Coldwater Canyon

{{Short description|Canyon in Los Angeles County, California, United States}}

File:Canyons and creeks of the Santa Monica Mountains circa 1894.jpg in Los Angeles {{circa|1894}}]]

Coldwater Canyon ({{langx|es|Cañada de las Aguas Frias}}) is a canyon running perpendicular to and over the central Santa Monica Mountains, in Los Angeles County, California, United States.

A section of the canyon south of Mulholland Drive is also a neighborhood in the Beverly Crest Neighborhood Council of the City of Los Angeles. Hidden Valley is the area "just below Mulholland on the west side of Coldwater" that used to be Myrna Loy's estate.

Geography

The canyon is traversed via Coldwater Canyon Drive and Coldwater Canyon Avenue (linked by a short section of Mulholland Drive), which connects the city of Beverly Hills and the Westside, with the Studio City neighborhood and the San Fernando Valley. The canyon is drained Coldwater Canyon Creek, a tributary of Ballona Creek. Coldwater Canyon Creek is considered an intermittent stream, "flowing southward and southeastward into Rodeo de las Aguas Rancho. Near the mouth of its canyon it receives streams draining Franklin and Higgins canyons."{{Cite report |first=Beatrice Dawson |last=Wood |first2=J.C. |last2=Hoyt|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/wsp297 |title=Gazetteer of surface waters of California Part III: Pacific coast and Great basin streams |series=Water Supply Paper 297 |date=1913 |doi=10.3133/wsp297 |language=en |page=53}}

File:Huntington_Library_SR_Map_0132_Rancho_Rodeo_de_las_Aguas_1868_plat_map.jpg plat map created 1868 likely shows Coldwater as {{lang|es|Cañada de las Aguas}}]]

History

Fishermen found a good quantity of speckled trout in Coldwater Creek in 1888.{{Cite news |date=1888-09-10 |title=Early mention of Temescal Canyon and Coldwater Canyon. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/los-angeles-herald-early-mention-of-teme/108775646/ |access-date=2024-01-30 |work=Los Angeles Herald |pages=1}} There was a rock quarry in the canyon in the 1890s.{{Cite news |date=1892-04-26 |title=Santa Monica |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/los-angeles-evening-express-santa-monica/139919215/ |access-date=2024-01-30 |work=Los Angeles Evening Express |pages=7}} For much of the first half of the 20th century, the canyon was defined by "orange groves and bridle paths." There were four houses in the canyon around 1908.{{Cite news |last=Ryon |first=Ruth |date=1982-08-08 |title=Area Resident for 59 Years Looks Back |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-area-resident-for/139917460/ |access-date=2024-01-30 |work=The Los Angeles Times |pages=103}} & {{Cite news |date=1982-08-08 |title=Canyon: A Resident Looks Back [part 2 of 2] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-canyon-a-resident/139917788/ |pages=105}} It snowed in Coldwater Canyon in 1934. There was a "vice joint" affiliated with mobster Mickey Cohen located in the canyon around 1944.{{Cite news |date=1944-04-18 |title=Editorial Comment: Praiseworthy Coldwater Canyon |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/los-angeles-evening-citizen-news-editori/123532137/ |access-date=2024-01-30 |work=Los Angeles Evening Citizen News |pages=12}} In 1954 Jack Palance's wife (Virginia Baker Palance) discovered and reported a brushfire in the canyon that burned 20 acres and destroyed one home before it was extinguished.{{Cite news |date=1954-07-30 |title=Valley Firemen Douse Blaze |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/valley-times-valley-firemen-douse-blaze/139918756/ |access-date=2024-01-30 |work=Valley Times |pages=1}}