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Located in a valley a few miles from downtown Los Angeles, Chavez Ravine was home to generations of Mexican Americans. Named for Julian Chavez, one of the first Los Angeles County Supervisors in the 1800s, Chavez Ravine was a self-sufficient and tight-knit community, a rare example of small town life within a large urban metropolis. For decades, its residents ran their own schools and churches and grew their own food on the land. Chavez Ravine’s three main neighborhoods—Palo Verde, La Loma and Bishop—were known as a “poor man’s Shangri La.”

The death knell for Chavez Ravine began ringing in 1949, the same year that Don Normark captured his collection of photographs of the community. The Federal Housing Act of 1949 granted money to cities from the federal government to build public housing projects. Los Angeles Mayor Fletcher Bowron voted and approved a housing project containing 10,000 new units—thousands of which would be located in Chavez Ravine.

Viewed by neighborhood outsiders as a “vacant shantytown” and an “eyesore,” Chavez Ravine’s 300-plus acres were earmarked by the Los Angeles City Housing Authority as a prime location for re-development. In July 1950, all residents of Chavez Ravine received letters from the city telling them that they would have to sell their homes in order to make the land available for the proposed Elysian Park Heights. The residents were told that they would have first choice for these new homes, which included two dozen 13-story buildings and more than 160 two-story bunkers, in addition to newly rebuilt playgrounds and schools. Some residents resisted the orders to move and were soon labeled “squatters,” while others felt they had no choice and relocated. Most received insubstantial or no compensation for their homes and property.

In the 1950s, the Brooklyn Dodgers became the Los Angeles Dodgers as the team made its historic move to the West Coast in 1958. Despite the change in location, the Dodgers dominated the National League, winning five National League pennants (1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1959) and World Championships in 1955 and 1959.

In eight of the 10 years, the Dodgers never finished lower than second place while winning 913 games, the most wins in a decade in Dodger history.

A giant pain in the end (Oct. 3, 1962)

A three-game tie-breaker for the pennant. Stats count, so Tommy Davis takes the NL batting crown with a .346 average to Frank Robinson's .342. Maury Wills steals three bases in Game 165 to up his record-breaking total to 104. L.A. leads 4-2 going to the ninth. Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and friends score four, so to use a phrase the Dodgers have heard before, the Giants win the pennant.

Wally Moon: "We had a strong team. We won 102 games. That third one with the Giants, we thought sure we had it won. I ended up like Tony Bennett with my heart in San Francisco."

Davis: "I'm glad nobody told me about the hits affecting my batting title. I'd have froze."

[+] EnlargeMarilyn Monroe
Getty ImagesMarilyn Monroe made a charity presentation at Dodger Stadium just weeks before her death.

3. A true Hollywood star (June 1, 1962)

On her 36th (and last) birthday, Marilyn Monroe goes to Beverly Hills to pick up "Something's Gotta Give" co-star Dean Martin's 10-year-old son, Dean Paul, to take him to a baseball game, as promised. At the park, Angels outfielder Albie Pearson is chosen to escort Monroe to home plate for a charity presentation. A week later, Monroe is fired from her film. A few weeks after that, she is found dead at her L.A. home.

Pearson (played for Angels 1961-66): "When she took her life, or whatever happened, it really devastated me. I looked into her eyes and she looked so lonely. I remembered every Bible verse I ever learned while I was staring at her. She asked me, 'What? What is it you want to tell me?' I didn't want her to think I was some kind of a religious nut, so I held it in. It put my life on a different path from that day on. I saw past that woman's beauty. I saw a lonesome, searching person. Her sadness had a profound effect on me."

2. A new Hollywood star (May 5, 1962)

A brand new Angel, handsome devil Bo Belinsky no-hits Baltimore in two hours flat. He paints the town in a red Cadillac convertible, a gift. He is soon seen with Hollywood starlets like Ann-Margret, Tina Louise and Mamie Van Doren. He will not win many more games, but for a year or so, Bo's always got a lady and teammates are gaga.

Dean Chance (pitched for Angels 1961-66): "Bo was as cool as cool could be. The last hitter was Dave Nicholson, a big slugger. He popped up and Felix Torres caught it. The park's a month old and our rookie's already got himself a no-hitter. Walter Winchell was at the game and gave Bo a ton of publicity. Oh, did Hollywood love ol' Bo. He started showing up with these hot actresses he was having so much fun with, and I do mean fun. He wasn't close to being the best left-hander in L.A. because of a certain Mr. Sandy Koufax, but for a little while, Bo had that town in the palm of his left hand."

1. A grand opening day (April 10, 1962)

Palm trees and a breeze. A short-sleeved 52,564 in the seats. Alma Pedroza sings the anthem. (As she did at the 1960 Democratic Convention.) Kay O'Malley, wife of owner Walter, tosses the ceremonial first pitch. Dodgers in white and blue. Cincinnati Reds in gray and red. Green dye on yellowing grass. "Loge" on the wall spelled "Lounge" by mistake. No batting cage provided, so no BP. Podres (Johnny, not San Diego) on the mound. First hit: Cincy's Eddie Kasko, a double. First home run: Wally Post. First hit for the home team: Duke Snider. (Despite a hand he burned on a car tailpipe.) Last out: Frank Howard, two on, grounds out. Final score: Reds 6, L.A. 3.

Peter O'Malley (team president 1970-98, owner 1979-98): "The night before Opening Day, my mom and dad hosted a dinner party in the Stadium Club, the first one ever held there. The fence in the park was still being painted. My dad and Dick Walsh, who was vice president of stadium operations, still hadn't decided which shade of blue it should be. I couldn't wait to see how it looked for the game. My dad was very hands-on that way. He talked my mom into throwing out the first ball. She stood behind the dugout and tossed it from there, not from the mound the way they usually do now."

Tommy Davis (played for Dodgers 1959-66): "We watched it being built. That first day was overwhelming. It was the best thing I'd ever seen in my life. I didn't start that first game -- that was the only disappointing thing about it."

Doug Harvey (umpire 1962-92, Hall of Famer): "It was my very first game. What a marvelous edifice. But … no dressing room for the umpires! They forgot to build one, I guess. Al Barlick was my crew chief. His umpire bag was lost. Al worked home plate in Ed Vargo's chest protector, Shag Crawford's shoes and my shin guards."

Moon: "I think it's still the prettiest of all the stadiums. The only downside to a 50th anniversary is that it reminds me how long I've been around."

Scully: "Koufax's perfecto, the World Series sweep of the Yanks, Gibby's homer, R.J. Reynolds' squeeze, Drysdale's string of pearls, Dusty's 30th … as the song goes, 'If they asked me, I could write a book.'"