SITE TOUR, LECTURE TO REMEMBER DAM DISASTER.

Byline: Daily News

Friday's anniversary of the St. Francis Dam collapse is being observed with two programs - a tour of the site of California's second-worst disaster and a historical exhibit at CSUN.

Historian Frank Rock will lead a bus tour from 9:30 a.m. to noon March 20 to the Angeles National Forest site of the dam, which collapsed in 1928, causing a deluge that wiped out more than 450 people from Saugus to Ventura.

Tourists will meet for breakfast at Heritage Junction next to Hart Park, then leave for San Francisquito Canyon, where they will hike among the ruins of the dam. Tickets are $20 and can be reserved by calling [phone]. Proceeds will be donated to the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society.

On March 23, J. David Rogers, a geologist and civil engineer, will present a lecture titled ``Remembering the St. Francis Dam Disaster'' at California State University, Northridge, in the University Club.

Catherine Mulholland, the granddaughter of the late William Mulholland, father of the Los Angeles Aqueduct system who designed the dam, also will be on hand for the lecture.

William Mulholland went to his grave believing he had caused the deaths of hundreds, some never counted because their bodies were swept along the Santa Clara River and into the Pacific Ocean or because they were undocumented migrant workers. Recent studies indicate Mulholland might not have been at fault because the dam had been built into an ancient landslide, and that the mountains' instability was indiscernible.

That lecture is sponsored by the University Library and the Friends of the Oviatt Library. It is being held in conjunction with a monthlong exhibit about the tragedy, with photos and materials on display in the lobby of the Oviatt Library on campus. Information is available by calling [phone].