Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Heavy Rainfall Results In Sunken Graves In East L.A. Cemetery
One consequence of our recent record-breaking rainfall is particularly macabre: graves were sinking deeper into the ground in an East L.A. cemetery.
The situation was noticed by Kim Cooper and Richard Schave, the L.A. historians who run Esotouric Bus Adventures. They posted a photo of one of about a dozen such graves they found in the historic Home of Peace Memorial Park.
Rainy day trouble at Home of Peace Cemetery in East LA: newer graves are caving in. #mydayinla #larain pic.twitter.com/7oFQUuaAMq
— Esotouric's Secret Los Angeles (@esotouric) January 24, 2017
Cooper and Schave told NBC 4 that the water had "saturated" the area and they wondered if it was safe to even be walking around. The affected graves are all about five years old or less, according to Schave.
Support for LAist comes from
A cemetery employee who chose not to be identified told NBC 4 that they were working on fixing the grave sites immediately, and that it's not uncommon for issues like these to arise in periods of heavy rain. It makes sense: in New Orleans, a city with a high water table, many graves are above ground.
Home of Peace Memorial Park has a pretty interesting background. The first Jewish cemetery in L.A. was established in 1853 at Chavez Ravine, near where Dodger Stadium would eventually be built. In 1901, Kaspare Cohn, founder of what would become Cedars-Sinai Hospital, donated 30 acres of land in East L.A. to replace that cemetery. All of those graves were relocated to what is now Home of Peace Memorial Park.
The cemetery is the final resting place of numerous legendary figures of Hollywood. Notable residents include Curly and Shemp Howard of The Three Stooges, Universal Pictures founder Carl Laemmle and his children, Carl Jr. and Carla, MGM founder Louis B. Mayer, and Warner Brothers co-founders Harry, Jack and Sam Warner.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity. -
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?
Best of LAist