Opinion

Column: City flunks history test in unearthing of Indian cemetery

Friday, January 21, 2011

"L.A. has flunked another history test.

Not the kind with questions about George Washington and the Constitution. This was a test of our ability to protect our local history — specifically one particular patch of land where many, if not most, of L.A.'s founders were buried.

Now the long rest of some of those early Angelenos has been disturbed. Bones from one of the city's early cemeteries were dug up by accident during the construction — ironically enough — of a history museum.

"Something went wrong. This shouldn't have been allowed to happen," said Rene Vellanoweth, an archaeologist and chairman of anthropology at Cal State Los Angeles. "What's at stake is something that belongs to the entire community."

L.A. seems to specialize in acts of historic desecration. The list of demolished city treasures is a very long one indeed. This particular construction project — of La Plaza de Cultura y Artes, near Olvera Street — is a prime example. In 2007, to make room for the future center for Mexican American culture and arts, we allowed a 19th century brick building to be knocked down.

"I know there are people who say you should preserve every single brick, just because it is old," L.A. County Supervisor Gloria Molina, one of the project's main backers, told The Times in 2004. The old building, she said, had "no historic benefit." Preservationists disagreed.

I happen to think this city badly needs such a cultural center. Among other things, it should inject some life into the town square where L.A. was founded.

But trampling over L.A. history to get it built doesn't make sense."

Get the Story:
Hector Tobar: La Plaza project snubbed historic preservation in digging up old burial ground in L.A. (The Los Angeles Times 1/21)