John Mc Cormick
Hist 31 TTH 11-12:30
Research Paper
The Battle of The Chavez Ravine A small farming community trying to survive in the rapidly expanding and changing City of Los Angeles California, only to be met with false promises from the city leading to their houses being turned into dust. The story of these families who lived in The Chavez Ravine is one filled with political mistrust and ethical dilemmas. The takeover of The Chavez Ravine led to the eminent domain of approximately 2,000 families homes, where some families left peacefully but others stayed to fight and protect for what was theirs. The Chavez Ravine was named after Julian Chavez who purchased the 83 acres of land in the northwest part of Los Angeles. The land was not used …show more content…
The city grew from 100,00 residents in 1900 to 1.5 million in 1940 (Los Angeles). At this rate of expansion many of the other communities in the city began to flourish and increase in property value, making Los Angeles one of the go-to destinations to visit in California. But Chavez Ravine was not one of these communities. The land was still used for farming and populated by mostly farm workers. Some of the city officials began to push votes through to allow the area to go through a redevelopment process. The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) decided the area was right for a new public housing development. The Housing Act of 1949, which was enforced under President Harry Truman’s Fair Deal, allowed for the extension of federal funds to construct more than 800,000 public housing structures within the country. Under this act the HACLA prospected the Chavez Ravine as a prime candidate for a new public housing structure. Architects Richard Neutra and Robert Alexander had visions to turn Chavez Ravine into a 315 acre public housing complex called Elysian Park Heights. The HACLA began to purchase all the property through eminent domain, which is a governmental power that allows the government to purchase private land and turn it into land for public use that they believe will benefit the community as a whole. Most of the homes were bought and bulldozed immediately, and …show more content…
These people lost their homes, their community, and were given false hope from the City of Los Angeles that they would do something with the land to benefit the city as a whole. Looking back the “battle” does seem to paint a negative picture of Los Angeles and local government as a whole. To use eminent domain to force these people out of their homes in promise to provide a much better community in the future and then to trade it all for a baseball diamond seems incredibly two faced. Especially the part where the media outlets tried to make the Arechiga family seem like they were doing this for the media attention saying they had other properties. Many members of the Mexican-American community choose not to step even one foot inside the stadium, and even a select few choose to completely ignore the Dodgers all together (Chavez). As messed up and unfair as the whole situation was, the Arechigas were in the wrong to be living on the premises of the once Chavez Ravine. The land was purchased by the city and at the time it was intended for public use. Making the Arechigas squatters, living on the land illegally. The power of politics plays a larger role in our lives than many of us want to admit or accept, and at the end of the day some of these powers the government can enforce on its people do not seem to be in the benefit of “its
Hist 31 TTH 11-12:30
Research Paper
The Battle of The Chavez Ravine A small farming community trying to survive in the rapidly expanding and changing City of Los Angeles California, only to be met with false promises from the city leading to their houses being turned into dust. The story of these families who lived in The Chavez Ravine is one filled with political mistrust and ethical dilemmas. The takeover of The Chavez Ravine led to the eminent domain of approximately 2,000 families homes, where some families left peacefully but others stayed to fight and protect for what was theirs. The Chavez Ravine was named after Julian Chavez who purchased the 83 acres of land in the northwest part of Los Angeles. The land was not used …show more content…
The city grew from 100,00 residents in 1900 to 1.5 million in 1940 (Los Angeles). At this rate of expansion many of the other communities in the city began to flourish and increase in property value, making Los Angeles one of the go-to destinations to visit in California. But Chavez Ravine was not one of these communities. The land was still used for farming and populated by mostly farm workers. Some of the city officials began to push votes through to allow the area to go through a redevelopment process. The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) decided the area was right for a new public housing development. The Housing Act of 1949, which was enforced under President Harry Truman’s Fair Deal, allowed for the extension of federal funds to construct more than 800,000 public housing structures within the country. Under this act the HACLA prospected the Chavez Ravine as a prime candidate for a new public housing structure. Architects Richard Neutra and Robert Alexander had visions to turn Chavez Ravine into a 315 acre public housing complex called Elysian Park Heights. The HACLA began to purchase all the property through eminent domain, which is a governmental power that allows the government to purchase private land and turn it into land for public use that they believe will benefit the community as a whole. Most of the homes were bought and bulldozed immediately, and …show more content…
These people lost their homes, their community, and were given false hope from the City of Los Angeles that they would do something with the land to benefit the city as a whole. Looking back the “battle” does seem to paint a negative picture of Los Angeles and local government as a whole. To use eminent domain to force these people out of their homes in promise to provide a much better community in the future and then to trade it all for a baseball diamond seems incredibly two faced. Especially the part where the media outlets tried to make the Arechiga family seem like they were doing this for the media attention saying they had other properties. Many members of the Mexican-American community choose not to step even one foot inside the stadium, and even a select few choose to completely ignore the Dodgers all together (Chavez). As messed up and unfair as the whole situation was, the Arechigas were in the wrong to be living on the premises of the once Chavez Ravine. The land was purchased by the city and at the time it was intended for public use. Making the Arechigas squatters, living on the land illegally. The power of politics plays a larger role in our lives than many of us want to admit or accept, and at the end of the day some of these powers the government can enforce on its people do not seem to be in the benefit of “its