Stealing Home
Los Angeles, the Dodgers, and the Lives Caught in Between
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4.3 • 31 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
The "scrupulously detailed" (Los Angeles Times) story of how the fight to build Dodgers Stadium, and transform Los Angeles into a big league city, came at the cost of everyday Angelenos
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.
Customer Reviews
Good read
In depth look at the genesis of dodger stadium. Fun and interesting read.
A good read.
This book is very well researched and places value in telling the stories of the real people swept up into this history..
I have to take issue with one statement made by the author. He wrote that Dodger Stadium was the first modern baseball stadium. That is not true as Candlestick Park preceded Dodger Stadium by two years. It was the first stadium constructed of precast concrete and employed a Mid-century Modern design.