Chavez Ravine

Lore & Background

Chavez Ravine was named for Julian Chavez (Julián A. Chávez), the first recorded owner of the ravine. He was born in New Mexico and moved to Los Angeles in the early 1830s. In 1844, Chavez purchased 83 acres of the long, narrow valley northwest of the city. During the 1850s and 1880s there were smallpox epidemics; Chavez Canyon was the location of a 'pest house' which cared for Chinese-Americans and Mexican-Americans suffering from the disease.

There was also a notable early Jewish-American presence beginning in the 1850s. The first Jewish site in Los Angeles was a Jewish cemetery located in Chavez Ravine, which opened in 1855 and was owned by the Hebrew Benevolent Society of Los Angeles. The Hebrew Benevolent Society purchased a 3-acre plot for the cemetery for $1 from the city. The site now includes Dodger Stadium and the Los Angeles Fire Department's Frank Hotchkin Memorialized Training Center.

In 1902, because of poor environmental conditions due to the unchecked expansion of the oil industry, the remains were moved to the Home of Peace Cemetery in East Los Angeles. By the early 1900s, a semi-rural Mexican-American community had grown up, with three distinct neighborhoods: Palo Verde, La Loma, and Bishop. In 1913 a progressive lawyer named Marshall Stimson subsidized the movement of around 250 Mexican-Americans to these communities from the floodplain of the nearby Los Angeles River.

In 1926 the residents organized to shut down a nearby brick factory, and on August 20, 1926, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously adopted an ordinance prohibiting blasting and zoning the area for residential use. In the 1940s, the area was a poor, though cohesive, Mexican-American community. The city began to label the area as 'blighted' and planned public housing, but the project halted. In the early 1950s, the City of Los Angeles purchased land using eminent domain with funds from the Federal Housing Act of 1949, planning the Elysian Park Heights public housing project.

After Norris Poulson was elected mayor in 1953, support for public housing faded. The city repurchased the property from the Federal Housing Authority with the stipulation that the land be used for a public purpose. Following a 'baseball referendum' approved by voters on June 3, 1958, the city traded 352 acres of land at Chavez Ravine to the Brooklyn Dodgers and owner Walter O'Malley.

Reader's Guide

Chavez Ravine is located next to Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California. The area includes Elysian Park, which became a park in 1886. The site of the first Jewish cemetery in Los Angeles is at Lilac Terrace and Lookout Drive, now part of the Dodger Stadium and Fire Department training center grounds. The neighborhoods of Palo Verde, La Loma, and Bishop were historically located on the ridges between ravines. The land is rugged and includes the Buena Vista Reservoir in Reservoir Ravine.

Did You Know?

• Chavez Ravine was named for Julian Chavez, a 19th-century Angeleño politician who purchased 83 acres of the valley in 1844.
• Structures from Chavez Ravine were sold to Universal Studios for one dollar each and used in films including To Kill a Mockingbird.

Origins and Early Land Use

Julian Chavez (né Julián A. Chávez), born in New Mexico, moved to Los Angeles in the early 1830s and became a local leader. In 1844, he purchased 83 acres of the valley northwest of the city. During smallpox epidemics in the 1850s and 1880s, Chavez Canyon housed a "pest house" for Chinese-American and Mexican-American patients. In 1854, the Hebrew Benevolent Society of Los Angeles was founded to procure land for a cemetery. On April 9, 1855, the society received a deed from the city for a 3-acre plot at Lilac Terrace and Lookout Drive, establishing the first Jewish cemetery in Los Angeles. The site now includes Dodger Stadium and the Frank Hotchkin Memorial Training Center. In 1886, parts of the hills became Elysian Park, while two brick manufacturers began blasting operations in Chavez Ravine that same year.

Community Formation and Early Activism

By the early 1900s, a semi-rural Mexican-American community grew on the ridges above the ravine, forming three neighborhoods: Palo Verde, La Loma, and Bishop. In 1913, lawyer Marshall Stimson subsidized the move of around 250 residents from the Los Angeles River floodplain to these communities. The area included a grocery store, a church, and Palo Verde Elementary. A nearby brick factory caused smoke and dust problems until residents organized to shut it down. On August 20, 1926, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously adopted an ordinance prohibiting blasting and zoned the area for residential use.

The Housing Crisis and Redevelopment Plans

In the 1940s, Chavez Ravine consisted of the three Mexican-American communities of La Loma, Palo Verde, and Bishop. Many families lived there due to housing discrimination elsewhere in Los Angeles. The city labeled the area "blighted" and, using federal funds from the Housing Act of 1949, tasked the Housing Authority with building public housing to address post-World War II shortages. Architects Richard Neutra and Robert Alexander designed a plan for "Elysian Park Heights," which included two dozen 13-story buildings and more than 160 two-story townhouses, plus playgrounds and schools.

Displacement Tactics and the Battle for Land

In the early 1950s, the City of Los Angeles used eminent domain to purchase land from local owners using funds from the Federal Housing Act of 1949. Author Mike Davis reported that developers representing the city offered immediate cash payments through Spanish-speaking agents to homeowners who were initially unwilling to sell. Historian John Laslett stated the Housing Authority used high-pressure tactics, allegedly offering lesser amounts to remaining owners to create panic.

Some residents resisted, leading to the "Battle of Chavez Ravine," a ten-year struggle by a small number of holdouts that ended unsuccessfully after most land was transferred to public ownership. In 1953, Mayor Norris Poulson opposed public housing, calling it "un-American." The city repurchased the property from the Federal Housing Authority at a reduced price for a public purpose. Following a voter-approved "baseball referendum" on June 3, 1958, the city traded 352 acres of Chavez Ravine to the Brooklyn Dodgers and owner Walter O'Malley in exchange for land around Wrigley Field.