MASTERS: LONG BEFORE SANDY KOUFAX THREW DODGER STADIUM'S FIRST PITCH AND EVEN BEFORE THE FIRST RESIDENTS MOVED INTO CHAVEZ RAVINE, THERE WERE THE ELYSIAN HILLS.

RAISED UP BY TECTONIC FORCES AND CARVED INTO DEEP RAVINES BY THE ANCIENT PRECURSOR OF THE L.A. RIVER, THESE HILLS HAVE MEANT MANY THINGS TO MANY PEOPLE.

THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO, THEY WERE A REFUGE FROM FLOODS FOR THE REGION'S NATIVE TONGVA INDIANS.

LATER, THEY WERE A SOURCE OF TIMBER FOR THE POBLADORES OF LOS ANGELES AND THEN A SOURCE OF QUARRIED STONES SOON AFTER THE CITY BECAME AMERICAN.

IN THIS EPISODE, "LOST L.A." EXPLORES THE VARIOUS WAYS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA'S INHABITANTS HAVE USED THE HILLS AROUND DODGER STADIUM.

WE'LL LOOK AT AN OLD, LITHOGRAPHIC VIEW OF L.A., THE VANISHED NEIGHBORHOOD OF CHAVEZ RAVINE, AND A MASSIVE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT THAT RESHAPED THE LAND.

MUCH OF LOS ANGELES' PAST IS LOST TO HISTORY.

LANDMARKS THAT ONCE GRACED SOUVENIR POSTCARDS VANISHED, HISTORIC BUILDINGS AND EVEN ENTIRE NEIGHBORHOODS BULLDOZED IN THE NAME OF PROGRESS, AND IT'S NOT JUST PLACES WE'VE LOST.

IT'S LANGUAGES, TRADITIONS, PEOPLE, TOO, COMMUNITIES CONQUERED AND THEN THEIR CONQUEST WHITEWASHED, BUT THERE'S ONE PLACE WE CAN REDISCOVER THESE LOST STORIES--THE ARCHIVES.

"LOST L.A." EXPLORES SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA HISTORY BY BRINGING THESE ARCHIVAL MATERIALS TO LIFE.

HI.

I'M NATHAN MASTERS, AND THIS IS "LOST L.A." PEOPLE HAVE PROBABLY ALWAYS COME TO THE ELYSIAN HILLS FOR THEIR COMMANDING VIEWS.

ONE POPULAR OVERLOOK IS CALLED POINT GRANDVIEW, ANOTHER BUENA VISTA POINT, AND BACK IN THE 19th CENTURY, ANGELINOS SCRAMBLED UP A SUMMIT NAMED MOUNT LOOKOUT.

IN THIS SEGMENT, DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER BEN SAX BRINGS US THE STORY OF MOUNT LOOKOUT AND AN 1877 VIEW OF LOS ANGELES DRAWN FROM ITS PEAK.

WALDIE: SO THIS MAGNIFICENT LITHOGRAPH FROM 1877 IS LOOKING SOUTHEAST ACROSS A LITTLE TOWN OF LOS ANGELES PRETTY MUCH AT THE VERY FIRST MOMENT WHEN IT IS CONNECTED TO THE LARGER WORLD OF AMERICA.

REID: SO LET'S SEE WHAT WE HAVE HERE.

IT'S QUITE A SPECTACULAR IMAGE.

WELL, IT SAYS, "DRAWN AND PUBLISHED BY E.S.

GLOVER," SO OBVIOUSLY THERE'S DRAWING INVOLVED.

THIS IS NOT A PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGE.

WALDIE: THE LITHOGRAPH IS ONE MAN'S VIEW FROM THE HIGHEST POINT.

IT WAS CALLED MOUNT LOOKOUT, 726 FEET HIGH.

KAPOOR: AND WE'RE ON THE MOUNT LOOKOUT TRAIL.

IT WAS THE MAIN PATH WHERE EVERYONE WOULD COME UP FROM THE PUEBLO, SONORATOWN, AND WALK UP TO MOUNT LOOKOUT AND GET A VIEW OUT TO THE OCEAN AND OVER THE WHOLE CITY.

SIQUEIROS: THIS IS MOST DEFINITELY DONE ON A STONE, ON A LIMESTONE.

THERE'S NO QUESTION ABOUT IT, RIGHT, BECAUSE THERE WAS REALLY NO OTHER WAY OF REPRODUCING THINGS IN TERMS OF THE FASTNESS WITH AN INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF DETAIL.

REID: IF YOU LOOK VERY CLOSELY AT THE DRAWING, THERE'S JUST-- IT'S MADE UP OF JUST TINY, TINY, LITTLE SPOTS, AND THE SURFACE OF THE STONE IS LIKE A VERY FINE-GRAIN SANDPAPER, SO WHEN YOU'RE DRAWING ON IT, YOUR GREASE PENCIL IS JUST TOUCHING THOSE TINY, LITTLE TOPS ON THE TOP OF THE STONE.

SIQUEIROS: THIS GREASE CRAYON WILL CREATE A MARK AND A MEMORY ON THE STONE, SO YOU HAVE TO MAINTAIN THE STONE WET.

THEN YOU BUILD UP A FILM OF INK.

YOU PUT IN A PAPER.

YOU PASS IT THROUGH A PRESSURE, AND IT PICKS UP THE IMAGE.

WALDIE: THESE BIRD'S-EYE VIEWS ARE NOT JUST A HISTORICAL RECORD.

THEY HAVE AN ICONIC VALUE.

THIS LITHOGRAPH EXISTS IN PART TO EMPHASIZE THAT LOS ANGELES IS NO LONGER A VIOLENT, WESTERN BOOMTOWN, THAT LOS ANGELES IS A SETTLED PLACE THAT DECENT, WHITE AMERICANS CAN SETTLE IN AND MAKE A HOME.

SIQUEIROS: I DON'T KNOW IF AT THAT TIME WHETHER THERE WERE LITHOGRAPHIC PRESSES IN LOS ANGELES.

IT COULD HAVE BEEN PRINTED SOMEPLACE ELSE.

THERE IT IS--PRINTED IN SAN FRANCISCO.

WALDIE: ONE OF THE REASON WHY THE CHURCHES ARE SO SIGNIFICANT IN THIS GRAPHIC, THEY SHOW DOMESTICATION OF EVERYDAY LIFE.

THE HIGH SCHOOL IS IMPORTANT, SHOWS THE EXPANSION OF CIVIC LIFE.

THE RAILROADS ARE GIVEN PROMINENCE, SHOWS EXPANSION OF ECONOMIC LIFE, AND THE VASTNESS OF WHERE THE CITY MIGHT GO IS SHOWN TO OFFER THE VIEWER A DREAM OF A METROPOLIS THAT WOULD SPAN THE WHOLE OF WHAT ONE SEES IN THIS PANORAMA.

KAPOOR: SO WE'RE PRETTY MUCH-- THIS IS TAKEN FROM A LITTLE BIT FURTHER UP.

WOW.

THIS IS--IT'S ONE OF THE GREATEST VIEWS IN THE CITY.

WALDIE: WHAT'S NOT HERE TODAY IS WHAT'S MOST OBVIOUS IN THIS MAP.

IN 1877, LOS ANGELES WAS A VERY HILLY CITY.

MUCH OF THE ELEVATION HAS BEEN SLICED AWAY AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN UNTIL, IN MANY INSTANCES, THE HILLS ARE NO LONGER THERE.

KAPOOR: THE SADDEST THING IS SEEING HOW THE MOUNTAINS HAVE BEEN CARVED UP AND ALL THE CONNECTIONS WE'VE LOST, BEING ABLE TO WALK TO CHINATOWN OR WALK TO THE CORNFIELD OR JUST WALK EASIER TO DOWNTOWN.

WALDIE: WHAT MIGHT BE SAID ABOUT THE RECENT PAST IN LOS ANGELES IS ERASING FEATURES IN THE LANDSCAPE.

ODDLY ENOUGH, IF YOU COULD EXTEND THE DRAWING FURTHER DOWN, HERE, WE WOULD BE STANDING ON THE UPPER DECK OF DODGER STADIUM.

DODGER STADIUM WOULD BE RIGHT HERE.

SMITH: MOST PEOPLE COME TO THE TOP OF THE PARK AND LOOK AROUND, AND THEY TAKE IN THE BEAUTIFUL VIEW OF DOWNTOWN, AND THEY ASSUME IT'S ALWAYS BEEN LIKE THAT, BUT THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS, WHEN WALTER O'MALLEY SITED THIS PARK, HE PUT THE THIRD-BASE LINE DUE NORTH TO GET THE BEST SUN CONDITIONS ON THE PLAYING FIELD, AND THE ONLY THING ON THE SKYLINE DOWNTOWN WAS CITY HALL.

LANGILL: I'M SURE THEY HAD NO IDEA WHEN THE STADIUM WAS BUILT IN 1962 THAT SUDDENLY IN 2015, IT WOULD BE THE THIRD OLDEST BALLPARK IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES AND JUST BECOME AN ICONIC PART OF THE CITY.

LEHRER: THE TOPOGRAPHY ON THE SITE IS VERY COMPLEX TO ACTUALLY GRADE THE STADIUM INTO A BOWL AND THEN CREATE THESE AREAS FOR PARKING.

I DON'T KNOW IF YOU KNOW, BUT THE ACTUAL SHAPE OF THE SITE IS THAT OF A BASEBALL GLOVE.

AS FAR AS WHAT WE CALL THE TOP OF THE PARK, THAT AREA WAS ASPHALT, AND IT WAS JUST BASICALLY ANOTHER PARKING AREA ABOUT 10 FEET BELOW, SO IT WAS ALL DOWN WITH CRAZY, ASPHALT RAMPS GOING UP TO GATES.

I MEAN, IT WAS CLEAR TO US THAT THE VIEW WAS AWESOME.

KAPOOR: MIA LEHRER'S TEAM, WITH THE RENOVATIONS THEY DID UP AT THE TOP OF THE PARK, ARE TRYING TO RECREATE THIS VIEW, AND IT'S QUITE MAJESTIC.

IT'S GREAT THAT THE NEW OWNERSHIP OF THE DODGERS ARE TRYING TO EMBRACE THIS.

SMITH: WHEN THIS PARK OPENED IN 1962, ONE OF THE ONLY DEFICIENCIES THAT WALTER O'MALLEY HIMSELF SAW IN IT WAS THAT THERE WASN'T ENOUGH LANDSCAPING, AND HE IMMEDIATELY SET OUT TO PLANT THOUSANDS OF TREES AND FLOWERS.

WELL, WE HAVE TRIED TO BUILD ON THAT, AND WE'VE TAKEN OVER SOME OF THE AREA THAT USED TO BE PARKING IN ORDER TO CREATE THESE PEDESTRIAN PLAZAS.

LEHRER: THESE LAYERS OF PALMS WOULD UNVEIL THESE VIEWS AND REALLY CELEBRATE THE EXISTING CITY SKYLINE BUT ALSO THE EMERGING CITY SKYLINE.

WALDIE: THE CITY OF TOMORROW WILL HAVE MANY FEATURES OF THE CITY OF 1877.

WE ALWAYS ARE WORKING WITH THE MATERIALS OF THE PAST.

WE'RE ALWAYS PARTLY IN THE PAST IN LOS ANGELES.

LEHRER: SO RECLAIMING THAT TOP, PEOPLE COULD HAVE THAT AMAZING VIEW OF THE CITY AND REALLY-- FOR THE FIRST TIME, REALLY BE ABLE TO PAUSE AND ENJOY.

WALDIE: PLACELESS LOCALES BECOME PLACES THROUGH MEMORY, THE PERSISTENCE OF LIVES LIVED IN THAT PLACE, SO LOS ANGELES, TO ME, IS NOT AN EMPTY VOID.

IT'S NOT A HISTORYLESS PLACE.

IT'S NOT A PLACELESS PLACE.

LOS ANGELES IS CROWDED WITH HISTORY.

MASTERS: THE CHAVEZ RAVINE SITE, HOME TO THE DODGERS SINCE 1962, IS ALSO HOME TO A LONG AND COMPLICATED HISTORY.

THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO, NATIVE CALIFORNIANS FORAGED IN THE RAVINES NOW BURIED BENEATH THE STADIUM PARKING LOTS.

SOME 140 YEARS AGO, A PROMINENT HILL EARNED THE NAME MOUNT LOOKOUT, ATTRACTING HIKERS, VIEWMAKERS, AND PHOTOGRAPHERS TO ITS SUMMIT, AND THEN A FEW DECADES LATER, A BUSTLING, MEXICAN AMERICAN BARRIO SPRANG UP IN THE CANYONS AND ON THE HILLSIDES.

IN THIS SEGMENT, ANIMATOR JAVIER BARBOZA BRINGS TO LIFE ONE OF THE DARKER CHAPTERS IN THE HISTORY OF THE DODGER STADIUM SITE--THE DESTRUCTION OF THE MEXICAN AMERICAN NEIGHBORHOOD CHAVEZ RAVINE, A TALE OF FORCED EVICTIONS, BROKEN PROMISES, AND PAINFUL MEMORIES.

BENITEZ: ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES, THERE WAS A TOWN CALLED CHAVEZ RAVINE.

CHAVEZ RAVINE WAS A BARRIO TUCKED AWAY IN THE HILLS NORTH OF LOS ANGELES.

IT WAS A SMALL VILLAGE WHERE MEXICAN AMERICANS LIVED IN PEACE.

IT WASN'T MUCH FOR THE BIG-CITY FOLKS, BUT FOR THE GENTE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, IT WAS EVERYTHING.

PEOPLE WERE RAISING CHILDREN, FAMILIES, GROWING GARDENS.

THERE WAS PADRINAS, QUINCEAÑERAS.

EVERYONE KNEW EVERYBODY ELSE, BUT ALL AROUND THE RAVINE, THE CITY WAS AT WORK CREATING NEW HOUSING AND NEIGHBORHOODS.

SOME THOUGHT THAT CHAVEZ RAVINE WAS LUCKY TO BE LEFT ALONE.

CHAVEZ RAVINE BECAME THE CENTERPIECE OF A PLAN FROM FUNDING UNDER THE AMERICAN HOUSING ACT OF 1949 TO BRING 10,000 NEW PUBLIC HOUSING UNITS TO LOS ANGELES, ALSO KNOWN AS HOUSING PROJECTS.

IN THE SUMMER OF 1950, THE CITY'S HOUSING AUTHORITY SENT LETTERS TO THE CURRENT RESIDENTS OF CHAVEZ RAVINE INFORMING THEM THAT A PUBLIC HOUSING DEVELOPMENT WAS BEING BUILT ON THIS LOCATION FOR FAMILIES OF LOW INCOME, THAT THE COMMUNITY WOULD HAVE THE FIRST CHANCE TO MOVE BACK INTO THE NEW ELYSIAN PARK HEIGHTS DEVELOPMENT.

THE CITY USED THE POWER OF EMINENT DOMAIN.

SOME RESISTED, FIGHTING THE CITY'S ACTIONS IN COURT.

BY THE SUMMER OF 1952, MOST OF CHAVEZ RAVINE WAS ABANDONED.

SOME FAMILIES BOUGHT INTO THE CITY PLAN AND SOLD THEIR HOUSES FOR PEANUTS.

THEN THE CITY COMPLETELY CANCELLED THE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT.

RESIDENTS WERE UNSURE OF THEIR FUTURE, AND SOME SLOWLY STARTED TO LEAVE, SO FOR MANY YEARS, THE LAND AND THE LAST STRONGHOLDS OF RESIDENTS CONTINUED TO SIT IN LIMBO.

BULLDOZERS CLAIMED MANY OF THE ABANDONED HOUSES.

OTHERS WERE GIVEN OVER TO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT FOR USE IN TRAINING EXERCISES.

7 YEARS AFTER THOSE DREADFUL EVICTION LETTERS WERE SENT OUT, ONLY 20 FAMILIES HAD REMAINED IN CHAVEZ RAVINE BY 1957.

AS THE CITY WAS SEARCHING FOR NEW USE OF THE LAND, THE COMMUNITY'S FINAL HOLDOUTS RESISTED EVICTION ORDERS, CHALLENGING THEIR PROPERTY'S SEIZURE IN COURT.

THE CITY AND THE MAYOR NORRIS POULSON STRUCK UP A DEAL WITH THE DODGERS AND WALTER O'MALLEY AND PROMISED HIM THE LAND OF CHAVEZ RAVINE, BUT IT WASN'T EASY.

THEY HAD TO FIGHT A LONG LEGAL BATTLE.

EVEN THE SUPREME COURT WAS INVOLVED.

THEN ONE OF THE DARKEST DAYS OF LOS ANGELES CAME ON MAY 9, 1959, A DAY THAT CAME TO BE KNOWN AS BLACK FRIDAY TO THE COMMUNITY'S FORMER RESIDENTS.

SHERIFF DEPUTIES AND BULLDOZERS ARRIVED TO ENFORCE THE EVICTION ORDERS AGAINST THE FEW REMAINING FAMILIES.

THE CITY FORCED OUT THE LAST RESIDENTS OF CHAVEZ RAVINE, AND WITH THESE FEW FAMILIES FORCED OUT, THE BARRIO WAS FOREVER GONE, NEVER TO RETURN.

ONLY 3 YEARS AFTER THIS DREADFUL DAY, A DAY AN ENTIRE COMMUNITY WAS ERASED FROM THE MAP, DODGER STADIUM WAS BUILT AND OPENED ON APRIL 10, 1962.

THAT'S WHY THEY CALL DODGER STADIUM CHAVEZ RAVINE IN MEMORY OF THE LOST BARRIO.

ON ONE HAND, WE GOT A BASEBALL TEAM AND BROUGHT A CITY TOGETHER FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME WITH A BELOVED HOME TEAM AND THE CREATION OF MANY NEW JOBS, BUT THIS CAME AT THE COST OF MOVING A NEIGHBORHOOD AND RIPPING THEM APART PIECE BY PIECE.

SOME PEOPLE WILL NEVER FORGIVE AND WILL NEVER FORGET, AND OTHERS DON'T EVEN KNOW ABOUT THE SMALL TOWN THAT WAS EATEN UP BY THE BIG CITY.

MASTERS: DODGER STADIUM HAS QUIETLY BECOME THE THIRD OLDEST BALLPARK IN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL, AND, DESPITE RECENT RENOVATIONS, IT'S STILL A GREAT EXAMPLE OF MID-CENTURY MODERN DESIGN.

YOU CAN SEE IT IN THE URN-SHAPED PLANTERS, THE INVERTED ROOF CANOPIES, THE PASTEL COLOR PALETTE, THE UNADORNED CONCRETE.

YOU CAN ALSO SEE IT IN HOW THE STADIUM BLURS THE LINE BETWEEN ARCHITECTURE AND TOPOGRAPHY.

ONE OF THE HALLMARKS OF THE MODERNIST IMPULSE IN ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN PLANNING IS THE WHOLESALE RESHAPING OF THE LAND.

AT DODGER STADIUM, BULLDOZERS LITERALLY MOVED MOUNTAINS.

THEY CARVED A TERRACED AMPHITHEATER INTO MOUNT LOOKOUT.

THEY FILLED IN RAVINES TO CREATE FLAT-TOP PARKING LOTS.

IN THIS SEGMENT, ANIMATOR AMY LEE KETCHUM BRINGS THE STORY OF DODGER STADIUM'S ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION TO LIFE.

[BIRDS CHIRPING] [LAUGHTER] [BELL RINGS] [POPPING] [BIRDS CHIRPING] >> [GASPS] [DOG BARKING] [PEOPLE SHOUTING] [CHICKENS CLUCKING] [CROWD CHEERING] [CRACK] [BIRDS CHIRPING] [VEHICLES APPROACHING] [CROWD CHEERING] [HELICOPTER WHIRRING]