Lewis MacAdams was a poet who founded and led the Friends of the Los Angeles River, an organization that has grown to more than 50,000 members, working to restore the river and advocate for policies to protect its natural existence.

The river was bedded by concrete and walled off by a fence in 1938. In an act of civil disobedience in 1986, MacAdams cut a hole in the chain-link fence that obstructed Angelenos from the river. He declared the river open to the people and swore to serve as its voice.

Where others saw a concrete channel, Lewis saw incredible beauty and resiliency. He knew the river's potential because he understood its past.