Buried under the Blue
The truth behind Chavez Ravine
Designed by Hannah Cho and Kevin Jo
In today s climate the disruption of the land is of ten viewed with optimism and hope for a better more profitable future
The absence of recognizing what resided in the land previously is alarmingly increasing - and one occurence in Los Angeles continues to have life- changing effects to this day
The three communities - Bishop La Loma, and Palo Verde - used to exist in the neighborhood now known as Elysian Park. The park is now home to one of the most iconic baseball stadiums of all time hosting the Los Angeles Dodgers. The dark truth behind the eviction of families and disturbance of the land marked an ugly point in LA s political and social
history that is surprisingly unknown to many people, even local residents.
The project tackles how a lost community can be recognized and reestablished next to the same land they used to call home Three different parts of the site speak different spacial languages that remind residents and visitors alike of what the past was once like and also allow them make new communities within. At the end of the journey is the main view inside the building - one where the user can look out and view the site as one entity that thrives on its own and needs no outside force to define who they are
Ti meli ne
Chavez
The e was significant esis ance to the eviction by the residents. A ter nearly 10 years by 1959 Manuel and Abrana A echiga (o ten cited as Avrana”) with their daugh er Au o a Va gas (a war widow la er surnamed Fernandez) we e among the last of the tiny number o residents to hold out against the government land acquisition effor under aken or the original public housing p oject. Forced removal by the Los Angeles County Sherif s Depa tment (LASD) on May 9 1959.
A number o structures rom Chavez Ravine were spared demolition and sold by the developers of Dodger Stadium to nearby Unive sal S udios or one dollar apiece Universal moved the struc u es to its back lot where they subsequently appea ed in various Universal productions most notably the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbi d. The house of Atticus Finch, or example was an erstwhile Chavez Ravine home.[15] However acco ding o the fi m s art director Henry Bums ead, as cited in an article in Andrew Hor on s “Henry Bums ead and the World of Hollywood Ar Di ection the houses used on the Mockingbi d set we e actually pu chased by the studio a er they had been condemned and sla ed or demolition o make way for new f eeway construction.
