Chavez Ravine, Canyon in Elysian Park area, Los Angeles, US
Chavez Ravine is a shallow canyon in the Elysian Park area of Los Angeles, where geological layers once supported brickmaking kilns. Today Dodger Stadium covers much of the former valley floor, while wooded slopes stretch to the north.
A councilman from California's Mexican era bought the land in 1847 and later subdivided it. In the early 20th century three close-knit neighborhoods settled here, displaced in 1951.
The site bears the name of a councilman from Mexican California, showing how early Hispanic settlers shaped the land. Some areas still hint at the way of life of communities who grew vegetable gardens and fruit trees here.
The arboretum from 1893 preserves some of California's oldest trees and offers shade along walking paths. Access is through Elysian Park, and signage helps with orientation in the natural areas.
In a section north of the stadium, firefighters have trained for decades at a center with obstacle courses and rescue drills. A hospital for respiratory illness from 1902 remains nearby, despite all the transformation around it.
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