Since 1962, the inspiring architecture and sweeping vistas of Dodger Stadium have inspired millions of Los Angeles Dodgers baseball fans. What team president Walter O­Malley envisioned nearly half a century ago endures as one of professional baseball­s most striking pieces of architecture, standing in the shadow of the dramatic San Gabriel Mountains. Dodger Stadium is also one of only two such parks built during the 20th century constructed entirely with private funds. Most people think of the stadium as a world-class baseball park, and Dodger Stadium has certainly earned such a reputation, hosting eight World Series, an All-Star contest, and hundreds of action-filled games through the years, during which the Dodgers won eight National League championships and four World Series. But the stadium has been much more than a sporting ground, hosting Olympic ceremonies and events, a papal visit from John Paul II in 1987, and world-renowned musical events, ranging from Elton John to KISS to The Three Tenors. Other events have included ski-jumping competitions, boxing, and a Harlem Globetrotters basketball exhibition. For four years in the 1960s the stadium was also used by the Los Angeles Angels baseball team.

A vivid history of the controversial building of Dodger Stadium and how it helped transform Los Angeles When Walter O’Malley moved his Brooklyn Dodgers to Los Angeles in 1957 with plans to construct a new ballpark, he ignited a bitter half-decade dispute over the future of a rapidly changing city. For the first time, City of Dreams tells the full story of the controversial building of Dodger Stadium and how it helped create modern Los Angeles. In a vivid narrative, Jerald Podair tells how the city was convulsed over whether, where, and how to build the stadium. Eventually, it was built on publicly owned land from which the city had uprooted a Mexican American community, raising questions about the relationship between private profit and “public purpose.” Indeed, the battle over Dodger Stadium crystallized issues with profound implications for all American cities. Filled with colorful stories, City of Dreams will fascinate anyone who is interested in the history of the Dodgers, baseball, Los Angeles, and the modern American city.

A story about baseball, family, the American Dream, and the fight to turn Los Angeles into a big league city. Dodger Stadium is an American icon. But the story of how it came to be goes far beyond baseball. The hills that cradle the stadium were once home to three vibrant Mexican American communities. In the early 1950s, those communities were condemned to make way for a utopian public housing project. Then, in a remarkable turn, public housing in the city was defeated amidst a Red Scare conspiracy. Instead of getting their homes back, the remaining residents saw the city sell their land to Walter O'Malley, the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Now LA would be getting a different sort of utopian fantasy -- a glittering, ultra-modern stadium. But before Dodger Stadium could be built, the city would have to face down the neighborhood's families -- including one, the Aréchigas, who refused to yield their home. The ensuing confrontation captivated the nation - and the divisive outcome still echoes through Los Angeles today.

Since 1962, the inspiring architecture and sweeping vistas of Dodger Stadium have inspired millions of Los Angeles Dodgers baseball fans. What team president Walter OMalley envisioned nearly half a century ago endures as one of professional baseballs most striking pieces of architecture, standing in the shadow of the dramatic San Gabriel Mountains. Dodger Stadium is also one of only two such parks built during the 20th century constructed entirely with private funds. Most people think of the stadium as a world-class baseball park, and Dodger Stadium has certainly earned such a reputation, hosting eight World Series, an All-Star contest, and hundreds of action-filled games through the years, during which the Dodgers won eight National League championships and four World Series. But the stadium has been much more than a sporting ground, hosting Olympic ceremonies and events, a papal visit from John Paul II in 1987, and world-renowned musical events, ranging from Elton John to KISS to The Three Tenors. Other events have included ski-jumping competitions, boxing, and a Harlem Globetrotters basketball exhibition. For four years in the 1960s the stadium was also used by the Los Angeles Angels baseball team.

The story of Roger Owens, Dodger Stadium's famous Peanut Man, whose rise from hopelessness on L.A.'s inner-city streets to peanut-tossing fame in the baseball stands continues to inspire sports fans -- and non-fans -- looking for a real-life American hero.

The past fifty years have not erased the memories of Los Desterrados, the uprooted descendants of Chavez Ravine. After extensive research, Don Normark has tracked them down in order to share his old photographs and to record their poignant reactions. He has captured the images, the stories, and the bittersweet memories of Los Desterrados in this book."--Jacket.

On May 8, 1959, the evening news shocked Los Angeles residents, who saw LA County sheriffs carrying a Mexican American woman from her home in Chavez Ravine not far from downtown. Immediately afterward, the house was bulldozed to the ground. This violent act was the last step in the forced eviction of 3,500 families from the unique hilltop barrio that in 1962 became the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers. John H. M. Laslett offers a new interpretation of the Chavez Ravine tragedy, paying special attention to the early history of the barrio, the reform of Los Angeles's destructive urban renewal policies, and the influence of the evictions on the collective memory of the Mexican American community. In addition to examining the political decisions made by power brokers at city hall, Shameful Victory argues that the tragedy exerted a much greater influence on the history of the Los Angeles civil rights movement than has hitherto been appreciated. The author also sheds fresh light on how the community grew, on the experience of individual home owners who were evicted from the barrio, and on the influence that the event had on the development of recent Chicano/a popular music, drama, and literature.