City Hall Protest Over Chavez Ravine Evictions, April 14, 1959

Chavez Ravine residents threatened with eviction survived another day in their homes. The Times published a short story with a terrible lead on the planned evictions to allow construction of Dodger Stadium: "It was the last of the ninth inning for a lot of people in Chavez Ravine yesterday and the bases were loaded with police and sheriff's deputies waiting to put them out of their homes." Except the 9 a.m. deadline came and went without any action by police. Guess the dispute went into extra innings.  I've been consistently disappointed by how little I find in the old issues about Chavez Ravine's residents. There are plenty of stories about building Dodger Stadium and the political battles but very little about the people who were trying to stay. This story did mention how the $10,050 given one resident for two lots was less than the property's value. The paper used more space to describe how one Chavez Ravine resident "hurled two placards" at Mayor Norris Poulson during a City Hall ceremony for the Dodgers. There will be a lot more on this story in the coming weeks. --Keith Thursby