Mulholland Drive is one of the best-known addresses in the Los Angeles area. It follows the crest of the Santa Monica Mountains, northwest of the city. Movie stars live there, and their homes command sweeping views of the San Fernando Valley, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, and Los Angeles itself. Yet the drive’s namesake, William Mulholland, was neither a Hollywood mogul nor a wealthy landowner. He was the city’s water superintendent from 1886 to 1928. He brought the water that the city needed to grow, and the views from Mulholland Drive are of the lands he made fruitful.

Born in Ireland in 1855, Mulholland showed his venturesome spirit while still in his teens. A private tutor gave him an introduction to mathematics and navigation, and he promptly ran away to sea. From 1870 to 1874 he sailed between Glasgow, the West Indies, and the United States. After nineteen such voyages he decided to try something different and headed for northern Michigan, where he worked on Great Lakes boats and in lumber camps. Eventually he ended up at an uncle’s dry-goods store in Pittsburgh.

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