Lost LA: Before the Dodgers
Here’s a history lesson about the location that we know as Chavez Ravine and Dodger Stadium. Way before the ballpark, there was Elysian Hills. This short documentary talks about the history and gives a brief view of the future.
Long before Sandy Koufax threw Dodger Stadium’s first pitch, and even before the first residents moved into Chavez Ravine, there were the Elysian Hills. Raised up by tectonic forces, and carved into deep ravines by the ancient precursor of the Los Angeles River, these hills have meant many things to many people. They were a refuge from floods for the region’s native Tongva Indians, and then a source of quarried stone soon after the city fell under American sovereignty. In this episode, “Lost LA” explores the various ways Southern California’s inhabitants have used the hills around Dodger Stadium. The program looks at an old lithographic view of L.A. as drawn from an Elysian hilltop, the vanished neighborhood of Chavez Ravine, and a massive construction project that reshaped the land into a modern baseball palace.
