California Assembly member Wendy Carrillo has introduced a bill that would provide some compensation to landowners displaced by the 1962 opening of Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
As reported by Scripps News, under Assembly Bill 1950, if approved, original landowners and their descendants would be offered city-owned real estate at a comparable market value, or similar compensation. The bill would also require officials to conduct a report on the events leading to the displacement of residents, many representing the Chavez Ravine's largely Hispanic population at the time. The legislation would further require the construction of a memorial on or near the ravine to honor the residents displaced by the stadium's construction.
āThe Chavez Ravine Accountability Act aims to correct an injustice that displaced families and has lingered in the shadows of Los Angeles Eastside history for far too long," Carrillo said, as reported by Scripps News. "Amid the 1950s, the vibrant community of Chavez Ravine, home to mostly Mexican-American families, as well as Italian-American and Chinese-American, saw an upheaval as families were uprooted and displaced in the name of progress. Families were promised a return to better housing, but instead, they were left destitute.ā
According to Justin Boggs of Scripps News, citing the Library of Congress, the Los Angeles City Council voted in 1957 in favor of building a stadium on the site. The community then led a referendum to put the measure to a citywide vote.
In June 1958, more than 62 percent of voters supported the construction of a stadium., the LOC said.
After a year of legal proceedings, residents were evicted from the Chavez Ravine in May 1959. Photos obtained by UCLA show residents being forcibly removed from their homes by police, Boggs reported. The Dodgers hosted their first game at the stadium three years later, on April 10, 1962.
Wrote Boggs, "Carrillo noted that the bill does not involve the Dodgers or the current status of Dodger Stadium. She said the bill will be heard in the Assembly's Judicial Committee."
