A Tunnel of Beauty

Anthony Hernandez’s photograph of an L.A. River drainage tunnel was simply beautiful (“Everything #2,” Photo Synthesis, by Colin Westerbeck, Nov. 19). I know very little of the homeless who sometimes inhabit these tunnels, but I do know about the people who build them.

Beauty, of course, is in the eye of the beholder, and this is the beauty that I see in Hernandez’s photo: I see that the storm drain was beautifully designed and constructed by an experienced contractor. The uniform flow of water in the pipe indicates that the pipe was laid out beautifully to the designed alignment and grade.

For me, the photo tells a beautiful story of a public works project with a simple but important function and of all the people who built it.

Ben Juarez

Retired Public Works

Construction Inspector

Los Angeles