The Battle of Chavez Ravine

Posted By on December 13, 2020

This post is about how the Dodgers obtained the land where Dodger Stadium is built. It was an acrimonious endeavor. And it all started long before the Dodgers arrived in Los Angeles.

The Ravine is an L shaped Canyon. It was named for Julian Chavez, a LA Councilman in the 19th century who originally purchased the land in the Elysian Park area. Chavez was born in New Mexico and moved to the area in the early 1830’s. He became a local leader quickly and in 1844 he purchased 83 acres.

No records exist of what Chavez did with the land, but during the 1850’s and 60’s, there were smallpox epidemics. Chavez Canyon was the location of a “pest house” that cared for Chinese Americans and Mexican Americans who were suffering from the disease.

There was also a Jewish American population settled in the area. The first Jewish site in L.A. was a cemetery located in Chavez Ravine which opened in 1855. A 3 acre plot of barren land was purchased by the Hebrew Benevolent Society for $1.00 from the city.

That land is where Dodger Stadium and the Fire Departments training center are now standing. Because of environmental conditions in 1902, the remains in the cemetery were removed to a new plot in what now is East L.A.

In the 1940s, the Ravine was made up of three mostly Mexican-American communities of La Loma, Palo Verde and Bishop. With the population expanding, the city viewed the area as a prime underutilized location. The city began to label the area as blighted, and thus ripe for redevelopment. Through a vote, the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, with the assistance of  federal funds from the Housing Act of 1949 was designated the task to construct public housing, in large part to address the severe post WWII housing shortage.

Therefore a couple of noted architects were hired to design the project. It was named Elysian Park Heights. The city had already  relocated many of the residents when the entire project came to a halt. The land where the stadium now sits was purchased from some local owners and inhabitants in the early 50’s by the city using eminent domain and funds from the previously mentioned Housing act of 1949. The plan was supposed to build 24 13 story buildings and more than 160 two story townhouses.

Author Mike Davis in his controversial history of the city, City of Quartz, discussed the process of gradually convincing home owners to sell. He asserted that almost all of the original Spanish-speaking home owners initially were unwilling to do so. Developers representing the city and housing authority, resorted to offering immediate cash payments distributed through their Spanish-speaking agents. Once the first sales had been completed, it was said that the remaining homeowners were offered lesser amounts of money. Allegedly to create a sense of community panic that people would not receive fair compensation, or that they would be left as one of the holdouts.

Some residents continued to resist, despite the pressure being placed upon them by the developers, thus resulting in “The Battle of Chavez Ravine”. An unsuccessful 10 year struggle by a small number of remaining residents to maintain control of their property after a substantial majority of the area had been transferred to public ownership.

Before construction of the project could begin, the political climate changed dramatically with the election of Norris Poulson as Mayor. Poulson opposed public housing, thinking it Un-American. Thus support for projects like that faded. Following some protracted negotiations, the City of L.A. was able to repurchase the Chavez Ravine property at a greatly reduced price with the stipulation that the land be used for a public purpose.

Following the Baseball referendum proposed by the Taxpayers Committee for Yes on Baseball, which was approved by voters on June 3, 1958, the city made a controversial decision to trade 352 acres of the land at Chavez Ravine to Walter O’Malley in exchange for the land around the minor league park, Wrigley Field with the aim of providing incentives for migration to Los Angeles.

The Dodgers by that time had already moved the team from Brooklyn and were playing their games in the L.A. Coliseum until their new stadium could be built. As of September, 1957, which was prior to O’Malley’s decision to move the Dodgers west, the area was still reserved for public purposes. On those grounds the proposal that the Ravine be used for a ballpark received considerable backlash. Most felt a stadium and baseball team were not a public use. Some argued that a zoo should be built on the site.

In 1957, the city approved the transfer of the land to the Dodgers. The process was halted by a successful petition that a public vote was needed to approve the transfer of the land to the Dodgers. In June 1958, the vote failed by 25,000 votes and the land was sold to the Dodgers for a small consideration, and the transfer of the Wrigley Field property.

There was significant resistance to the eviction by the residents. By 1959 there were not many left. Some were forcibly removed by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department. And the final hold out, Manuel Arechiga lived in a tent on his demolished property for many months. He eventually relented and accepted the city’s offer of $10,500.

Thus the way was cleared to begin construction of O’Malley’s dream. Now, many blame him for what happened. But the seeds of this were planted long before O’Malley ever thought about moving west. And consider also that if the politicians in Brooklyn had been more forward thinking, and approved the plan for a new domed stadium where O’Malley wanted to build it in Brooklyn, the Dodgers might still be there and the L,A. team would be the expansion Angels who were originally formed in 1961.

Many regard the stadium and it’s setting in Elysian Park as one of the most beautiful in baseball. The initial problems the stadium had when it opened in 1962 are long forgotten. There have been many exciting moments and memories for Dodger fans. And the Beatles and Elton John held concerts there.

The Stadium just last year had some 100 million dollars in upgrades that the fans did not get to see in 2020 due to Covid-19. I hope when I go to California to visit my sis and family next year that the stadium will be open to fans again, and I can see for myself the ballpark I have called my home since it was opened.

The relationship between the Dodgers and the Latino community have greatly improved since that time. Latino fans are about as avid of fans as you will find anywhere and their loyalty to the team has surpassed any vitriol they might have felt for O’Malley and the city’s politicians back then. The Dodgers for their part have made the community a large focus of the team’s community relations with their excellent Spanish language broadcast team, and bringing Latino star players to play in Dodger Stadium. It has been a long marriage formed out of a very stormy beginning.

This article has 47 Comments

  2. First and foremost my thoughts and prayers have been with Bear and Quas and their families…
    Good morning LADT people… Hit a little speed bump in my therapy but I’m slowly getting back…
    I had to be very careful while watching the UCLA – USC… My local favorite UCLA gave it’s all against undefeated USC… That being said Bear, you’re very lucky not to have to face my Fighting Irish this year…
    Great article Bear on Blue Heaven… I remember my Pop taking me up there to see the cranes they were using and that was an awesome sight as a kid…
    S— I hope all this JT talk is just pure conjecture… 2 + 1 and keep him in the family…

    1. Thank you Peter. It does not seem to be conjecture. although some think it is just a negotiation tactic. We will see. I have never feared a drunken Irishman in my life! LOL.

    1. He definitely did, and the monetary payment he made was nothing compared to what the land was likely worth. But his property that went to the city is in what most consider a depressed area now.

  4. Here’s a little Primer on Eminent Domain Laws from the ND AG:

    The landowner does have rights… if they exercise them and most courts order the condemnor to pay the landowner’s“reasonable” costs and attorney fees associated with the trial. The court decides what is reasonable, so the landowner may not be fully reimbursed for all actual costs and attorney fees. The court may also require the condemnor to pay the landowner’s attorney fees and costs associated with an appeal. However, if the landowner appeals or requests a new trial and does not win, the court may impose the costs of appeal or the new trial on the landowner.

    Landowners may challenge the “use” or “necessity” for taking the land. A judge must decide the legal question of use or necessity. Just compensation is payment made by the condemnor that is intended to make the landowner financially “whole” again. The determination will be made by a jury or, if the landowner waives the right to a jury, by a judge. At the trial, both the landowner and condemnor present their opinions on the amount of just compensation. Both sides are allowed to have witnesses, expert appraisers, exhibits and other evidence to support their claims.

    Eminent Domain does vary from state-to-state but not dramatically. I know a person who was offered $300,000 for his land and ended up getting $2.8 Million after a court battle. Unfortunately, the residents of the Ravine were not educated or wealthy and we know what usually happens there!

    1. I have an attorney friend who says “it is the best in the world… but it isn’t very good!”

  6. A terrific historical write-up, Bear, of a beautiful place with wonderful pictures. Thank you. Lots of things to think about on how it came about, but glad it is here.

    1. Thanks DBM. It took a little time to read all of the articles and there was a lot there to digest.

  7. In reality the Dodgers had nothing to with what happened in Chavez Ravine. The property was taken years before, the city took possession in 1951 and was originally intended to be a mixed use development — single family, multiple family housing, plus retail. The people who remained on the site were essentially squatters, the City of Los Angeles owned the site. All of this began when LA faced a housing shortage with people returning from the war and the city began to grow. Then San Fernando Valley happened as private developers built massive numbers of housing tracts. Thus Chavez Ravine housing wasn’t needed.

    Since LA officials wanted to acquire a baseball team, an effort by Roz Wyman, the youngest person ever elected to the LA city council at 22, and LA County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn,

    Hahn’ daughter Janice is currently serving as a supervisor.

    Some of the original residents may have had an issue with LA taking property, but all that happened before the Dodgers arrived upon the scene.

    Interesting story. When I had season tickets in the loge, the Hispanic family who had the season next to mine, are huge Dodger fans. The entire family at one time or another had worked at Dodger Stadium. But the grandfather wouldn’t ever step foot in the stadium. He was still angry with the Dodgers.

    Without Wyman’s effort, it’s doubtful that the Dodgers would be in LA today.

    The pictures of the family fleeing from their “home” as bulldozers closed in are quite dramatic, but the truth is they hadn’t actually owned those houses in years.

    The Dodgers were never the bad guys. If the Dodgers weren’t there it is likely the site would be occupied with high price mansions and houses today. One of the developers who tried to buy the Dodgers years ago, said it would be a great housing site. Great view of LA.

    1. I stated that in the story. The other reason it did not become public housing was the election of Poulson. He was dead set against public housing. The Dodger team was not the bad guys true, but most who lived there blamed it on O’Malley.

      1. Thank you

        I think it is important to remember that just because the former residents blamed O’Malley, doesn’t necessarily make O’Malley the bad guy.

        Eminent Domain is sometimes necessary but almost always results in resentment and hard feelings.

        Oftentimes history confuses opinion for fact. I’m glad you presented this story.

  8. Eminent Domain is not directly in the Constitution, although the 5th amendment does refer to “just compensation”. Everybody knows that the Constitution is not perfect, but as the old TV show, Slattery’s People would say each week,
    “Democracy is a very bad form of government. But I ask you never to forget: All the others are so much worse.”

    1. That is true Doug. But there are rankings of the best operated democracies and we aren’t even in the top 10.

    2. May seem to be a bit of a nit-pick but the United States is not a democracy – it is a constitutional republic

      2. Yeah, it is a bit of a nit pick, but you’re right. “Ask most people around the world what “democracy” means and they’ll tell you: equal voting rights for all citizens, fair elections, and majority rule. None of those fully apply in the United States today, nor have they ever. Here is one key reason why the United States is not a true democracy: The right to vote is constitutionally limited and has always been challenged.”

        And you are right too Bum. I hear some are waiting for the 20th before they concede. Gulp.

  9. Could the constitution be better? Sure. But I do not put the blame on the document. I put the blame on the people elected to enforce the laws or add or detract from them. And it is damn sure better than communism or socialism. The most awestruck I ever was was when I went to DC and the Archives and got to read the Declaration of Independence. I got goose bumps. It took them 13 years to get a document they would all agree on. It only takes one moron to ruin it.

  10. Nice job, Bear. Obviously it’s not easy to sum up a story as vast as this. Certain facts, or certain points of view, etc can tend to be lost or forgotten during summaries.

    But nice job! I also can’t wait to go again. I went to the stadium about a month ago to the team shop. I really wanted to look out from the top deck and see the new renovations, but they wouldn’t let me walk to the seats area .

    1. Yeah, you might infect the seats!

      Several years ago, I was driving through LA in the winter and had a couple of friends with me who had never been to Dodger Stadium, so I rolled right through the gates like I owned the place. We parked right outside and walked up the stairs to find the gate cracked open. We were enjoying the view when 6 armed guards (maybe police) told us to get out. I said, “the door was open there’s no game, so we didn’t do anything illegal.” They were not amused, and escorted us back to our car and followed us to the main gate.

    2. Thank You Bobby. You could have driven all the way around the parking area to see the construction on the pavillion side. But when you do finally get in I think you will love it. They have done a good job of dressing up the old girl….excuse me DBM, lady!

  11. Another former Dodger coach gets a job. Dave Jauss, who was a coach when Grady Little was the manager signed to be the Mets bench coach.

  12. Eminent domain is an important tool to government. Since I worked in city government most property could be purchased outright with the city and property owner reaching agreement. But there is always someone who decides to play hardball if you need to acquire several parcels, either thinking they can get a higher price or maybe they just don’t want sell. We had one when we expanded a park after a bond measure. No problem, one property owner requested friendly condemnation, which offers tax advantages, everybody else negotiated a price and sold, but we had one guy who didn’t want to sell. So we went through the process and acquired the land. Without it, we would have had difficulty expanding the park.

    He got a very fair price, slightly above the listed value of the process. For the most part the system works.

    Good article Bear. It was just a couple of years ago when the Dodgers were headed to a World Series that someone posted a Facebook photo, the iconic one showing the family fleeing as their “home” was bulldozed, condemning the Dodgers and their fans for stealing the homes of these poor folks.

    The mistake that LA made was not clearing the property back in 1952. Had it been cleared, nobody ever would have blamed the Dodgers and Walter O’Malley. Many good books which cover the subject. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but it often doesn’t present details of what actually took place.

    Moving on, fans will no doubt back in stadiums at some point in 2021. LA County Public Health said they will have enough vaccine to pretty much give shots to everybody by March. Of course, some people will not get the vaccine. So anybody have a good guess when fans will be back, April, May or June?

  13. Ken Rosenthal:

    Imagine this: The Dodgers reacting to a potential loss of free-agent third baseman Justin Turner and a return of infielder DJ LeMahieu to the Yankees by signing catcher J.T. Realmuto and moving Will Smith to third base.

    Or imagine this: The Dodgers acquiring both third baseman Nolan Arenado and shortstop Trevor Story from the Rockies, clearing the shortstop position by sending World Series MVP Corey Seager to Colorado or someplace else.

    WARNING! To the best of our knowledge, neither of the above scenarios is in play. Neither, for that matter, is especially realistic. But the point of this exercise is to demonstrate, as we do every so often, that teams think creatively, particularly when elite talent is available.

  14. Rosenthal ends with this:

    And finally, consider this comparison between the 2019 statistics of two free-agent starting pitchers:

    Pitcher A: 159 innings, 3.51 ERA, 4.3 fWAR

    Pitcher B: 213 innings 4.48 ERA, 3.3 fWAR

    Significant difference, right? But in 2020, Pitcher A was limited to 13 2/3 innings because of three separate injuries, and Pitcher B produced a 1.73 ERA to win the National League Cy Young Award.

    By now, perhaps the identities of the two are obvious. Pitcher A is Jake Odorizzi. Pitcher B is Trevor Bauer. And the question remains: How much should teams value the shortened 2020 season compared to what players did before?

    1. Yeah I read that earlier this morning. Quite an imagination. But, that’s what we do in the off season.

      1. I imagine Mickey Mantle is a 20 year old prospect in the Dodger system…….nice dream. Ain’t happening.

      2. Dang, hard to keep up with Rosenthal. I yield.

        Nah, I just found some old tin foil and made a hat with it.

        Muncy and Gonsolin for Gleyber and Glyber plays 3rd base
        or
        Lux and Gonsolin for Gleyber and Gleyber plays 2b base.

          1. He is a strong righty bat that plays infield. He fits a need, is 23 or 24 years old, is well liked by teammates, and has excelled in high pressure NY. Which one of us is missing something?

  15. Happy 94th Birthday to Carl Erskine, the Oisk! Lives out there in Mark’s neck o the woods. Saw a picture of LaRussa after his plea deal. He looks like a lush.

  16. From NESN:

    It appears the Yankees and free agent D.J. LeMahieu currently aren’t seeing eye-to-eye in their contract negotiations. In fact, New York and the three-time All-Star reportedly are off by $25 million, according to NJ.com’s Brendan Kuty. Kuty reports Mahieu covets a five-year, $100 million deal, while the Yankees are sitting at $75 million over four years.

    DJL will turn 33 in July. Can’t see AF signing him for 5 years.

    1. Andrew wouldn’t give him that kind of contract but the Mets might. Imagine being able to grab LeMahieu and stick it to the Yankees all with one deal.

      Then they could turn around and sign Springer and instead of going after Bauer at about 25-30 mil per year they sign Odorizzi for about 13-15 mil per year. That would be quite an upgrade from last year’s team, especially since they’ll have Stroman who opted out and Thor back sometime around mid season.

      1. At age 32 he projects a few percentage points less than his last full year, which was 5.9 WAR for $12 million. I’m thinking he’s probably worth 16 WAR through age 35, so 4 years and $80 million is good for both sides.

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