creek  to  make  improvements  to  existing  powerhouses  including  the  addition  of  new  generators,  and  construction  of  new  dams  and  powerhouses.    This  later  phase  of  construction  continued  through  the  1960s.    The  modern-­‐period  upgrade  campaign  at  Big  Creek  was  instrumental  in  responding  to  the  increased  electricity  needs  of  southern  California  resultant  from  post-­‐war  suburban  expansion.    In  1964  the  California  Electric  Power  Company  and  its  holdings  were  acquired  by  SCE,  including  the  Bishop  Creek  Hydroelectric  System  and  its  associated  transmission  lines.    Today  SCE  maintains  an  electrical  infrastructure  comprised  of  individually  constructed  substations,  transmission  lines,  and  other  electrical  generation  and  distribution  equipment  supporting  fourteen  million  customers  over  an  approximate  50,000  square-­‐mile  service  territory.    The  SCE  territory  covers  all  or  portions  of  Fresno,  Inyo,  Kern,  Kings,  Los  Angeles,  Madera,  Mono,  Orange,  Riverside,  San  Bernardino,  San  Diego,  Santa  Barbara,  Tulare,  and  Ventura  Counties.    Additionally,  SCE  owns  facilities  in  eastern  Arizona  and  Nevada  that  transmit  electricity  to  southern  California.    SCE  Substations  Early  SCE  substations  (and  other  facilities  such  as  hydroelectric  plants,  steam  plants,  and  ice  houses),  developed  in  the  early  service-­‐area  expansion  period  (circa  1909  through  the  1930s),  often  incorporated  a  historicist  architectural  aesthetic  into  the  substation  complex  by  housing  the  utilitarian  activities  and  engineering  equipment  inside  an  ornately  decorated  building  modeled  after  the  popular  architectural  style  of  the  time.    Early  SCE  substations  were  developed  in  the  Classical  Revival,  Mission  Revival,  Spanish  Revival,  and  Stripped  Classical  styles.    These  early  substation  buildings  were  typically  constructed  as  stand-­‐alone  structures  throughout  the  SCE  service  territory.    The  substation  properties  were  expanded  as  necessary  based  on  customer  demand,  usually  in  the  form  of  additional  buildings  or  structures  and  the  requisite  electrical  engineering  equipment  including  transformers  and  switches.    In  some  instances  the  company  designed  substation  buildings  to  resemble  housing  to  complement  the  surrounding  residential  neighborhood.    Known  examples  include  the  Spanish  Revival  style  Ramona  Substation  built  in  1926  in  Alhambra,  and  the  Mediterranean  Revival  style  Fairfax  Substation  built  in  1930  in  Fairfax.19    Prior  to  1950,  SCE  and  its  predecessor  companies  had  installed  approximately  150  substation  facilities  within  its  service  territory.    In  1950  SCE  acquired  or  put-­‐in-­‐service  approximately  402  additional  substation  facilities.    Today  there  are  at  least  1,300  substations  facilities  within  the  SCE  portfolio.    In  the  post  WWII-­‐period,  with  the  construction  of  bulk  power  stations  SCE  no  longer  incorporated  stylistic  elements  or  a  clear  architectural  aesthetic  into  its  substation  properties.    The  company  promoted  a  more  efficient  program  with  less  architectural  intervention  at  the  utilitarian  electrical  engineering  complexes.    In  most  instances,  monumental  substation  buildings  were  no  longer  erected;  rather,  the  properties  were  improved  with  just  the  basic  electrical  engineering  structures  including  transformer  racks,  cable  trenches,  and  water  towers.    The  structures  built  to  house  traditional  uses  including  switching  room,  oil  house,  and  other  functions,  were  of  utilitarian  design  constructed  of  corrugated  aluminum  or  transite  siding,  and  void  of  stylistic  details  and  ornamentation.        Historic-­‐era  SCE  substation  can  be  categorized  into  six  types,  depending  on  the  type  of  building  that  they  resemble:  Civic,  Commercial,  Monumental,  Religious,  Residential,  and  Atypical.    Civic  type  buildings  are  the  most  numerous  type.    These  substations  are  small,  one-­‐story  Classical  Revival  brick  buildings  that  resemble  libraries  or  post  offices.    There  are  four  subtypes,  of  which  three  subtypes  resemble  libraries  and  the  fourth  resembles  post  offices.    Commercial  type  buildings  are  the  most  diverse  and  are  in  Period  Revival  architectural  styles  that  resemble  buildings  for  business.    There  are  three  subtypes:  bank,  office,  and  retail.    

                                                                                                               19  Southern  California  Edison,  Confidential  Substation  Database.    Southern  California  Edison,  Southern  California  Edison  Photographs  and  Negatives,  http://hdl.huntington.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/  p16003coll2,  Huntington  Digital  Library.  

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Monumental  type  buildings  do  not  resemble  a  particular  building,  but  convey  a  substantial  presence  and  formal  appearance  through  massing  and  scale.    These  substations  are  usually  reinforced  concrete,  more  than  one  story,  and  do  not  have  much  detail.    There  are  three  subtypes:    block,  box,  and  multi-­‐part.    Religious  type  substations  are  the  rarest  and  do  not  have  subtypes.    These  substations  resemble  Spanish  Colonial  Revival  churches.    The  Residential  type  resembles  houses  or  apartment  buildings.    There  are  three  subtypes:  apartment,  bungalow,  and  cottage.    They  are  mostly  in  the  Spanish  Colonial  Revival  style.    The  bungalow  and  cottage  subtypes  are  all  one-­‐story.    The  Atypical  type  is  defined  as  substations  that  would  not  be  architecturally  significant,  but  are  historically  significant.  The  three  subtypes  of  Monumental  Type  substations  differ  in  their  massing.    The  block  subtype  buildings  were  designed  by  engineering  firm  Stone  and  Webster  as  tall  concrete  block  buildings.    These  buildings  are  over  three  stories  and  have  bays  of  windows  and  overhangs.    The  box  subtype  are  the  most  numerous  subtype.    These  buildings  have  either  cornice  or  recessed  panels  to  make  these  rectangular-­‐plan  buildings  monumental.    The  multi-­‐part  subtype  displays  massing  divided  into  two  to  three  parts.    These  buildings  have  modernized  Classical  Revival  or  Stripped  Classical  features,  such  as  pediments  and  piers.    Block  Subtype  There  are  two  substations  of  this  subtype:  Eagle  Rock  and  Magunden.    These  two  buildings  were  constructed  as  part  of  the  Big  Creek  Hydroelectric  System.    Eagle  Rock  Substation  The  city  of  Eagle  Rock  was  incorporated  in  1911.20    From  1911-­‐1916,  the  population  tripled  from  about  600  to  1,850  people.21    At  this  time,  several  factors  were  responsible  for  its  growth.    The  most  important  was  the  construction  of  the  “W”  trolley  line  from  downtown  Los  Angeles  to  Eagle  Rock  Park  in  1911.22    Another  factor  was  the  opening  of  the  Colorado  Street  Bridge  over  the  Arroyo  Seco  in  Pasadena.    The  bridge  was  a  part  of  a  state  highway  that  connected  Eagle  Rock  to  the  San  Gabriel  Valley  and  cut  the  commute  time  between  the  points  from  a  full  day  to  a  few  minutes.    It  also  gave  rise  to  Colorado  Street  becoming  a  main  street  in  Eagle  Rock  and  the  intersection  of  Colorado  Street  and  Eagle  Rock  Boulevard  became  the  commercial  center  of  town.23      In  1914-­‐1917,  several  community  buildings  were  constructed.    Developer  Godfrey  Edwards  constructed  the  Women's  Twentieth  Century  Clubhouse  in  1914  and  the  Eagle  Park  School  in  1917.24    The  town  received  a  Carnegie  grant  that  they  used  to  build  a  library  in  1915.25    In  1922,  Eagle  Rock  built  its  City  Hall  before  Los  Angeles  annexed  it  in  1923.26    The  Pacific  Light  and  Power  Corporation  (PLPC)  was  established  to  supply  electricity  to  the  trolley  lines  that  connected  downtown  Los  Angeles  to  its  suburban  communities  and  surrounding  cities.    The  trolley  lines  in  turn  helped  to  drive  the  growth  of  Los  Angeles.    Streetcar  magnate  Henry  E.  Huntington  started  his  empire  in  Southern  California  in  1898  when  his  syndicate  bought  the  Los  Angeles  Railway  and  then  in  1902  when  he  incorporated  the  Pacific  Electric  Railway.27    He  oversaw  the  development  of  the  Red  Car  line  of  the  Pacific  Electric  and  the  Yellow  Car  line  of  the  Los  Angeles  Railway.  Not  only  did  he  earn  money  through  the  railway,  he  was  also  able  to  help  determine  the  location  of  future  stops  on  the  line  and  then  profit  from  selling  real  

                                                                                                               20  Eric  H.  Warren  and  Frank  E.  Parrello,  Pioneers  of  Eagle  Rock  (The  History  Press,  Charleston,  South    Carolina:  2014)  106.  

21  Ibid.,  122.  22  Ibid.,  112.  23  Ibid.  24  Ibid.,  122.  25  Ibid.,  116.  26  Ibid.,  130.  27  William  B.  Friedricks,  Henry  E.  Huntington  and  the  Creation  of  Southern  California  (Columbus:  Ohio  State  University  Press,  1992),  48.  

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estate  near  the  new  destinations  of  the  railway.28      Huntington  organized  the  PLPC  with  partners  William  G.  Kerchkoff,  Kaspare  Cohn,  and  Henry  W.  O'Melveny  to  provide  electricity  to  his  Los  Angeles  and  Pacific  Electric  Railway  and  then  sell  the  excess  power.29      The  company  absorbed  the  San  Gabriel  Electric  Company,  the  Kern  Power  Company,  and  the  Los  Angeles  Electric  Company.    Its  holdings  included  the  Azusa  water  power  plant,  the  San  Antonio  water  power  plant,  and  the  Los  Angeles  steam  plant.30    In  1910,  Huntington  split  the  Los  Angeles  and  Pacific  Electric  Railway  and  retained  the  Los  Angeles  Railway  lines.    He  reorganized  the  Los  Angeles  Railway  and  planned  to  improve  and  expand  it.    He  needed  to  guarantee  affordable  electric  power  for  his  streetcars.31    The  same  year,  he  had  just  expanded  the  steam  plant  at  Redondo  Beach  three  years  after  it  was  first  built  to  keep  up  with  the  increasing  demand  for  electricity.32    However,  he  realized  that  hydroelectric  power  was  much  cheaper  than  steam-­‐generated  power.    The  cost  of  a  kilowatt-­‐hour  at  the  Redondo  Beach  steam  plant  was  about  four  cents,  while  the  same  amount  of  power  through  hydroelectric  means  would  only  be  ten  percent  of  one  cent.    Huntington  already  had  a  plan  for  hydroelectric  power  in  mind,  but  did  not  have  the  ability  to  build  the  system  until  1910.    Eight  years  earlier,  in  1902,  hydroelectric  power  pioneer  and  engineer  John  S.  Eastwood  envisioned  the  possibility  of  hydroelectric  power  in  the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains  of  East  Fresno  County.  Huntington  hired  Eastwood  to  develop  the  idea.    Eastwood  proposed  his  design  for  the  Big  Creek  hydroelectric  system  in  1905.    In  1910,  Huntington  incorporated  a  new  PLPC  that  absorbed  his  old  company  and  bought  the  water  rights  to  Big  Creek  from  Eastwood's  Mammoth  Power  Company.    Stone  and  Webster,  a  Boston-­‐based  engineering  firm,  built  the  project,  including  the  subject  Eagle  Rock  Substation.33        The  large  supply  of  power  from  the  Big  Creek  Hydroelectric  Project  allowed  the  PLPC  to  expand  its  distribution  system  to  Glendora,  San  Fernando,  Compton,  and  Huntington  Beach.    The  PLPC  also  expanded  its  distribution  system  through  acquisitions  north  of  Los  Angeles.    In  1914,  the  PLPC  purchased  control  of  the  Ventura  County  Power  Company  and  in  1916,  a  controlling  interest  in  the  Mt.  Whitney  Power  and  Electric  Company  of  the  southern  San  Joaquin  Valley.34    In  1917,  PLPC  merged  with  Southern  California  Edison,  the  latter  acquiring  all  the  holdings  of  PLPC  including  the  subject  Eagle  Rock  Substation  property.35    The  Eagle  Rock  Substation,  was  the  southern  terminus  of  the  Big  Creek  Hydroelectric  System,  initially  in-­‐service  in  1913  as  the  largest  privately  owned  hydroelectric  project  west  of  the  Mississippi.36      A  241-­‐mile,  150,000-­‐volt  transmission  line,  the  longest  and  highest-­‐voltage  transmission  line  of  its  time,  connected  the  Eagle  Rock  Substation  to  Powerhouse  #1  and  #2  in  Big  Creek.    The  substation  was  first  brought  on-­‐line  on  November  8,  1913  after  the  Redondo  Beach  Steam  Plant  lost  power.37    The  loss  of  power  was  during  the  morning  rush  hour  to  work,  so  it  was  important  to  restore  power  quickly  in  order  to  restore  power  to  the  Los  Angeles  Railway.    After  forty-­‐five  minutes  without  power  from  the  Redondo  Beach  Steam  Plant,  Big  Creek  

                                                                                                               28  Ibid.,  100.  29  Water  and  Power  Associates,  “First  Electricity  in  Los  Angeles,”  Mulholland-­‐Scattergood  Virtual  Museum,  http://waterandpower.org/museum/First%20Electricity%20in%20Los%20Angeles.html,  Accessed  September  15,  2014.    Friedricks,    7  and  62.      30  Friedricks,  62.  31  Ibid.,  99.  32  Sam  Gnerre,  “Redondo  Beach's  Power  Plants,”  Daily  Breeze  Blog,  http://blogs.dailybreeze.com/history/2011/10/05/redondo-­‐beachs-­‐power-­‐plant/,  Accessed  September  15,  2014.    33  Friedricks,  111-­‐112.  34  Ibid.,  127.  35  Ibid.,  132.  36  Eagle  Rock  Valley  Historical  Society,  Newsletter,  Winter  2014,  4.  37  Southern  California  Edison,  “Bringing  Big  Creek  to  Life,”  Inside  Edison,  November  2013,  10-­‐12.  

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was  turned  on  to  transmit  20,000  horsepower  at  around  8:38  A.M.38    The  Big  Creek  Hydroelectric  System  allowed  power  to  be  delivered  at  different  points,  so  that  accidents,  fires,  or  floods  would  not  interfere  with  the  entire  system.    A  60,000-­‐  volt  transmission  line  connected  the  Eagle  Rock  substation  with  the  Redondo  Beach  steam  plant.39      In  1923,  the  Big  Creek  Hydroelectric  system  increased  its  lines  to  220,000  volts  and  new  transformers  had  to  be  transported  to  the  Eagle  Rock  substation  site  on  a  branch  line  of  the  Los  Angeles  Railway.40    The  Eagle  Rock  Substation  and  the  power  it  brought  into  Los  Angeles  and  the  surrounding  communities  (including  Eagle  Rock)  was  pivotal  to  meeting  the  electricity  needs  of  Los  Angeles  for  years  to  come.    This  was  shown  when  the  substation  lost  power  almost  ten  years  after  it  opened.    On  Monday,  January  8,  1923,  the  short-­‐circuiting  of  a  high-­‐tension  wire  resulted  in  an  explosion  of  a  lightning  arrester,  which  formed  and  ignited  gas  in  the  upper  stories  of  the  substation  building  and  started  a  fire  fed  by  the  oil  in  the  arresters.    The  resulting  power  outage  cut  electricity  to  more  than  200  towns  in  Southern  California  and  stopped  more  than  half  of  the  Yellow  Car  service  in  Los  Angeles.41      The  power  from  Big  Creek  was  the  major  source  of  electricity  for  the  company  into  the  1950s.42    Magunden  Substation  The  Pacific  Light  and  Power  Company  (PLPC)  (subsequently  Southern  California  Edison)  established  the  Magunden  Substation  in  1914  as  a  transmission  component  of  the  Big  Creek  Hydroelectric  Project,  located  approximately  130  miles  north  in  mountainous  eastern  Fresno  County.    The  station  is  located  along  the  original  long-­‐distance  transmission  lines  from  the  project,  historically  known  as  the  Big  Creek  East  and  West  Transmission  Lines,  which  extend  from  Big  Creek  to  Los  Angeles  in  their  entirety.    In  addition,  the  station  is  sited  on  the  Vincent  Transmission  Line,  which  was  developed  in  1925  from  Big  Creek  to  Los  Angeles,  and  a  modern  line,  the  Omar  Transmission  Line,  which  extends  from  the  Omar  Substation  near  Oildale.  The  substation  has  continued  to  serve  as  a  critical  component  of  SCE’s  transmission  infrastructure,  and  continues  to  transmit  electricity  from  the  Big  Creek  Project.43            Stone  and  Webster  Construction  Company  constructed  Magunden  Substation  in  1913-­‐1914,  under  contract  to  PLPC.    Stone  and  Webster  Construction  Company  also  constructed  the  entirety  of  the  original  Big  Creek  Project,  including  the  powerhouses,  dams,  transportation  networks,  and  related  support  facilities.  The  building  went  into  operation  in  1914.  Initially  the  substation  served  only  the  150  kV  Big  Creek  East  and  West  Transmission  Lines,  which  extended  240  miles  from  Big  Creek  to  the  Eagle  Rock  Substation.    In  its  industrial  design  characterized  by  modest  classical  revival  allusions,  the  building  was  reminiscent  of  other  Big  Creek  construction,  most  notably  Powerhouse  Nos.  1,  2,  and  8.44        The  Magunden  Substation  was  the  first  of  several  substations  developed  along  the  system’s  transmission  lines,  which  were  originally  150  kV  and  upgraded  to  220kV  in  the  1920s.    In  their  entirety,  the  lines  extended  from  the  hydroelectric  project  to  distribution  facilities  in  Los  Angeles  and  its  surrounding  urban  areas,  passing  through  Magunden  as  they  extended  south  from  the  powerhouses  of  Big  Creek.    In  addition  to  relaying  power,  the  facility  came  to  operate  as  a  switching  station  in  the  1920s,  consolidating  electricity  generated  at  other  companies  and  incorporating  it  into  the  electrical  grid.45    

                                                                                                               38  “Big  Creek  Power  Put  to  Work  in  This  City,”  Los  Angeles  Times,  November  9,  1913.  39  Max  Loewenthal,  “Splendid  Advance  of  Electrical  Industry,”  Los  Angeles  Times,  January  17,  1915.  40  Myers,  119.  41  “Blast  Starts  Power  Blaze:  Street  Car  Service  in  Los  Angeles  Curtailed,”  Los  Angeles  Times,  January  10,    

1923.    42  Myers,  111.  43  Garret  Root  and  Polly  Allen  of  Cardno,  DPR  523  forms  for  Magunden  Substation,  May  2015,  3.  44  Ibid.,  4  and  5.  45  Ibid.,  4.    

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By  the  late  1910s,  the  hydroelectric  market  was  becoming  increasingly  complex,  with  a  number  of  rival  companies  across  the  Sierra  and  accessing  urban  markets  through  the  Central  Valley.  In  addition  to  PLPC  and  subsequently  SCE,  PG&E,  Mount  Whitney  Power  and  Electric  Company,  and  San  Joaquin  Light  and  Power  were  constructing  their  own  hydroelectric  facilities  and  transmission  infrastructure.  The  state’s  acting  utility  regulatory  body—the  California  State  Railroad  Commission—mandated  that  companies  integrate  transmission  systems  to  promote  greater  statewide  utility  efficiency.  Because  of  Magunden’s  central  location  and  size  it  became  an  early  switching  station  for  multiple  companies,  serving  as  a  critical  nexus  between  distinct  companies  and  projects.  Because  SCE  operated  using  50-­‐cycle  technology,  which  differed  from  the  majority  of  the  utility  which  operated  at  60-­‐cycles,  Magunden  contained  large  frequency  changers  that  altered  cycles  so  electricity  could  be  cycled  up  or  down  based  upon  varying  company’s  needs.  By  the  late  1910s,  in  addition  to  Big  Creek’s  lines,  Magunden  transferred  energy  from  SCE’s  Kern  River  No.  1  as  well  as  lines  of  Mount  Whitney  Power  and  Electric  Company  and  San  Joaquin  Light  and  Power  Company.  These  additional  lines  changed  the  substation’s  role  from  simply  facilitating  the  transfer  of  electricity  from  Big  Creek  to  Eagle  Rock  to  that  of  a  switching  station  within  the  larger  energy  grid.46  In  the  early  1920s,  SCE  began  upgrading  the  original  East  and  West  Transmission  Lines  from  150  to  220  kV,  in  response  to  ever  escalating  consumer  demands.  To  accommodate  the  higher  voltages  coming  through  Magunden,  SCE  installed  larger  equipment  and  a  large  transmission  yard  constructed  outside  the  confines  of  the  main  building,  which  originally  housed  the  transmission  equipment.  This  functional  change  rerouted  the  Big  Creek  East  and  West  lines  to  the  transmission  yard  located  on  the  south  side  of  the  building.  Additionally,  in  1928  SCE  completed  a  third  220  kV  Big  Creek  transmission  line,  the  Vincent  Transmission  Line,  which  extended  from  Big  Creek’s  Powerhouse  No.  3  to  Gould  Substation  near  Los  Angeles.    This  addition  connected  through  the  east  side  of  the  transmission  rack  and  further  solidified  Magunden’s  central  role  as  a  Big  Creek  transmission  facility.47        Box  Subtype  There  are  three  substations  within  this  subtype:  Chino,  Colton,  and  Newmark.    These  three  properties  were  put  in-­‐service  between  1912  and  1913.    Chino  Substation  Located  in  the  southwestern  portion  of  San  Bernardino  County,  the  City  of  Chino  was  incorporated  on  February  28,  1910  with  a  population  of  approximately  1,400  as  an  agricultural  and  farming  center.48    Prior  to  incorporation,  land  speculation  of  the  Chino  area  occurred  starting  in  1887  when  the  one-­‐mile  Chino  town  site  was  platted  with  surrounding  10-­‐acre  tracts.    By  1895,  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  had  been  established  and  was  linked  with  the  Chino  Valley  Railroad  at  Chino,  allowing  for  town  growth  and  the  advancement  in  manufacturing  and  shipment  of  agricultural  goods.49    The  town’s  expansion  was  reflected  in  new  services  and  amenities  including  a  general  store  with  a  mail  service,  a  Wells  Fargo  Office,  a  regular  circulating  newspaper,  a  hotel  and  a  rail  service.    The  Chino  Beet  Sugar  Factory  was  established  in  1890  and  provided  employment  and  an  economic  base  for  a  large  number  of  early  settlers.    The  Central  School  was  erected  in  1894.    The  town  further  expanded  in  1898  when  the  Southern  Pacific  purchased  rights  to  a  narrow  gauge  road  connecting  Chino  to  Pomona.50    By  1910,  the  City’s  incorporation  year,  Chino’s  population  was  recorded  at  1,444  

                                                                                                               46  Ibid.,  6.  47  Ibid.  48  City  of  Chino  General  Plan.  49  Sanborn  Fire  Insurance  Maps  for  Chino  (San  Bernardino  Co.).    Key  Sheets  c.  1895,  1897,  1907,  1912,  1925,  1932.  50  Brown,  John  Jr.  and  James  Boyd.  History  of  San  Bernardino  and  Riverside  Counties.  Volume  1.    The  Lewis  Publishing  Company:  Chicago,  IL.  1922.  Chapter  XIX:  Chino,  Pages  238-­‐240.  

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residents.    Soon  thereafter  the  Southern  California  Edison  Company  initiated  construction  of  a  substation  that  would  supply  electricity  to  the  residents  of  Chino.51    The  substation  is  sited  immediately  south  of  Chino  proper,  approximately  1.5  miles  south  of  the  historic  Chino  town  site.    But  for  a  tankhouse  erected  behind  the  building  (not  extant),  the  Substation  Building  was  the  only  building  erected  at  the  property  and  soley  supported  electrical  transmissions  from  1921  through  circa  1938  when  a  second  phase  of  construction  and  expansion  occurred  at  the  facility.    The  electricity  generated  by  and  distributed  through  the  Chino  Substation  Building  lit  the  streets,  homes,  and  businesses  of  Chino  and  directly  helped  to  support  Chino’s  early  development  as  a  community  in  Southern  California’s  Inland  Empire.    Colton  Substation  The  railroads  heavily  influenced  the  founding  and  development  of  Colton,  founded  in  1875  as  a  town  along  the  transcontinental  railroad  line  of  the  Southern  Pacific.    The  town  site  was  laid  out  in  grid  with  additional  lots  in  an  area  identified  as  South  Colton,  which  came  to  be  occupied  by  railroad  workers,  and  was  located  south  of  the  railroad  tracks  in  the  vicinity  of  Interstate  10.52      The  major  industries  in  Colton  were  the  railroads  and  citrus  agriculture.    In  1876,  the  Southern  Pacific  completed  its  line  into  Los  Angeles  and  in  1885,  the  Atchison,  Topeka  &  Santa  Fe  Railway  (ATSFR)  did  the  same.    The  two  railroads  engaged  in  a  price  war  that  drove  down  the  ticket  price  for  a  transcontinental  trip  and  led  to  a  mass  immigration  into  Southern  California.    This  population  increase  resulted  in  a  land  boom  in  San  Bernardino  County.53    By  1896,  Colton  was  crossed  north-­‐south  and  east-­‐west  by  the  Southern  Pacific  tracks.    The  California  Southern  Railroad,  a  subsidiary  of  the  ATSFR,  maintained  a  line  north-­‐south,  the  San  Bernardino  to  San  Diego  line,  and  then  its  east-­‐west  line  crossed  north  of  Colton  in  San  Bernardino.54      The  citrus  processing  industry  was  dependent  on  the  local  railroads.    From  1882  to  1936,  a  district  of  citrus  processing  plants  developed  around  6th  Street  downtown  near  the  fruit-­‐growing  region  of  Colton  and  adjacent  to  the  California  Southern  tracks.55    Colton  received  a  supply  of  electricity  early  on  in  the  town’s  settlement  and  from  different  utilities  due  to  its  connection  to  the  railroad  industry.    Colton  was  incorporated  in  1887  and  was  supplied  electricity  in  1899  by  the  EEC  (predecessor  of  the  SCE).    Before  the  EEC  arrived  in  Colton,  the  Highgrove  plant  built  by  Charles  R.  Lloyd  by  1888  supplied  electricity  through  brush-­‐type  arc  lighting  in  Colton.56    In  1896,  a  new  10,000-­‐volt  transmission  line  connected  to  the  Mill  Creek  plant  was  strung  from  Redlands  to  Colton  and  Riverside  to  power  agricultural  pumping  and  to  supply  municipal  needs.57    The  City  of  Colton  established  its  municipal  electrical  system  in  1900  for  street  lighting  by  buying  power  from  the  EEC  and  after  1900  bought  portions  of  the  electric  system  to  operate  it  directly.58        In  1899,  the  city  of  Colton  was  connected  to  the  Santa  Ana  River  Hydroelectric  System.    Powerhouses  built  along  the  Santa  Ana  River  in  the  San  Bernardino  National  Forest  supplied  power  to  the  system.59    The  

                                                                                                               51  City  of  Chino  Website.  Did  You  Know:  Historical  Facts.  www.cityofchino.org/index.aspx?page=558.    Accessed  June  7,  2010.  52  City  of  Colton,  “History  of  Colton,”  Our  Community,  http://www.ci.colton.ca.us/index.aspx?nid=98,  Accessed  September  30,  1914.  53  Mark  T.  Swanson  (historian)  and  David  DeVries  (photographer),  Historic  American  Engineering  Record,  CA-­‐130:  Santa  Ana  River  Hydroelectric  System,  San  Bernardino  County,  California,  Report  by  Greenwood  &  Associates  for  the  Army  Corps  of  Engineers,  1992,  39.  54  U.S.  Geological  Survey,  San  Bernardino  Quadrangle,  California,  1:62,500,  15  Minute  Series  (Washington  D.C.:  USGS,  1896).  55  The  Lightfoot  Planning  Group  and  Affinis,  Colton  Cultural  Resources  Preservation  Element,  2000,  10.  56  Swanson,  40.  57  Ibid.,  51.  58  Myers,  142  and  255.  59  Swanson,  5.  

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companies  that  constructed  the  Santa  Ana  River  Hydroelectric  System  eventually  merged  into  SCE.    The  Southern  California  Power  Company  that  initiated  construction  on  Santa  Ana  River  Powerhouse  No.  1  merged  in  1902  and  the  Mentone  Power  Company  that  constructed  Powerhouse  No.  3  merged  in  1917.60    In  1905,  the  line  between  Powerhouse  No.  1  and  Colton  was  increased  to  33,000-­‐volt  current  and  also  connected  to  the  Santa  Ana  River  Powerhouse  No.  2.61    Constructed  in  1912,  the  Colton  Substation  served  as  the  point  of  principal  load  for  the  eastern  part  of  the  SCE  system.62    It  was  connected  to  Kern  River  Powerhouse  No.  1  by  an  approximately  175-­‐mile  transmission  line.63    The  Colton  Substation  controlled  the  voltage  from  Los  Angeles,  the  Santa  Ana  River,  and  Mill  Creek  and  acted  as  a  step-­‐down  transmission  substation  by  stepping  down  voltage  it  received  from  two  sources,  the  66,000  voltage  current  from  Los  Angeles  switching  station  and  the  33,000  voltage  current  from  the  Santa  Ana  Powerhouses.    Power  left  the  substation  in  five  circuits  of  10,000  volts  and  two  circuits  of  33,000  volts.64    Electric  companies  started  to  exchange  hydroelectric  reserve  power  between  each  other  to  alleviate  wartime  fuel  oil  shortages  in  1918.    The  Colton  Substation  was  a  major  interconnection  point  from  the  SCE  to  the  Southern  Sierras  Power  Company.    Interconnection  allowed  utility  companies  to  minimize  service  interruptions  during  emergencies.    Only  a  small  amount  could  be  exchanged  due  to  the  different  frequencies  between  the  SCE  that  operated  at  50  cycles  and  Southern  Sierras  Power  Company  that  operated  at  60  cycles.    A  frequency  changer  would  convert  the  exchanging  electricity  between  the  two  systems.65    Besides  Colton,  there  was  one  frequency  changer  each  at  the  Capistrano  and  Magunden  substations.66        During  World  War  II,  Colton  was  part  of  a  wider  utility  interconnection.    In  1942,  SCE  and  other  utilities  in  California,  Southern  Nevada,  and  Arizona  formed  the  Pacific  Southwest  Power  Pool,  a  large  interconnected  system  suggested  by  the  Power  Branch  of  the  War  Production  Board.    Power  reserves  from  some  utilities  supplied  other  utilities  that  had  a  lack  of  power.67      The  Pacific  Southwest  Power  Pool  enabled  utilities  to  meet  the  surge  of  wartime  energy  demand.    Colton  served  as  an  frequency  changer  and  interconnection  point  until  SCE  increased  its  entire  system  to  60  cycles  in  1948.68    The  Colton  Substation  was  a  regional  hub  in  the  SCE  transmission  system  and  by  1927  a  communication  and  dispatcher's  building  was  built  adjacent  to  the  substation  building.    The  dispatcher's  diagram  board  showed  that  Colton  connected  nearby  to  the  Colton  City  electrical  system  and  to  the  Colton  Concrete  Works  substation,  north  to  Lytle  Creek,  west  to  Claremont,  southwest  to  Pedley,  and  south  to  Highgrove.69    Newmark  Substation  The  Newmark  Substation  was  constructed  in  1912-­‐1913  in  Monterey  Park,  California.    Formal  development  of  the  area  began  in  1906  when  Ramona  Acres,  Monterey  Park’s  first  subdivision  was  platted  in  the  vicinity  of  present-­‐day  Garvey  Avenue  and  Garfield  Avenue,  approximately  1.2-­‐miles  north  of  the  Newmark  Substation  property.    Electricity  was  initially  provided  to  the  area  in  1913  via  the  Newmark  Substation.70    Monterey  Park  

                                                                                                               60  Ibid.,  54.  61  Ibid.,  95.  62  J.W.  Andree,  “Operating  Interconnected  Hydro  Plants  for  Best  System  Economy,”  in  Electrical  World  79  (New  York:  McGraw  Hill  Company,  Inc.),  1922,  934.  63  G.E.  Armstrong,  “Relay  Protective  Systems,”  Journal  of  Electricity  42,  no.8  (April  15,  1919),  351.  64  Swanson,  128.  65  Myers,  218-­‐219.  66  J.W.  Andree,  “Synchronous  Condensers  in  High-­‐Tension  System,”  Electrical  World  74,  no.  11  (September  1919),  567.  67  Myers,  196.  68  Ibid.,  219.  69  Bishop,  Photo  SEC-­‐02-­‐15258.    Accessed  October  16,  2014.  70  Myers,  258.  

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remained  unincorporated  until  1916  when  the  nearby  cities  of  Pasadena,  South  Pasadena,  and  Alhambra  put  forth  a  proposal  to  establish  a  sewage  treatment  facility.    To  defeat  the  proposal,  in  May  1916  area  residents  elected  to  incorporate  and  named  the  community  Monterey  Park  after  Monterey  Hills,  a  place  name  included  in  government  maps  of  the  area.    The  municipality’s  new  Board  of  Directors  passed  an  ordinance  prohibiting  sewage  plants  within  city  boundaries.71        In  1920  land  comprising  the  southern  portion  of  Monterey  Park  was  annexed  to  form  the  City  of  Montebello.    Initially  platted  as  the  town  of  Newmark,  after  Harris  Newmark,  one  of  the  early  land  syndicate  owners  responsible  for  the  speculative  land  plat  recorded  in  1899,  Montebello’s  history  and  name  is  based  on  agriculture,  climate,  and  an  appreciation  of  the  area’s  natural  open  space,  with  the  city’s  Italian-­‐language  name  translating  to  “beautiful  hill.”    The  original  town  site,  located  at  the  south  edge  of  Monterey  Park,  was  centered  on  an  approximate  40-­‐acre  land  area  divided  into  a  standard  grid  form  and  surrounded  by  larger  five-­‐acre  plots  to  support  agricultural  activities.    In  the  first  two  decades  of  the  20th  century  Montebello  thrived  as  an  agricultural  community  cited  as  featuring  an  ideal  climate,  productive  soil,  and  abundant  water,  with  a  reliable  water  supply  system  established  in  1900  by  William  Mulholland’s  Montebello  Land  and  Water  Company.    By  1914  the  town  was  serviced  by  electricity  from  Henry  Huntington’s  PLPC,  and  after  a  1916  PLPC-­‐SCE  merger,  the  town’s  electricity  was  provided  by  SCE.    In  1917,  the  Standard  Oil  Company  discovered  oil  in  a  privately  owned  plot  of  land  in  the  Montebello  Hills.    By  the  time  of  incorporation,  the  Montebello  oil  fields  produced  one-­‐eighth  of  the  California’s  crude  oil  supply.72        Built  between  1912  and  1913,  the  Newmark  Substation  property  is  located  roughly  eight  miles  east  of  downtown  Los  Angeles.    The  30’  tall,  concrete  substation  structure  and  towers  was  built  in  a  rural  part  of  Los  Angeles  county  in  the  early  part  of  the  20th  century  to  serve  as  a  relay  and  transmission  station  between  SCE’s  Los  Angeles  #3  line  and  Long  Beach  steam  plant.73    By  1920,  the  Newmark  Substation  was  helping  to  deliver  power  to  the  4,100  residents  of  Monterey  Park  and  the  surrounding  communities.74        Multi-­‐Part  Subtype  There  are  three  substations  of  this  subtype:  La  Fresa,  Laguna  Bell,  and  Rector.    These  buildings  were  put  in-­‐service  between  1924  and  1930.    La  Fresa  Substation  The  La  Fresa  Substation  was  constructed  in  1930  in  Torrance,  California,  approximately  20  miles  south  of  downtown  Los  Angeles.    The  city  emerged  as  an  early  planned  community  under  the  utopian  vision  of  Pasadena  businessman  Jared  Sidney  Torrance,  who  identified  his  new  settlement  as  a  model  industrial  town  fit  for  white  and  blue  collar  workers.    Founded  in  1912  and  planned  by  Frederick  Law  Olmstead,  Jr.,  Torrance  was  intended  to  offer  good  healthy  homes  with  pleasant  surroundings  to  foster  improved  mental  and  physical  health  of  its  residents.75    The  land  comprising  the  original  townsite  was  2,800  acres  and  was  designed  to  include  a  major  parkway,  El  Prado  Avenue,  landscaped  with  trees  and  oriented  for  a  scenic  view,  a  pre-­‐built  sewer  system,  and  a  civic  center  off  of  El  Prado  Avenue  replete  with  an  administrative  building  /  city  hall,  school,  library,  hospital,  and  auditorium.    Irving  Gill,  who  designed  similar  civic  projects  for  the  City  of  

                                                                                                               71  City  of  Monterey  Park,  History  of  Monterey  Park.  http://www.montereypark.ca.gov/721/History-­‐of-­‐Monterey-­‐Park.    Accessed  March  1,  2015.  72  City  of  Montebello,  History  of  Montebello.  http://www.cityofmontebello.com/about/default.asp.    Accessed  March  1,  2015.  73  Southern  California  Edison,  Newmark  Substation:  Long  Beach  to  Newmark  and  L.A.  #3  to  Colton  Transmission  Lines  Showing  Tower  Numbers,  Drawing  No.  7247.  74  California  Historic  Population  Figures:  1850-­‐2000.  75  Nathan  Masters,  “Torrance  at  100:  the  South  Bay  City’s  Origins  as  a  Model  Industrial  Town,”  KCET,  October  12,  2012.    http://www.kcet.org/updaily/socal_focus/history/la-­‐as-­‐subject/torrance-­‐at-­‐100-­‐the-­‐south-­‐bay-­‐citys-­‐origins-­‐as-­‐a-­‐model-­‐industrial-­‐town.html,  Accessed  March  27,  2015.  

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Oceanside,  a  beachside  town  in  northern  San  Diego  County,  designed  some  of  these  early  buildings.    At  Torrance  however,  most  of  the  planned  streets  and  civic  improvements  were  not  constructed.    The  town  developer,  the  Dominguez  Land  Company,  was  stymied  in  lot  sales  by  an  economic  downturn  in  1913  and  the  outbreak  of  WWI  in  1914,  although  a  number  of  industrial  plants  were  established  early  on  in  the  city  including  the  Union  Tool  Company,  the  Hendrie  Rubber  Company  and  Glass  Factory  and  the  Llewellyn  Iron  Works.    To  support  the  new  town  and  its  industrial  base,  SCE  provided  electrical  service  to  Torrance  in  1912  through  its  Torrance  Substation  built  at  1720  Madrona  Avenue.76    In  1921  Torrance  was  incorporated  with  a  population  of  1,800  (approximate).    At  the  end  of  1921,  the  city’s  economic  base  was  solidified  for  years  to  come  by  the  discovery  oil.    Derricks  soon  created  a  new  visual  landscape  for  the  city.    By  1930  the  city’s  population  was  recorded  as  7,271.    Torrance  grew  rapidly  in  the  post-­‐WWII  period  with  new  housing  tracts  and  a  booming  resident  population,  and  also  by  the  cluster  of  aerospace  and  technology  companies  that  established  a  presence  in  the  area.  The  population  increased  by  more  than  100%  between  1940  and  1960:  9,950  in  1940;  22,241  in  1950;  and  100,991  in  1960.77    The  La  Fresa  Substation  was  constructed  in  193078  and  may  have  been  named  for  the  strawberry  fields  which  once  surrounded  the  property  (“las  fresas”  is  the  Spanish  word  for  strawberries;  this  is  a  prime  example  of  SCE’s  fondness  for  using  “whimsical  puns”  to  name  their  substations,  rather  than  using  a  traditional  numbering  system79).    Constructed  at  a  cost  of  nearly  $2,000,000,  the  station  and  transmission  lines  were  designed  with  a  200,000  horsepower  capacity,  which  was  intended  to  provide  service  to  customers  northwest  of  the  company’s  existing  Long  Beach  steam  plant.80    When  the  station  went  into  service  in  1930,81  it  was  the  9th  major  high-­‐voltage  distributing  center  on  SCE’s  transmission  system  and  the  first  instance  of  construction  of  a  primary  distribution  point  away  from  the  general  north  and  south  line  of  the  high-­‐voltage  system.82    New  technologies  and  modern  construction  improvements  were  implemented  during  the  construction  of  the  La  Fresa  Substation,  including  with  the  building  itself,  which  was  “one  of  the  most  modern  on  the  Edison  company  system.    The  steel  frame  was  welded  to  provide  strength  and  assurance  against  any  possible  earthquake  stress…  [the  building  was]  heated  and  ventilated  automatically  by  electrically  controlled  apparatus  and…virtually  soundproof  both  from  within  and  without.”83    Particular  attention  was  paid  to  lighting  within  the  substation  building  so  that  there  would  be  “no  shadow  nor  reflections  against  the  instruments”84  of  the  switchboard,  located  on  the  first  floor  of  the  Main  Substation  Building  (aka  Switch  House).85        Laguna  Bell  Substation  The  substation  property  was  historically  in  the  vicinity  of  two  properties:  the  Laguna  School,  an  elementary  school  located  just  southeast  of  the  lot  as  early  as  1923,  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Gage  and  Garfield  Avenue  (then  known  as  Baker  Avenue  and  the  Compton  and  Jabonera  Road,  respectively)  and  Mt.  Carmel  Cemetery,  established  in  1931,  two  lots  to  the  east  of  the  property  along  Gage  Avenue.    The  Laguna  School  was  established  

                                                                                                               76  Myers,  260.    SCE  Confidential  Substation  Database.    Historic  views  of  the  SCE  Torrance  Substation  are  on  file  within  The  Huntington  Library,  Southern  California  Edison  Collection.  77  California  Historic  Population  Figures:  1850-­‐2000.  78  “Utility  Builds  Power  Station:  Edison  Company  Program  Involves  Large  Sum  La  Fresa  Plant  Declared  to  be  Model  of  Kind  Unit  Held  Backbone  of  New  Transmission  System,”  Los  Angeles  Times,  November  3,  1929.    79  Myers,  p.  210.  80  “Utility…”.  81  Ibid.    82  “Tower  Steel  Purchased:  Edison  Company  Places  Order  for  2000  Tons  of  Material  for  Use  in  Expansion  Program.”  83  “Utility…”.  84  Ibid.  85  La  Fresa  Substation:  Architectural  First  &  Second  Floor  Plans  of  Switch  House,  No.  518310-­‐52.  

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before  the  substation  was  built,  remained  adjacent  to  the  substation  property  until  at  least  1949,  and  was  demolished  by  1964.    A  Pacific  Electric  railway  line  ran  along  what  is  Randolph  Street  today.    Surrounding  the  substation  was  vacant  land,  however  nearby  dense  residential  neighborhood  development  in  the  cities  of  Vernon,  Maywood,  Huntington  Park,  and  Bell  to  the  west  stopped  at  the  Los  Angeles  River.86    The  demand  for  electricity  from  these  surrounding  areas  had  necessitated  an  increase  in  capacity  at  the  substation  in  1927.87    By  1949,  a  large  military  reservation  had  been  built  around  the  intersection  of  Slauson  and  Eastern  Avenues  to  the  east.    An  Atchison,  Topeka,  and  Santa  Fe  Railway  line  ran  on  lots  north  of  Randolph  Street.    Bell  Gardens  High  School  and  Colmar  School  had  been  built  to  the  west  and  the  historic  Lugo  Adobe  (not  extant  today)  was  across  the  street  from  the  Laguna  School.    South  of  Gage  Avenue  were  residential  developments  in  Bell  Gardens.88    By  1964,  the  area  around  the  substation  had  been  built  up  with  industrial  buildings  north  of  Randolph  Street  and  the  Long  Beach  freeway  built  along  the  Los  Angeles  River  to  the  west.    The  cities  of  Commerce,  Montebello,  and  Bell  Gardens  were  incorporated  and  the  former  military  reservation  became  the  Cheli  Air  Force  Station.    The  railway  line  became  a  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  track.    Next  to  the  historic  cemetery  was  a  new  Park  Lawn  Cemetery.89    Currently,  the  Laguna  Niguel  Elementary  School  is  on  the  lot  east  of  Garfield  Avenue,  across  from  the  Laguna  Bell  Substation  Property.    The  Mt.  Carmel  Cemetery  and  Park  Lawn  Memorial  Lawn  are  extant  to  the  east  of  the  elementary  school.    To  the  west  is  the  Bell  Gardens  High  School  and  to  the  south  are  residential  areas  and  two  additional  elementary  schools.    North  of  the  property  are  railroad  tracks  and  industrial  areas.    Constructed  in  1924,  the  Laguna  Bell  Substation  property  was  one  of  nine  substations  that  defined  the  SCE  220kV  system,  and  additionally,  the  facility  served  as  switching  station  and  connection  point  to  SCE’s  Long  Beach  Steam  Plant  complex.90      When  switching  the  electrical  system  from  a  50-­‐cycle  to  a  60-­‐cycle  frequency,  SCE  used  the  Laguna  Bell  Substation  as  a  testing  substation  for  the  Bell  Gardens  pilot  program  in  1946.    SCE  chose  a  four  and  one-­‐half  square  mile  area  in  Bell  Gardens  to  test  changeover  procedures,  such  as  rewiring  industrial  motors,  pumps,  heavy  equipment,  customer  meters,  and  electric  clocks  in  the  area.    On  April  16,  1946,  Wayne  Johnson,  the  SCE  Frequency  Change  Manager,  flipped  a  switch  at  the  Laguna  Bell  Substation  to  start  running  on  60-­‐cycle  power.    After  the  testing  program  succeeded,  the  rest  of  the  system  was  gradually  converted  to  60  cycles.91        Rector  Substation  Rector  Substation  was  constructed  in  1927  and  began  operation  in  1928.    The  facility  was  developed  as  a  component  of  SCE’s  Big  Creek  Hydroelectric  System,  which  was  developed  in  Eastern  Fresno  County  in  the  1910s  and  1920s  as  one  of  California’s  premier  energy  generating  facilities.    The  Rector  Substation  was  one  of  several  substations  developed  along  the  system’s  220  kV  transmission  lines,  which  extended  from  the  hydroelectric  project  to  distribution  facilities  in  Los  Angeles  and  its  surrounding  urban  areas.    The  Rector  Substation  served  to  relay  power  along  the  alignment  and  provide  lower  voltage  power  for  local  use  in  the  surrounding  agricultural  areas  around  Visalia.92    In  addition,  power  plant  Kaweah  Number  One  fed  into  the  substation  through  transmission  lines.  93          

                                                                                                               86    U.S.  Geological  Survey,  Topographic  map:  Bell,  1936.  87    “Edison  Unit  in  Suburb  Completed,”  Los  Angeles  Times,  January  23,  1927.  88    U.S.  Geological  Survey,  Topographic  map:  South  Gate,  1949.  89    U.S.  Geological  Survey,  Topographic  map:  South  Gate,  1964.  90    “Industrial  Substation  Work  Begun,”  Los  Angeles  Times,  April  20,  1930.  91    Myers,  203.  92  Garret  Root  and  Polly  Allen  of  Cardno,  DPR  523  forms  for  Rector  Substation,  May  2015,  4.  93  Ibid.,  6.  

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STRUCTURAL  /  DESIGN  INFORMATION    SCE’s  Monumental  type  substation  buildings  were  designed  primarily  by  SCE  staff  engineers  and  consulting  architects.    Stone  and  Webster,  a  Boston-­‐based  engineering  company,  however,  designed  the  two  block  subtype  properties.        Block  Subtype  There  are  two  substations  of  this  subtype:  Eagle  Rock  and  Magunden.    These  two  buildings  were  constructed  as  part  of  the  Big  Creek  Hydroelectric  System  in  1913  and  1923,  respectively.    Eagle  Rock  Substation  The  Eagle  Rock  Substation  includes  one  building  and  three  associated  features,  associated  switch  racks,  transformer  banks,  and  electrical  engineering  equipment.    The  one  building  and  the  associated  feature  that  are  significant  are  the  Main  Substation  and  the  entry  pillars.    Constructed  in  1913  under  the  PLPC,  the  Eagle  Rock  Substation  property  is  the  original  terminus  of  the  Big  Creek  Hydroelectric  System.  When  SCE  increased  its  existing  system  to  220kV  the  substation  became  one  of  nine  substations  that  defined  the  backbone  of  the  SCE  220kV  system.    Access  to  the  Eagle  Rock  Substation  Building  is  at  the  end  of  a  two  and  one-­‐half  mile  uphill  driveway  from  the  street.    Adjacent  to  the  driveway,  on  the  east  side  are  a  circuit  tower  and  two  banks  of  switch  racks.    At  the  top  of  the  driveway  is  an  entrance  gate  with  two  square  concrete  pillars  built  in  1926.94    Some  time  after  1941,  the  electric  lantern  lights  at  the  top  of  the  pillars  were  removed  and  the  original  iron  gate  was  replaced  by  a  chain  link  one.    The  Substation  Building  is  set  tilted  to  the  west,  so  that  its  southwest  corner  meets  the  end  of  the  driveway.    Northwest  of  the  building  is  an  area  of  transformers.    Northeast  of  the  substation  are  a  small  dam  and  reservoir  built  in  1913  to  supply  water  for  the  cooling  towers.    This  dam  and  reservoir  are  extant.95        Main  Substation  Building  (1913)  The  building  has  an  L-­‐shaped  massing  of  two  main  sections,  a  six-­‐story  section  connected  to  a  three-­‐story  section  south  of  it.    The  footprint  is  approximately  174  x  128  feet.    The  Stone  and  Webster  construction  company  designed  it  as  a  stripped-­‐down  version  of  a  multi-­‐part  vertical  block  commercial  building.    The  building  was  originally  organized  to  accommodate  the  machinery  on  the  ground:  the  three-­‐story  section  held  the  condensers;  the  six-­‐story  section  the  transformer  banks,  switch  and  bus  rooms;  and  the  connection  space  transformer  banks  and  condenser  switch  boards.96    The  twelve  transformers  and  spare  one  in  the  building  were  the  largest  transformers  built  at  the  time,  weighing  81  tons  and  holding  10,000  barrels  of  oil.97    The  substation  worked  as  a  step-­‐down  transmission  type,  where  its  transformers  changed  the  150,000-­‐volt  electricity  to  lower  levels  of  72,000  and  18,000-­‐volts  before  distribution  through  lines.98    Canopies  on  the  east  and  west  elevations  mirrored  the  one  on  Powerhouse  No.  1  and  were  where  transmission  lines  connected  to  high-­‐tension  buses  through  oil  switches  on  the  fourth  and  fifth  stories  of  the  substation.99    The  reinforced  concrete  building  is  roughly  symmetrical  in  plan  and  composition,  features  deep  eaves  along  the  south,  east  

                                                                                                               94  Southern  California  Edison  Department  of  Engineering  Design.    Eagle  Rock  Substation:  Plan,  Elevation  &  Details  of  Main  Entrance  Gate  &  Equipment,  sheet  47632-­‐2,  original  date  1925-­‐1926.  95  Former  SCE  employee,  Comment  posted  January  2,  2014,  “Noirish  Los  Angeles,”  Skyscraper  Forum,  http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=170279&page=932,  Accessed  September  11,  2014.  96  Stone  and  Webster,  First  Floor  Plan,  Eagle  Rock  Sub  Station,  Big  Creek  Development,  sheet  52794,    1913.  97  “Engineers  Visit  New  Eagle  Rock  Station,”  The  Daily  Southern  Californian,  Vol.  5,  No.  16,  October  13,    1914.  98  H.C.  Hoyt,  “The  Big  Creek  Development  of  the  Pacific  Light  and  Power  Company,”  General  Electric  Review  17,  no.  8  (1914),  838-­‐9.  99  Ibid.  

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and  part  of  the  west  elevations,  and  a  flat  roof  of  composition  sheets.    On  the  roof  of  the  three-­‐story  section  are  two  long  and  wide  roof  monitors.    The  building  is  organized  in  vertical  bays  lined  with  large  original  double-­‐hung  sash  tripartite  wooden  windows  in  wooden  frames.    Some  of  the  windows  are  more  articulated  with  sills.        The  three-­‐story  section  is  a  two-­‐part  vertical  block  with  the  first  story  delineated  by  an  upper  course  and  a  base  and  the  upper  level  by  a  stepped  parapet  and  recessed  panels.    Six  vertical  bays  of  the  south  elevation  are  punctuated  by  windows,  which  in  the  first  two  stories  are  wooden  double-­‐hung  sash.    Windows  at  the  upper  floor  are  hopper  windows  that  open  in  the  center.    Small  cypress  trees  and  large  vents  also  appear  on  this  elevation.    On  the  west  and  east  elevations  are  large  stepped  surrounds  for  recessed  double  wooden  doors,  with  a  non-­‐original  metal  single  door  replacing  a  wooden  one  (replacement  done  after  1941)  within  the  original  opening,  and  an  adjacent  window,  a  narrow  tripartite  double-­‐hung  wood  sash.    On  the  upper  two  stories  of  the  west  and  east  elevations  are  three  bays  of  double-­‐height  windows.    The  lower  portions  of  the  double-­‐height  windows  are  double-­‐hung  sash  and  the  upper  portions  appear  to  be  fixed.    All  the  windows  on  the  east  elevation  have  all  been  boarded  over  outside  and  painted  over,  but  are  intact  and  unaltered  on  the  interior.    A  two-­‐story  connection  between  the  three  and  six-­‐story  sections  has  a  multi-­‐paned  steel  window  on  the  first  floor,  which  replaced  the  original  double-­‐hung  sash  windows  here  after  the  1923  fire.    There  is  a  course  between  the  first  and  second  stories,  and  a  large  window  (double-­‐hung  sash  on  the  bottom  and  fixed  panes  on  top)  on  the  second  story.    The  original  parapet  on  the  east  elevation  is  missing,  but  is  intact  on  the  west  elevation.        The  six-­‐story  section  is  a  three-­‐part  commercial  block  with  six  vertical  bays  on  the  south  elevation  that  match  the  three-­‐story  sections  and  eight  bays  on  the  west  and  east  elevations.    The  three-­‐part  block  is  divided  by  a  simple  course  on  the  first  story  and  another  course  below  the  sixth  story  with  crenellations  marking  each  bay.    The  parapet  on  the  south  elevation  rises  to  meet  in  a  low  front  gable  and  is  flat  along  the  other  elevations.    Historic  photographs  show  that  there  was  a  “Southern  California  Edison  Company”  letter  sign  with  a  wood  background  that  was  on  the  parapet  in  1921  and  reveal  it  was  damaged  by  the  fire  in  1923,  but  was  not  replaced,  as  later  photographs  from  1926  onwards  do  not  include  signage.100    The  east  and  west  elevations  feature  eight  vertical  bays  with  recessed  windows  on  each  story,  except  the  fourth  and  fifth  stories  have  the  double-­‐height  windows.    The  south  elevation  features  double-­‐hung  windows  on  its  third  and  sixth  stories  and  the  double-­‐height  windows  on  the  fourth  and  fifth.    The  windows  on  the  east  and  west  elevations  are  narrower  due  to  the  bays  being  fourteen  feet;  seven  feet  less  than  the  south  elevation's  bays.101        The  west  elevation  features  a  full-­‐length  structural  steel  overhang  between  the  fifth  and  sixth  stories.    This  was  originally  part  of  a  rectangular  concrete  bracketed  canopy  that  allowed  wires  to  connect  along  the  length  of  the  overhang.    Historic  photographs  indicate  that  it  was  damaged  by  the  fire  in  1923,  but  was  not  replaced.    By  1928  the  canopy  was  reduced  to  the  simple  overhanging  bracing  and  the  rebuilt  partial  eave  that  is  seen  today.    Originally,  the  top  floor  had  no  openings  and  the  fourth  and  fifth  stories  featured  double-­‐height  windows  as  seen  on  the  south  elevation.    After  the  fire,  photographs  from  1928  and  1941  show  that  the  double-­‐height  windows  were  converted  to  plain  openings  with  windows  on  the  bottom  for  three  bays  and  then  full  windows  on  every  fourth  bay.    The  top  floor  became  plain  rectangular  openings  for  the  southern  three  bays,  a  double  bay  width  opening  in  the  middle,  and  windows  matching  the  other  elevations  on  the  northern  three.    After  1941,  the  rectangular  openings  reverted  to  double-­‐height  windows  on  the  fourth  and  fifth  stories  and  the  openings  on  the  top  floor  were  filled  in  with  multi-­‐paned  steel  windows.    These  multi-­‐

                                                                                                               100  Photographs  from  1917  do  not  show  it  on  the  building.    G.  Haven  Bishop  (photographer),  Southern    California  Edison  Photographs  and  Negatives,  Photo  SEC-­‐02-­‐05987,  Huntington  Digital  Library.    Accessed  September  12,  2014.  101  Stone  and  Webster.  

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paned  steel  windows  are  the  only  window  designs  not  from  the  period  of  significance  of  1913-­‐1929,  but  they  do  match  the  other  steel  multi-­‐paned  windows  on  the  building  and  were  an  appropriate  choice  if  the  openings  needed  to  be  enclosed.    The  double-­‐height  windows  that  were  put  in  after  1941  could  be  seen  as  replacements  for  the  original  ones.    The  first  two  stories  originally  had  the  double-­‐hung  sash  windows  as  seen  on  the  three-­‐story  section,  but  most  likely  after  the  fire  the  windows  were  replaced  with  the  multi-­‐paned  steel  ones  with  central  awning  sashes  that  were  also  put  on  the  north  elevation  at  the  same  time.    A  historic  photograph  shows  that  the  replacement  was  done  by  1926.102    The  third  story's  windows  were  replaced  in  kind  with  the  double-­‐hung  sash  there  before.    Along  the  concrete  course  between  the  first  and  second  stories  are  circular  indentations,  where  insulators  used  to  be  attached  to  the  building.    The  east  elevation  has  a  rectangular  overhanging  section  of  painted  metal  panels  supported  by  steel  truss  brackets  on  the  sixth  story.    This  was  originally  a  concrete  bracket  structure,  similar  to  the  one  seen  on  the  east  side  but  only  the  width  of  two  bays,  where  it  originally  allowed  lines  to  connect  to  towers  on  the  roof.    On  the  first  story  of  the  west  elevation,  there  is  a  loading  dock  and  a  series  of  windows,  where  the  opening  is  a  strip  of  steel  sash  window  on  top  and  concrete  on  the  bottom.    On  the  second  story  are  multi-­‐paned  steel  windows.    The  third  to  sixth  stories  mirror  the  window  pattern  on  the  south  elevation.    The  north  elevation  used  to  have  the  same  pattern  of  windows  seen  on  the  other  elevations.    After  the  extensive  damage  from  the  1923  fire,  the  north  elevation  was  rebuilt  more  simply  and  utilitarian  with  large  double-­‐height  balconies,  staircases,  six  multi-­‐paned  steel  window  blocks  (one  has  been  boarded  over  and  one  used  to  be  an  opening  before  1926),  a  non-­‐original  single  metal  door  in  an  original  opening,  and  a  large  double-­‐height  metal  door  that  opens  in  four  sections  (replacement  for  the  wooden  door  destroyed  in  the  1923  fire).    A  utilitarian  two-­‐story  rectangular  box  is  attached  to  the  west  half  of  its  north  elevation  and  has  three  steel  multi-­‐paned  windows  (replacement  for  the  original  double-­‐hung  windows  seen  on  the  other  elevations  with  the  switch  done  after  the  fire  or  at  least  before  1926),  a  large  vent  (originally  the  opening  was  a  window  until  at  least  1926),  and  large  original  wooden  doors.    A  flat  roof  with  coping  covers  it.  Today  the  Eagle  Rock  Substation  property  Main  Substation  Building  retains  a  high  degree  of  integrity  with  respect  to  location,  design,  materials,  workmanship,  setting,  feeling,  and  association.    The  building  remains  at  its  original  location  within  the  Eagle  Rock  substation  property,  and  has  not  experienced  substantive  modifications  to  the  exterior  details.    Character-­‐defining  features  that  have  been  retained  are  the  windows,  doors,  massing,  parapets,  and  concrete  details  (courses  and  eaves).    The  setting  has  been  only  minimally  affected  by  the  loss  of  original  ancillary  buildings,  but  overall  the  larger  setting  has  been  retained.    The  property’s  original  access  driveway  is  still  in  use  and  the  building  was  designed  to  be  approached  from  the  driveway.    While  much  of  the  original  machinery  and  equipment  is  not  used  or  at  the  building  interior,  the  substation  is  still  operational  today.    The  building  is  also  used  as  a  filming  site  for  television  shows  and  movies  due  to  its  proximity  to  the  studios  and  its  distinctive  architecture.103    Associated  Feature  –  Entry  Pillars  (c.  1926)  The  entrance  pillars  date  to  circa  1926  and  are  constructed  of  masonry  with  stucco  cladding.    The  pillars  are  in  block  form  with  simple  coursework  intended  to  give  a  more  formal  appearance  to  the  property’s  access  point.    The  existing  gate  between  the  pillars  is  a  contemporary-­‐period  replacement.    Paint  is  peeling  around  the  perimeter  and  some  spalling  is  observed.    Magunden  Substation  The  1914  substation  building  is  rectangular  in  plan,  measuring  68  feet  in  width  and  114  feet  in  length,  and  of  three-­‐story  construction,  with  an  industrial  design  that  incorporates  a  classical  revival  aesthetic  treatment.    The  reinforced  concrete  building  stands  on  a  poured  concrete  foundation,  with  a  four-­‐foot-­‐high  concrete  apron  spanning  the  base  of  the  building  and  smooth  concrete  walls.  The  roof  is  of  a  very  low  pitch  gable  design,  with  

                                                                                                               102  Bishop,  Photo  SEC-­‐02-­‐13569.    Accessed  September  26,  2014.  103  Southern  California  Edison,  “Lights,  Camera,  Edison!”  Inside  Edison,  June  2013,  12-­‐13.  

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modest  concrete  eaves.    While  the  building  is  industrial  in  form  and  function,  subtle  classical  allusions  serve  to  convey  a  heightened  architectural  form.    Fenestration  is  regular  and  symmetrical,  with  vertically  oriented  rhythmic  bands  of  industrial  inset  between  smooth  concrete  bays;  a  smooth  concrete  belt  course  separating  the  second  and  third  stories,  breaking  the  monolithic  mass;  and  a  simple  concrete  cornice  extending  from  the  sloping  roofline.104      Fenestration  generally  consists  of  one  over  one  wood  frame  windows  in  multi-­‐light  configurations,  which  line  all  walls  but  for  the  eastern  wall,  which  is  of  solid  concrete  massing.  All  windows  have  been  painted  over.    Doors  consist  of  replacement,  solid  metal  personnel  doors  and  a  small,  metal  roll-­‐up  door.    A  low  metal  carport  supported  by  metal  posts  extends  the  length  of  the  southern  wall,  providing  covered  vehicle  parking.  Along  the  first  floor  there  are  several  two  and  three-­‐part  aluminum  sliding  glass  windows  that  are  insertions  to  the  original  building.    As  originally  designed,  electricity  was  conveyed  directly  to  the  building,  with  prominent  concrete  canopies  extending  off  of  the  north  side  of  the  building  to  protect  incoming  lines  and  associated  equipment.    With  the  transfer  of  switching  facilities  to  outside  the  building,  these  exterior  features  were  removed.105      Box  Subtype  There  are  three  substations  within  this  subtype:  Chino,  Colton,  and  Newmark.    These  three  properties  were  put  in-­‐service  between  1912  and  1913.    Chino  Substation  The  Chino  Substation  includes  six  buildings  and  associated  switch  racks,  transformer  banks,  and  electrical  engineering  equipment.    The  one  building  that  is  significant  is  the  Main  Substation.    Constructed  in  1911-­‐1912  the  Chino  Substation  Building  appears  to  have  been  designed  and  constructed  by  the  Southern  California  Edison  Company  using  in-­‐house  design,  engineering,  and  construction  staff.    The  building  is  rectilinear  in  plan,  flat-­‐roofed  and  two-­‐stories  in  height,  and  was  built  of  board  form  concrete  in  a  Stripped  Classical  style  that  is  characteristic  of  the  SCE  architectural  idiom.    The  footprint  is  approximately  99  x  54  feet.    Features  of  the  building  include  a  symmetrical  composition  on  each  elevation  with  each  exterior  façade  divided  into  multiple  vertical  bays  by  pilaster  strips  surmounted  by  an  entablature,  comprised  of  architrave,  frieze,  and  cornice,  that  wraps  the  building  perimeter.        The  front  (south)  elevation  is  comprised  of  three  vertical  bays  constructed  to  include  a  pair  of  multi-­‐lite  wood  and  glass  doors  with  a  multi-­‐lite  transom  in  the  center  bay,  flanked  on  each  side  by  the  outer  bay  constructed  to  include  two  two-­‐over-­‐two  wood  sash  windows.    The  front  elevation  fenestration  has  been  altered  through  the  infill  of  the  four  original  first  floor  windows  and  by  replacing  the  original  entry  doors  and  transom  with  a  metal  roll-­‐up  door.    These  modifications,  however,  have  not  significantly  affected  the  appearance  of  the  façade,  and  the  outline  of  the  original  fenestration  is  still  evident.    The  second  story  windows  –  two  per  bay  –  are  intact  but  have  been  painted  over  at  the  exterior.    ‘Southern  California  Edison  Co.’  signage  in  a  modernistic  font  is  mounted  to  the  front  façade  in  the  center  of  the  building’s  frieze.    The  rear  elevation  is  divided  into  two  vertical  bays  and  features  five  full-­‐height  pilaster  strips  with  two  overscale  openings;  the  first  features  original  multi-­‐lite  wood  and  glass  doors  with  multi-­‐lite  transom,  and  the  second  features  a  replacement  metal  roll-­‐up  door.    Between  these  two  large  openings  is  a  single  entry  wood  and  glass  door.    The  east  and  west  elevations  features  multiple  windows  openings,  most  with  original  two-­‐over-­‐two  wood  sash  windows  intact,  and  some  having  been  infilled  or  painted  over  at  the  exterior;  mid-­‐level  bandcourse  is  installed  aobe  the  first  floor  windows  at  the  east  and  west  elevations.    The  building  interior  contains  much  equipment  that  appears  to  date  from  the  circa  1940s-­‐1950s  period.    Overall,  the  building  appears  to  be  in  good  condition,  and  appears  to  retain  integrity  despite  painting-­‐over  or  alterations  to  some  of  the  original  windows.  

                                                                                                               104  Garret  Root  and  Polly  Allen  of  Cardno,  DPR  523  forms  for  Magunden  Substation,  May  2015,  3.  105  Ibid.  

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Although  the  building  has  experienced  some  alterations,  it  still  retains  its  essential  physical  features  and  still  physically  conveys  its  identified  signficance.    The  building  retains  integrity  of  location,  design,  setting,  materials,  workmanship,  feeling  and  association.    Colton  Substation  The  Colton  Substation  includes  three  buildings  and  associated  switch  racks  and  electrical  engineering  equipment.    The  two  buildings  that  are  significant  are  the  Main  Substation  Building  and  the  Communication  and  Dispatcher’s  Building.    Main  Substation  Building  (1912)  The  SCE  Colton  Substation  Building  is  a  two-­‐story  Classical  Revival  building  constructed  of  reinforced  concrete  in  a  rectilinear  plan  with  symmetrically  composed  façades.    The  footprint  is  approximately  157  x  52  feet.    It  is  covered  by  a  flat  roof  of  composition  sheets  and  enclosed  by  a  parapet  wall  topped  by  a  simple  horizontal  course  at  all  façades.    The  roof  has  a  deep  overhang  of  exposed  rafters  enclosed  by  fascia  boards.    Entrances  on  the  north  and  south  elevations  originally  featured  wooden  doors,  while  wood-­‐frame  windows  are  along  the  west  and  east  elevations.    Wooden  boards  cover  many  of  the  original  openings,  but  the  windows  and  doors  appear  to  be  intact,  except  on  the  northeast  corner.    The  north  elevation  originally  featured  two  recessed  panels  and  an  entrance  within  each  panel.    The  east  entrance  had  double  wooden  doors  with  glazing  and  transom  windows  on  top.    The  west  entrance  was  wider  with  four  wooden  door  panels  and  transom  windows  on  top.106    In  1915,  the  Substation  Building  was  extended  by  a  bay  with  a  new  north  elevation  wall,    featuring  three  recessed  panels  and  one  central  entrance  of  four-­‐paneled  doors  with  glazing  and  two  wooden  transom  windows.107    The  central  two  panels  opened  as  a  double  door  and  the  side  panels  were  fixed.    By  1921,  there  was  a  letter  sign  spelling  out  “Southern  California  Edison  Co”  in  capital  letters  and  held  up  by  steel  trusses  from  the  north  edge  of  the  roof.    At  this  time,  vines  were  growing  on  this  facade  to  soften  the  concrete  surface.108    The  sign  was  removed  some  time  after  1938.109      After  1938,  a  large  metal  roll-­‐up  garage  door  replaced  the  entrance  doors.    The  west  and  east  elevations  consist  of  six  bays  of  recessed  panels.    There  were  originally  five  bays  when  the  building  was  constructed  in  1912.    In  1915  an  additional  bay  at  the  north  end  extended  the  building.110    Each  panel  has  a  large  three-­‐casement  window  bookended  by  two  side  casement  windows  on  the  first  story  and  two  rectangular  awning  windows  on  the  second  story.    The  only  exception  to  this  pattern  on  the  first  story  was  on  the  west  elevation,  where  the  second  to  southernmost  bay  consisted  of  four  single  casement  windows.    Above  some  of  the  windows  were  square  openings  where  the  transmission  lines  connected  and  insulators  were  set.        By  1918,  several  changes  happened  to  the  east  elevation:  its  walls  were  covered  in  vines,  lightning  arresters  were  placed  next  to  the  wall  on  concrete  bases  surrounded  by  chain  link  fencing  with  concrete  feet,  and  the  land  next  to  it  was  crushed  rock  where  the  lightning  arresters  were  and  then  further  away  landscaped  with  grass.111    The  surrounding  hardscape  is  now  just  asphalt  and  crushed  rock.    By  1923,  the  two  northern  bays  on  the  east  elevation  had  their  second  story  windows  replaced  by  vents.112    The  vents  were  replaced  by  windows  

                                                                                                               106  Bishop,  Photo  SEC-­‐02-­‐00849,  accessed  April  15,  2015.  107  Ibid.,  Photo  SEC-­‐02-­‐06673,  accessed  April  13,  2015.    Southern  California  Edison,  Colton  Substation  Revised  Elevations  and  Sections  of  Substation  Building,  drawing  #58510,  1924.  108  Ibid.,  Photo  SEC-­‐02-­‐06673,  accessed  October  3,  2014.  109  Ibid.,  Photo  SEC-­‐02-­‐20689,  accessed  October  3,  2014.    110  Southern  California  Edison,  Colton  Substation  Revised  Elevations  and  Sections  of  Substation  Building.  111  Bishop,  Photo  SEC-­‐02-­‐04327,  accessed  October  3,  2014.  112  Ibid.,  Photo  SEC-­‐02-­‐10243,  accessed  October  3,  2014.  

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at  an  unknown  date.    In  1924,  some  of  the  transmission  line  openings  were  closed  with  screens.113      By  1938,  the  third  bay  from  the  north  corner  had  its  first-­‐story  windows  replaced  by  a  large  metal  garage  door.114        Between  1921  and  1923,  the  west  elevation  had  a  small  one-­‐story  pump  house  added  with  a  window  and  vent  on  its  south  elevation  and  a  vent  and  door  on  its  north  elevation.115    By  1923,  there  was  a  cooling  water  tower  next  to  the  pump  house,  which  has  since  been  removed.116    By  1927,  near  the  cooling  tower,  there  were  also  some  storage  tanks,  also  since  removed.117    In  1924,  some  transmission  line  openings  were  also  covered  with  screens  on  the  west  elevation,  but  six  additional  openings  were  cut  into  the  wall's  northernmost  bay  and  a  window  changed  into  a  door.    By  1924,  two  other  windows  on  the  west  elevations  had  already  been  converted  to  doors.118        The  south  elevation  features  three  bays  with  a  central  entrance  that  consists  of  a  double  door  and  transom  window.    Just  outside  the  door  were  lightning  arresters.    The  arrestors  were  removed  at  an  unknown  date.119    Two  sections  of  the  eave  projected  out  above  the  spots  where  wires  connected  into  the  building.120    In  1924,  the  south  entrance  was  remodeled  with  new  doors  of  sugar  pine.121    The  doors  were  removed  at  an  unknown  date  and  a  single  door  gives  access  to  a  workshop  area  now.    Today  the  Main  Substation  Building  retains  a  moderate  degree  of  integrity  with  respect  to  design,  materials,  workmanship,  location,  setting,  feeling,  and  association.    The  building  retains  many  major  exterior  elements  original  to  its  design  including  massing,  plan,  fenestration  (although  openings  are  covered  over),  and  original  cornice  that  wraps  the  building  perimeter.    These  extant  features  help  to  convey  the  original  design,  materials,  and  workmanship  for  the  building.    The  building  remains  at  its  original  location  and  has  not  been  moved.    The  building’s  setting  within  the  substation,  and  the  setting  around  the  substation  property  remains  consistent  with  its  historic  setting  within  a  light  industrial  pocket  of  Colton.    In  its  current  appearance  the  Colton  Main  Substation  Building  still  resembles  a  substation  constructed  in  the  early  part  of  the  20th  Century  with  a  Classical  Revival  influence,  and  consequently,  still  offers  a  feeling  of  and  association  with  SCE’s  substation  development  in  the  historic  era.    Communication  and  Dispatcher’s  Building  (circa  1924)  The  Communication  and  Dispatcher's  Building  is  a  one-­‐story  reinforced  concrete  building  located  immediately  northeast  of  the  Main  Substation  Building.    It  is  covered  by  a  flat  roof  of  composition  sheets  and  used  to  support  electrical  equipment.    A  cornice  spans  the  building  perimeter,  as  well  as  a  flat  parapet  wall  with  a  thin  course  on  top  projecting  approximately  one  foot  beyond  the  cornice  line.    The  building  is  rectangular  in  plan,  organized  symmetrically,  and  has  a  protruding  base.    The  footprint  is  approximately  18  x  44  feet.    The  west  and  east  elevations  feature  a  central  door  with  a  wood  transom  surmounted  by  a  Period  Revival  concrete  surround,  and  flanked  on  each  side  by  a  single  multi-­‐lite  wooden  window.    Metal  screens  cover  the  windows  on  the  west  and  north  elevations.    Five  additional  multi-­‐lite  wooden  windows  are  sited  along  the  north  elevation.    Two  doors  and  transom  windows  are  located  along  the  south  elevation,  with  a  smaller  window  with  a  visible  concrete  sill  sited  between  them.    All  openings  at  the  south  elevation  are  boarded  over  and  obscured  from  view.    The  building  appears  to  retain  a  high  degree  of  integrity  with  respect  to  design,  materials,  workmanship,  location,  setting,  feeling,  and  association.  

                                                                                                               113  Southern  California  Edison,  Colton  Substation  Revised  Elevations  and  Sections  of  Substation  Building.  114  Bishop,  Photo  SEC-­‐02-­‐20689,  accessed  October  3,  2014.  115  Bishop,  Photos  SEC-­‐02-­‐06673,  SCE-­‐02-­‐10238,  and  SCE-­‐02-­‐15255,  accessed  April  14,  2015.  116  Ibid.,  Photo  SEC-­‐02-­‐00240,  accessed  October  3,  2014.  117  Ibid.,  Photo  SEC-­‐02-­‐11627,  accessed  October  3,  2014.  118  Southern  California  Edison,  Colton  Substation  Revised  Elevations  and  Sections  of  Substation  Building.  119  Bishop,  Photo  SEC-­‐02-­‐04328,  accessed  October  3,  2014.    120  Ibid.,  Photo  SEC-­‐02-­‐00848,  accessed  April  13,  2015.  121  Southern  California  Edison,  Details  for  Remodeling  Interior  of  Substation  Building,  drawing  #58340,  1924.  

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Newmark  Substation  The  Newmark  Substation  includes  four  buildings  and  associated  switch  racks  and  electrical  engineering  equipment.    The  one  building  that  is  significant  individually  is  the  Main  Substation  Building.    The  Newmark  Main  Substation  Building  was  constructed  in  1912-­‐1913,  in  a  Classical  Revival  style  of  architecture  with  minimal  art  deco  articulations.    The  building’s  monumental  appearance  is  derived  from  its  massing  with  a  rectilinear  plan,  oversized  two-­‐story  height,  flat  roof,  and  austere  facades  with  smooth  wall  texture,  squared  edge  belt  course  and  projecting  squared  edge  cornice  that  wrap  the  building  perimeter.    The  footprint  is  approximately  124  x  40  feet.    Symmetrically  composed  full-­‐height  recessed  bays  evenly  spaced  between  full-­‐height  pilasters  fill  the  north  and  south  elevations.    Each  elevation  contains  ten  bays  as  originally  constructed,  with  a  4  x  8  lite  clerestory  window  with  2  x  3  awning  style  unit  at  the  center  of  each  clerestory  in  each  of  the  central  eight  recessed  bays.    At  least  four  of  the  original  clerestory  windows  have  been  replaced,  and  at  least  five  of  the  original  clerestory  windows  have  been  painted  over  or  boarded  up.    Bays  1  and  10  on  both  the  east  and  west  elevations  has  a  single  3  x  2  lite  casement  window  at  the  first  floor  level,  below  the  “new  ceiling  line”  and  recessed  into  the  wall.    Additionally,  the  west  elevation  was  designed  with  two  3  x  4  lite  fixed  windows  on  the  first  floor  in  Bays  2  and  3,  and  a  single  access  door  in  Bays  5  and  6.122    A  double  door  with  a  fixed  2  x  8  lite  transom  exists  at  the  first  floor  of  the  south  elevation,  and  a  single  door  surrounded  by  several  fixed-­‐sash  lights  and  transoms  and  two  solid  panels  on  either  side  of  the  door  at  ground  level  can  be  seen  on  the  north  elevation.    A  projecting  squared  edge  surround  that  terminates  in  a  triple  keystone  surmounts  the  north  elevation  entrance.    The  keystone  feature  is  extant  at  all  other  first  floor  openings  treated  with  a  similar  projecting  squared  edge  surround.    The  squared  edge  details  around  the  building  suggest  a  modernistic  art  deco  influence  for  the  monumental  structure.    The  east  and  west  elevations  of  the  substation  building  were  designed  to  include  ten  bays  each,  with  a  4  x  8  lite  clerestory  window  with  2  x  3  awning  style  unit  at  the  center  of  each  clerestory  in  each  of  the  central  eight  recessed  bays.123    Current  photographs  indicate  that  at  least  four  of  the  original  clerestory  windows  have  been  replaced,  and  at  least  five  of  the  original  clerestory  windows  have  been  painted  over  or  boarded  up.124    Bays  1  and  10  on  both  the  east  and  west  elevations  has  a  single  3  x  2  lite  casement  window  at  the  first  floor  level,  below  the  “new  ceiling  line”  and  recessed  into  the  wall.125    Additionally,  the  west  elevation  was  designed  with  two  3  x  4  lite  fixed  windows  on  the  first  floor  in  Bays  2  and  3,  and  a  single  access  door  in  Bays  5  and  6.126    A  double  door  with  a  fixed  2  x  8  lite  transom  exists  at  the  first  floor  of  the  south  elevation,  and  a  single  door  surrounded  by  several  fixed-­‐sash  lights  and  transoms  and  two  solid  panels  on  either  side  of  the  door  at  ground  level  can  be  seen  on  the  north  elevation.    A  small  addition  was  constructed  on  the  west  side  of  the  substation  building  in  1921,  as  indicated  on  SCE  Drawing  No.  53498.    In  the  early  months  of  1923,  a  fire  broke  out  in  the  Newmark  Substation  building,  causing  serious  damage  to  the  mechanics  inside  the  structure,  but  leaving  the  structure  itself  mostly  intact.127  Post-­‐fire  photographs  indicate  new  switchboards  were  installed  in  the  substation  building  in  the  second  half  of  1923;  however,  current  photographs  show  a  nearly  empty  shell  of  a  building,  with  most  of  the  system  mechanics  having  been  removed.128            

                                                                                                               122  Southern  California  Edison,  Details  for  Remodeling  Interior  of  Substation  Building,  drawing  #58340,  1924.  123  Southern  California  Edison,  Newmark  Substation:  East  and  West  Elevations,  Drawing  No.  5767.  124  See  current  photographs  DSCF8360,  DSCF8363,  DSCF8361,  and  DSCF8367  (on  file  at  Urbana)  for  examples.  125  Southern  California  Edison,  Newmark  Substation:  East  and  West  Elevations,  Drawing  No.  5767.  126  Ibid.  127  Southern  California  Edison  Collection:  Newmark  Substation  Historic  Photographs.  128  Ibid.  

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Multi-­‐Part  Subtype  There  are  three  substations  of  this  subtype:  La  Fresa,  Laguna  Bell,  and  Rector.    These  buildings  were  put  in-­‐service  between  1924  and  1930.    La  Fresa  Substation  The  La  Fresa  Substation  includes  nine  buildings  and  structures,  associated  switch  racks  and  electrical  engineering  equipment.    The  one  building  that  is  significant  individually  is  the  Main  Substation  Building.    Constructed  in  1930,  the  building  is  concrete  and  plaster  with  a  2  ½  story  rectilinear  plan,  a  flat  roof,  and  a  symmetrically  composed  west  elevation  offset  by  Art  Deco  style  facade  details.    The  footprint  is  approximately  73  x  56  feet.    The  west  elevation  is  comprised  of  three  vertical  bays  with  the  central  bay  projecting  out  from  the  wall  plane  capped  by  two  return  walls  that  form  pilasters.    The  majority  of  Art  Deco  design  detail  is  located  at  the  central  bay  including  stylized  vertical  reliefs:  one  linear  ribbed  relief  at  the  corner  of  each  return  wall  (two  total),  one  rectilinear  relief  panel  topped  by  a  separate  square  relief  panel  set  in  the  middle  of  each  pilaster  (four  panels  total  –  two  rectangles  and  two  squares),  and  a  central  geometric  shape  that  projects  out  from  the  facade  at  the  roofline.    Two  additional  linear  ribbed  reliefs  are  sited  at  the  northwest  and  southwest  building  corners  (one  at  each  corner).    A  plain  frieze  painted  white  articulates  the  two  outer  bays  at  the  west  elevation.    Overall,  the  west  elevation  presents  a  tidy  geometric  form  that  alternates  wall  planes  by  projecting  the  central  bay  and  stepping  back  the  upper  wall  portions  /  cornice  above  the  frieze.    West  elevation  fenestration  includes  solid  (replacement)  double  entry  doors  flanked  on  each  side  by  a  full-­‐height  sidelight  window  and  surmounted  by  a  large  8  x  5  lite  window  at  the  second  level;  three  2  x  3  steel  sash  windows  -­‐  two  at  the  second  level,  and  one  on  the  first  floor;  and  a  replacement  one-­‐over-­‐one  window  at  the  north  side  of  the  first  floor.    All  window  openings  are  punched.    The  north  elevation  has  a  contemporary-­‐period  addition  constructed  of  corrugated  metal  siding  with  a  standing-­‐seam  shed  roof.    The  projecting  northwest  corner  wraps  around  the  north  elevation  to  create  a  vertical  bay.    An  original  steel  sash  window  is  extant  at  the  first  and  second  floor  of  the  northwest  corner  bay.    The  south  elevation  features  an  identical  projecting  bay  at  the  southwest  corner  with  the  same  steel  sash  windows.    The  east  elevation  contains  ductwork  for  the  building.    Overall  the  building  exterior  is  in  good  condition  with  no  major  spalling  or  deficiencies  observed.    The  Main  Substation  Building  also  contained  a  basement,  where  intricate  patterns  of  control  cables  were  located,  and  communications  rooms,  located  on  the  second  floor.129  The  first-­‐floor  window  at  the  northwest  corner  on  the  west  (front)  elevation  was  altered  shortly  after  construction130;  a  battery  house  was  added  to  the  north  side  of  the  building  in  1966,  and  an  additional  extension  was  added  to  the  rear  of  the  battery  room  in  1996.131      Laguna  Bell  Substation  The  Laguna  Bell  Substation  includes  eight  buildings  and  structures,  associated  transformers,  switch  racks  and  electrical  engineering  equipment.    The  two  buildings  that  are  significant  are  the  Main  Substation  Building  and  the  Warehouse.    Main  Substation  Building  (1924)  The  substation  building  was  designed  in  a  Modernized  or  Stripped  Classical  style.    The  substation  building  is  rectangular  in  plan  with  a  flat  roof  covered  in  composition  rolls  and  a  parapet  wrappings  its  perimeter.    The  footprint  is  approximately  185  x  73  feet.    The  reinforced  concrete  building  is  asymmetrical  in  massing  from  the  front-­‐facing  east  elevation  with  a  main  section  of  three-­‐stories  of  three  bays  and  another  two-­‐story  

                                                                                                               129  Southern  California  Edison  Collection:  Newmark  Substation  Historic  Photographs.  130  Ibid.  131  Southern  California  Edison,  La  Fresa  Substation:  Switch  House  Architectural  Elevations  and  Details,  No.  518300-­‐3.  

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section  of  one  bay  attached  to  its  south  elevation.    Multi-­‐lite,  steel  awning  sash  windows  punctuate  the  bays.    A  thick  protruding  base  unites  the  two  sections.    The  three-­‐story  section  is  set  apart  by  large  corner  piers  that  run  its  height  until  the  parapet.    It  features  a  pedimented  doorway  with  brackets  holding  up  the  entablature  of  the  pediment  and  curved  concrete  wall  railings  in  front  of  the  door.    The  door  originally  was  a  single  wood  panel  with  glazing,  which  was  replaced  at  an  unknown  date,  and  is  topped  by  its  original  transom  window.    On  either  side  of  the  door  are  windows  with  a  central  awning  sash.    The  second  and  third  stories  have  taller,  single  windows  with  an  awning  sash  for  the  upper  panes  on  the  first  and  third  bays.    The  central  bays  have  triple  windows  with  similar  windows  in  wood  frames.    Between  the  second  and  third  stories  and  between  the  door  and  windows  where  there  used  to  be  lanterns  are  recessed  panels  with  square  corners  (the  original  lanterns  were  replaced  by  contemporary  lights  at  an  unknown  date).    The  letters  “Southern  California  Edison  Company”  are  installed  in  the  panel  between  the  second  and  third  stories.    The  parapet  culminates  in  a  curbed  shape,  an  abstracted  Mission  Revival  form,  with  a  recessed  circle  in  the  center.    On  the  east  elevation  of  the  two-­‐story  section,  there  are  also  single  windows,  similar  to  the  one  of  the  first  and  second  stories  of  the  three-­‐story  section  and  the  abstracted  panel  between  the  stories.        The  north  elevation  is  on  the  three-­‐story  section  and  originally  consisted  of  six  bays  with  single  windows  similar  to  the  ones  on  the  first  and  third  bays  of  the  east  elevation.    The  south  elevation  of  the  two-­‐story  section  also  consisted  of  six  bays  in  a  manner  mirroring  the  north  elevation  and  the  same  organization  continued  onto  the  visible  third-­‐story  of  the  three-­‐story  section.    By  1928,  the  1927  extension  had  increased  the  building's  length  on  the  north  and  south  elevations  to  ten  bays.132    On  the  north  elevation,  a  doorway  at  the  seventh  bay  includes  a  single  door  with  glazed  opening,  recessed  concrete  panels  on  the  sides,  and  a  large  transom  window  (six-­‐over-­‐three  steel  frame).    On  the  south  elevation  some  of  the  window  openings  are  concreted,  some  boarded  over,  and  some  edged  with  round  indentations,  where  insulators  used  to  be  attached  to  the  building.    One  of  the  south  elevation's  first-­‐story  window  openings  is  a  single  door  with  large  transom  window,  similar  to  a  doorway  seen  on  the  north  elevation.    Another  noteworthy  feature  is  the  parapet  on  this  elevation  features  two  front  gable  shapes  and  at  the  southeast  corner,  a  parapet  shape  similar  to  the  one  on  the  east  elevation.    Adjacent  to  the  south  elevation  are  concrete  pads,  where  transformers  were  attached.    The  west  elevation  features  a  large  two-­‐story-­‐height  metal  rolling  door  to  accommodate  large-­‐scale  electrical  equipment  on  the  south  side  of  the  three-­‐story  section.    On  the  second  story  of  the  three-­‐story  section  are  narrow  triple  windows.    The  two  stories  of  the  two-­‐story  section  and  the  first  story  of  the  three-­‐story  section  have  a  single  door  topped  by  a  transom  window  and  two  large  multi-­‐paned  steel  sash  windows.    On  the  two-­‐story  section,  the  second-­‐story  door  has  a  metal  stairway  to  access  it  and  the  first-­‐story  door  is  topped  by  a  metal  vent,  instead  of  a  transom  window.    The  third  story  of  the  main  section  features  a  window  arrangement  that  mirrors  the  east  elevation:  three  bays  with  a  central  wide  triple  window  between  single  windows.    Currently,  some  of  the  windows  are  boarded  over,  but  they  are  intact.    The  building  with  its  associated  warehouse  retains  integrity  of  location,  design,  setting  (though  the  entrance  and  driveway  has  changed,  the  view  to  the  entrance  remains),  materials,  workmanship,  feeling,  and  association.        Warehouse  (1924)  The  rectangular-­‐plan  warehouse  building  was  constructed  in  1924.  The  footprint  is  approximately  60  x  32  feet.    It  is  a  one-­‐story,  side-­‐gabled  reinforced  concrete  building  with  a  plaster  coating.    The  roof  consists  of  standing  seam  metal  sheets.    On  the  east  and  west  elevations  are  sliding  original  Kalamein  doors  with  original  steel  sash  windows  on  either  side.    On  the  south  elevation  is  a  small  original  single  door.      

                                                                                                               132    G.  Haven  Bishop  (photographer),  Southern  California  Edison  Photographs  and  Negatives,  SEC  Photo  #02-­‐15272,  Huntington  Digital  Library.    Accessed  October  22,  2014.  

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Rector  Substation  The  Rector  Substation  includes  five  buildings  and  structures,  associated  transformers,  switch  racks  and  electrical  engineering  equipment.    The  one  building  that  is  significant  is  the  Main  Substation  Building.    The  1928  substation  building  contains  subtle  elements  of  Art  Deco-­‐styling  and  form,  with  smooth  concrete  massing  coupled  with  subtle  stepped  banding,  recessed  ribbon  windows,  and  prominent  angled  parapets.    The  original  portion  of  the  substation  building  is  generally  rectangular  in  form  and  of  a  substantial  height,  with  a  small  single-­‐story  wing  extending  from  the  northwest  corner.  Two  single-­‐story  additions  extend  from  the  original  building,  one  completed  in  1954  and  the  second  in  1987.    The  utilitarian  additions  extend  from  the  north  of  the  building,  lending  the  assemblage  an  irregular  floor  plan  that  measures  roughly  130  feet  north-­‐to-­‐south  by  120  feet  east–to-­‐west.133        The  original  portion  of  the  substation  building  is  constructed  on  a  poured  concrete  foundation,  with  a  four-­‐foot  high  concrete  apron  and  board  formed  concrete  walls.  The  building  has  a  flat  concrete  roof  reinforced  by  steel  trusses.    The  original  portion  of  the  building  is  generally  oriented  east-­‐west,  with  angled  parapets  and  oversize  multi-­‐light  window  configurations  lining  the  east  and  west  sides  of  the  building  and  rhythmic  bands  of  narrow  recessed  industrial  windows  lining  the  north  and  south  sides  of  the  building.    Windows  are  of  steel-­‐frame  design,  with  9  to  12  lights  on  the  north  and  south  sides,  with  the  east  and  west  sides  characterized  by  expansive  groupings  of  66  lights.  While  portions  of  the  windows  were  designed  as  operable  awning-­‐type  openings,  all  hardware  and  operational  mechanisms  have  been  removed.  In  addition,  windows  are  sealed  closed  by  plywood  placed  inside  the  building.    Lastly,  some  windows  have  been  replaced  by  large  HVAC  ducts  along  the  southern  wall.  Access  to  the  building  is  provided  by  offset  modern  double  doors  on  the  south  side  of  the  building.    The  doors,  and  surrounding  wood  wall,  are  an  infill  of  the  original  openings,  which  were  industrial  in  scale  and  accommodated  a  railroad  spur  that  accessed  the  building,  since  removed.134        The  1954  and  1987  additions  extend  from  the  north  side  of  the  original  building.  The  additions  are  utilitarian  in  form  and  one-­‐story  in  height,  standing  at  a  far  lower  profile  than  the  much  larger  mass  of  the  original  substation.    The  1954  addition  is  located  on  the  northwest  corner  and  measures  58  feet  north-­‐to-­‐south  by  40  feet  east-­‐to-­‐west.  The  addition  is  composed  of  smooth  concrete  block  walls,  a  flat  concrete  roof  with  metal  flashing,  a  single  fixed  window  and  one  solid  metal  door.  The  1987  addition  extends  north  from  the  original  building,  along  the  east  side  of  the  1954  construction.  This  element  is  constructed  of  textured  concrete  blocks  and  measures  60  feet  square,  with  a  low  parapet  surrounding  the  flat  concrete  roof  and  fenestration  limited  to  three  utilitarian  solid  metal  doors.  135    The  building  originally  housed  large  condensers,  batteries,  switches,  and  frequency  changers,  which  are  no  longer  extant.  At  present,  SCE  has  developed  a  large  steel  chamber  that  fills  much  of  the  building,  housing  a  host  of  electronic  equipment  used  in  regulating  voltage  and  transfer  of  electricity.136  Character  defining  features  of  the  Rector  Substation  include  the  original  substation  building’s  footprint  and  massing,  its  smooth  concrete  walls,  industrial  fenestration  including  steel  frame  windows,  and  its  subtle  Art  Deco  detailing  including  stepped  concrete  banding  and  angled  parapets.    The  primary  mass  of  the  substation  retains  strong  integrity  to  the  historic  period  and  remains  a  significant  representative  of  SCE’s  architectural  and  engineering  development.137            

                                                                                                               133  Garret  Root  and  Polly  Allen  of  Cardno,  DPR  523  forms  for  Rector  Substation,  3.  134  Ibid.  135  Ibid.  136      Ibid.,  4.  137  Ibid.,  8.  

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BIBLIOGRAPHY    General  Historical  Context  Primary  Sources  Fowler,  Frederick  Hall.    Hydroelectric  Power  Systems  of  California  and  Their  Extension  into  Oregon  and  

Nevada.    Water-­‐supply  paper,  issue  493.    Washington,  D.C.:  Government  Printing  Office,  1923.    “Kern  River  No.  1  Power  Plant  of  Edison  Electric  Co.,  Los  Angeles.”    Electrical  World  50.    August  10,  1907.  Southern  California  Edison.    Confidential  Substation  Database.      -­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐  Southern  California  Edison  Photographs  and  Negatives.    

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Theodoratus  Cultural  Research,  Inc.    Evaluation  of  the  Historic  Resources  of  the  Bishop  Creek  Hydroelectric  System.    1988.  

   Eagle  Rock  Substation  Primary  Sources  “Big  Creek  Power  Put  to  Work  in  This  City.”  Los  Angeles  Times,  November  9,  1913.  Bishop,  G.  Haven  (photographer).    Southern  California  Edison  Photographs  and  Negatives,  Huntington  Digital  

Library.    Accessed  September  12,  2014.  “Blast  Starts  Power  Blaze:  Street  Car  Service  in  Los  Angeles  Curtailed.”  Los  Angeles  Times,  January  10,  1923.    “Engineers  Visit  New  Eagle  Rock  Station.”  The  Daily  Southern  Californian,  Vol.  5,  No.  16,  October  13,  1914.  Hoyt,  H.C.    “The  Big  Creek  Development  of  the  Pacific  Light  and  Power  Company.”    General  Electric  Review  

17,  no.  8  (1914).  Loewenthal,  Max.  “Splendid  Advance  of  Electrical  Industry.”  Los  Angeles  Times,  January  17,  1915.  Southern  California  Edison,  Department  of  Engineering  Design.    Eagle  Rock  Substation:  Plan,  Elevation  &  

Details  of  Main  Entrance  Gate  &  Equipment,  sheet  47632-­‐2,  1925-­‐1926.  Stone  and  Webster.  First  Floor  Plan,  Eagle  Rock  Sub  Station,  Big  Creek  Development,  sheet  52794,  1913.  “Tremendous  Electric  Force  at  Our  Door.”  Los  Angeles  Times,  November  2,  1913.    Secondary  Sources  Eagle  Rock  Valley  Historical  Society.    Newsletter,  Winter  2014.  Former  SCE  employee.    Comment  posted  January  2,  2014.    “Noirish  Los  Angeles,”  Skyscraper  Forum.  

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=170279&page=932,  Accessed  September  11,  2014.  

Friedricks,  William  B.    Henry  E.  Huntington  and  the  Creation  of  Southern  California.    Columbus:  Ohio  State  University  Press,  1992.  

Gnerre,  Sam.    “Redondo  Beach's  Power  Plants,”  Daily  Breeze  Blog.  http://blogs.dailybreeze.com/history/2011/10/05/redondo-­‐beachs-­‐power-­‐plant/,  Accessed  September  15,  2014.    

Myers,  William  A.    Iron  Men  and  Copper  Wires:  A  Centennial  History  of  the  Southern  California  Edison  Company.    Glendale:  Trans-­‐Anglo  Books,  1986.  

Southern  California  Edison.  “Bringing  Big  Creek  to  Life,”  Inside  Edison,  November  2013.  -­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐“Lights,  Camera,  Edison!”  Inside  Edison,  June  2013.  

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Warren,  Eric  H.  and  Frank  E.  Parrello.    Pioneers  of  Eagle  Rock.  Charleston,  South  Carolina:  The  History  Press,  2014.  

Water  and  Power  Associates.    “First  Electricity  in  Los  Angeles,”  Mulholland-­‐Scattergood  Virtual  Museum,  http://waterandpower.org/museum/First%20Electricity%20in%20Los%20Angeles.html,  Accessed  September  15,  2014.  

   Magunden  Substation  Primary  Sources  The  history  and  description  of  this  substation  is  largely  quoted  from  the  following  secondary  source.    Secondary  Source  Root,  Garret  and  Polly  Allen.    Department  of  Parks  and  Recreation  (DPR)  523  forms  for  Magunden  Substation.      

May  2015.      Chino  Substation  Primary  Sources  Sanborn  Fire  Insurance  Maps  for  Chino  (San  Bernardino  Co.).    Key  Sheets  c.  1895,  1897,  1907,  1912,  1925,  

1932.    Secondary  Sources  Brown,  John  Jr.  and  James  Boyd.  History  of  San  Bernardino  and  Riverside  Counties.  Volume  1.    The  Lewis  

Publishing  Company:  Chicago,  IL.  1922.    City  of  Chino  Website.  Did  You  Know:  Historical  Facts.  www.cityofchino.org/index.aspx?page=558.    Accessed  

June  7,  2010.  City  of  Chino  General  Plan.      Colton  Substation  Primary  Sources  Andree,  J.W.    “Operating  Interconnected  Hydro  Plants  for  Best  System  Economy.”    Electrical  World  79  New  

York:  McGraw  Hill  Company,  Inc.,  1922.    -­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐“Synchronous  Condensers  in  High-­‐Tension  System.”  Electrical  World  74,  no.  11.    September  

1919.  Armstrong,  G.E.    “Relay  Protective  Systems.”  Journal  of  Electricity  42,  no.8.    April  15,  1919.  Bishop,  G.  Haven  (photographer).    Southern  California  Edison  Photographs  and  Negatives.    Photos  SEC-­‐02                                    

-­‐00848,  -­‐00849,  -­‐00850,  -­‐01611,  -­‐04327,  -­‐04328,  -­‐06673,  -­‐10238,  -­‐10240,  -­‐10243,  -­‐11617,  -­‐11627,                                              -­‐15254,  -­‐15258,  and  -­‐20689.    http://hdl.huntington.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/p16003coll2.    Huntington  Digital  Library.  

Southern  California  Edison.  Colton  Substation  Revised  Elevations  and  Sections  of  Substation  Building.    Drawing  #58510.    1924.  

-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐  Details  for  Remodeling  Interior  of  Substation  Building.    Drawing  #58340.    1924.  U.S.  Geological  Survey.    San  Bernardino  Quadrangle,  California.  1:62,500.  15  Minute  Series.  Washington  D.C.:  

USGS,  1896.    Secondary  Sources  City  of  Colton.    Our  Community.    http://www.ci.colton.ca.us/index.aspx?nid=98.  Accessed  September  30,  

1914.  The  Lightfoot  Planning  Group  and  Affinis.  Colton  Cultural  Resources  Preservation  Element.    2000.  

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Myers,  William  A.    Iron  Men  and  Copper  Wires:  A  Centennial  History  of  the  Southern  California  Edison  Company.    Glendale:  Trans-­‐Anglo  Books,  1986.  

Swanson,  Mark  T.  (historian)  and  David  DeVries  (photographer).  Historic  American  Engineering  Record,  CA-­‐130:  Santa  Ana  River  Hydroelectric  System,  San  Bernardino  County,  California.    Report  by  Greenwood  &  Associates  for  the  Army  Corps  of  Engineers,  1992.  

   Newmark  Substation  Primary  Sources  Southern  California  Edison.    Newmark  Substation:  East  and  West  Elevations,  Drawing  No.  5767.  -­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐Newmark  Substation:  Long  Beach  to  Newmark  and  L.A.  #3  to  Colton  Transmission  Lines  

Showing  Tower  Numbers,  Drawing  No.  7247.  -­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐  Southern  California  Edison  Photographs  and  Negatives.    

http://hdl.huntington.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/p16003coll2.    Huntington  Digital  Library.    Secondary  Sources  City  of  Montebello.    History  of  Montebello.  http://www.cityofmontebello.com/about/default.asp.    Accessed  March  1,  

2015.  City  of  Monterey  Park.    History  of  Monterey  Park.  http://www.montereypark.ca.gov/721/History-­‐of-­‐Monterey-­‐Park.    

Accessed  March  1,  2015.  Myers,  William  A.    Iron  Men  and  Copper  Wires:  A  Centennial  History  of  the  Southern  California  Edison  

Company.    Glendale:  Trans-­‐Anglo  Books,  1986.  State  of  California.    California  Historic  Population  Figures:  1850-­‐2000.    (From  Urbana’s  in-­‐house  library).      La  Fresa  Substation  Primary  Sources  Southern  California  Edison.    La  Fresa  Substation:  Architectural  First  &  Second  Floor  Plans  of  Switch  House,  No.  

518310-­‐52.  -­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐  La  Fresa  Substation:  Switch  House  Architectural  Elevations  and  Details,  No.  518300-­‐3    -­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐  Confidential  Substation  Database.      -­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐  Southern  California  Edison  Photographs  and  Negatives.    

http://hdl.huntington.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/p16003coll2.    Huntington  Digital  Library.  “Tower  Steel  Purchased:  Edison  Company  Places  Order  for  2000  Tons  of  Material  for  Use  in  Expansion  

Program.”    Los  Angeles  Times,  May  12,  1929.      “Utility  Builds  Power  Station:  Edison  Company  Program  Involves  Large  Sum  La  Fresa  Plant  Declared  to  be  

Model  of  Kind  Unit  Held  Backbone  of  New  Transmission  System.”  Los  Angeles  Times,  November  3,  1929.    

 Secondary  Sources  Masters,  Nathan.    “Torrance  at  100:  the  South  Bay  City’s  Origins  as  a  Model  Industrial  Town.”    KCET,  October  

12,  2012.    http://www.kcet.org/updaily/socal_focus/history/la-­‐as-­‐subject/torrance-­‐at-­‐100-­‐the-­‐south-­‐bay-­‐citys-­‐origins-­‐as-­‐a-­‐model-­‐industrial-­‐town.html.    Accessed  March  27,  2015.  

Myers,  William  A.    Iron  Men  and  Copper  Wires:  A  Centennial  History  of  the  Southern  California  Edison  Company.    Glendale:  Trans-­‐Anglo  Books,  1986.  

State  of  California.    California  Historic  Population  Figures:  1850-­‐2000.    (From  Urbana’s  in-­‐house  library).      Laguna  Bell  Substation  Primary  Sources  

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Bishop,  G.  Haven  (photographer).    Southern  California  Edison  Photographs  and  Negatives,  Huntington  Digital  Library.    Accessed  October  22  and  28,  2014.  

“Edison  Unit  in  Suburb  Completed.”    Los  Angeles  Times,  January  23,  1927.  “Industrial  Substation  Work  Begun.”    Los  Angeles  Times,  April  20,  1930.  U.S.  Geological  Survey.    Topographic  map:  Bell.  1936.  -­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐    Topographic  map:  South  Gate.  1949.  -­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐    Topographic  map:  South  Gate.    1964.    Secondary  Sources  Myers,  William  A.    Iron  Men  and  Copper  Wires:  A  Centennial  History  of  the  Southern  California  Edison  

Company.    Glendale:  Trans-­‐Anglo  Books,  1986.      Rector  Substation  The  history  and  description  of  this  substation  is  largely  quoted  from  the  following  secondary  source.    Secondary  Source  Root,  Garret  and  Polly  Allen.    Department  of  Parks  and  Recreation  (DPR)  523  forms  for  Rector  Substation.    May  2015.    


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