August 19, 2024 • 36 mins
Los Angeles, CA | Imagine walking through downtown Los Angeles, oblivious to the forgotten graves beneath your feet. We’re unearthing the eerie history of Los Angeles cemeteries and graveyards where the headstones were moved, but the bodies… not so much. Did anyone learn anything from Poltergeist?? For decades, construction crews have periodically dug up surprise skeletons and more around LA. We’ll share some of the finds in Boyle Heights through Chinatown, and give you a preview of a deeper dive we are planning to do in October on The Hollywood Forever cemetery.
Quick warning: Leah watched Midsommer this week and couldn’t not talk about it. If you haven’t seen it and would like to be as surprised as you will be traumatized by the ending, just skip ahead of that discussion to avoid the plot spoiler around minutes 14 -15.
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Top Sources for this Episode Include:
-Mevlville, Greg (2022). Over my dead body: Unearthing the hidden history of America’s cemeteries. Published by: Abrams Press.
-Meares, H. (2016, October 6). What lies beneath: LA’s first graveyards were abandoned, defiled, dug up, and bulldozed in the name of progress. Curbed LA. Retrieved August 10, 2024 from https://la.curbed.com/2016/10/6/13177830/los-angeles-cemetery-history
-Waldie, D.J. (2022, October 31). Lost cemeteries of early L.A.: The forgotten burial sites of the city's earliest settlers. PBS SoCal. Retrieved August 10, 2024, from https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/lost-la/lost-cemeteries-of-early-l-a-the-forgotten-burial-sites-of-the-citys-earliest-settlers
-Ehrenreich, B. (2014, March 3). Railroaded: Unearthing the history of the Chinese laborers who laid the tracks for L.A.’s rapid growth. Los Angeles Magazine. Retrieved August 10, 2024 from https://lamag.com/news/railroaded
-Discover Los Angeles. (2024, May 21.). Hollywood Forever: The story of an LA icon. Discover Los Angeles. Retrieved August 10, 2024, from https://www.discoverlosangeles.com/visit/hollywood-forever-the-story-of-an-la-icon
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hello Dark City fans.
This is Leah.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
And this is April.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Today we're unearthing the eerie tales of
Los Angeles cemeteries, wherethe headstones were moved but
the bodies not so much.
Depending on where you arewalking in downtown Los Angeles,
you're going to learn thatthere's a chance that a long
forgotten grave just might beunderneath your feet.
This is Dark City season one,los Angeles.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
So the funniest thing happened the other day and I
just want to tell you because itreally made me laugh.
So my husband, sometimes, whenhe comes home from work, we'll
put on a scary movie.
I don't always want to watchhorror movies.
I know I'm one of those peoplethat I'd rather watch Dateline
(00:57):
than some horror movie.
So sometimes he'll put it on.
The kids are usually upstairs.
They're like doing their ownthing, you know, hanging out,
watching their own stuff orplaying video games, whatever.
Um, and so the last week he wasdownstairs he had a movie on.
(01:19):
He was like cleaning up in thekitchen, straightening things up
and whatever.
And he turns around and, um,you've been in my house before.
The silverware drawer was openand he was like what the crap?
And so he goes and he closesthe drawer and he's like doing a
little bit more.
And he turns around and it'sopen again and he's like what is
(01:44):
happening?
He's creeped out from the movie.
He's, I don't know, like let meguess I already did, I closed
this once.
Can I guess so, or should I not?
Well, hang on, okay, so then athird time it happens.
And now he's like getting angrybecause he's like still creeped
(02:05):
out, but he's like he's able tolike fix things, install things
, whatever.
He's like I'm going to fix thisdrawer, like what the heck is
going on.
So he closes the drawer and heopens the cabinet underneath and
as soon as he opens the cabinethe hears rah it's my daughter,
(02:26):
I knew it.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
I totally knew it Because I've seen her.
Oh, I didn't think about that.
Like that she could actuallymove the drawer from inside the
cabinet but.
I've seen her open it up and Ican't remember if she went in,
but she was joking about how shecould crawl in.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
So yes, because whenever the kids will play hide
and seek, or if we have friendsover and their kids are over,
they'll play hide and seek andthat's one of their hiding spots
.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But he was so mad because itstartled him.
He wasn't expecting to see herdown there.
He didn't even hear her come in.
So anyways, it was a cute story, I thought yeah, she's fly that
(03:09):
one.
Yep.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
We are back.
It's been three weeks.
I know we said two.
We've had a lot of stuff goingon.
I was sick.
Then we had vacation that neverended.
When I went to Colorado it wassupposed to be for a week, it
ended up being two.
I got some really good stories.
(03:32):
So at some point we'll do likea dark town series on all the
things.
Because while I was sitting inan eight hour traffic jam,
literally on the I-15, becausewe decided to drive all the way
over to Montrose, Colorado,where we have family, I was like
I'm just going to startresearching places and so I did.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
I mean yeah why, not.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
What else would you do?
The traffic jam happened at theI-15 and it's the freeway you
take between Los Angeles to goto Las Vegas, but it's on the
way to Colorado.
There was a truck that hadflipped over completely and it
had lithium ion batteries in it,so it caught fire.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
I don't think there were any fatalities, not that I
saw.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
That's good yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
But it's extremely toxic, it's hard to put out.
Plus, it's in the middle of theMojave Desert, so there's not a
lot going on.
One of the alternative routeshad a crash, so that closed down
completely, so there's nothinglike being two and a half hours
in to your trip, like whatshould be hour two and a half.
Oh gosh, yeah, hour by hourticking up your arrival time.
(04:42):
But then I looked over to theright and I was like, is that a
lava field?
And it was so fun fact, therewas volcanic activity thousands
of years ago in the MojaveDesert, so I just dropped some
knowledge on you.
And what's this?
Oh, pisgah, the Pisgah crater.
They're extinct now so youdon't have to worry about it
(05:05):
erupting again.
But it's called the Lovick LakeVolcanic Field and apparently
the Pisgah crater.
It has hundreds of lava tubesand you can actually go caving
in them.
I was like we should just pullour car over to the side of the
road and go caving in a pitchblack lava tube in 110 degrees
in the the hobby desert.
That sounds freaking brilliant.
(05:25):
We did not do that.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Northern Arizona has lava tubes also outside of
Flagstaff yeah Cool.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Maybe I'll go caving in those in the winter.
It ended up being two weeks,because our flight out of
Montrose ended up gettingcanceled and the next one wasn't
until Thursday, because it'ssmall, and then it's like
everything else had a layover inDenver and it was like a
thousand dollars more, and so weended up just driving back with
my husband and son.
(05:54):
But here we are, we're back,ready to go, ready to talk more
about graveyards.
Before we jump in to ourepisode today, we just wanted to
pause to say thank you so muchfor listening and to help us out
to be more discoverable on allthe different platforms that
we're streaming.
(06:15):
If you could click thesubscribe and the rate and
review, that would be amazing.
It really helps a lot forothers to find us.
And also, too, if you are onsocial media reminder, we are
under dark city pod at Instagram, facebook and threads.
We were on TikTok.
We'll probably go back up onTikTok at some point, but it's
(06:38):
like all of the other platformsreally likes faces and we did
not realize when we started thisthat the video podcast is the
new audio podcast, so we'll getthere.
I know you all want to know whoyour creators are, which is
completely understandable, butuntil then it's just like TikTok
is just not really a goodplatform for us All.
(06:59):
Right, in our last two specialedition episodes on Denver my
gosh, that feels like that wasforever ago.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
I know it does Because it was.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
We went to Denver for those of you who didn't listen
to those yet, we were in Denverfor the True Crime and
Paranormal Podcast Festival,which was a lot of fun, but it
was obligatory while we werethere to it felt like do
episodes on the history.
So one of the stories that wetold was about Cheesman Park,
which is in the Capitol Hillneighborhood of Denver, and it's
(07:33):
a former graveyard where theheadstones were moved, but not
necessarily all of the bodies.
It turns out this happens allof the time, far and wide, I bet
probably almost every city.
So since we are diving backinto our regular season on Los
Angeles, we are going to talkabout a few of the times it has
happened here, at least that weknow about.
(07:54):
There's probably many more timesthat we don't know about and
we're not going to talk aboutevery single time it's happened
that, at least, has beendocumented, but just a few
select ones that I found digging.
No pun intended, oh gosh, mygosh.
All right, I'll see myself out.
I don't even know what I wassaying.
(08:20):
Probably a good thing.
One that you found while youwere digging.
Yeah, that weren't particularlyinteresting, but before we go
there, I'm gonna drop someknowledge on you about
cemeteries, because I read thisreally interesting book called
over my dead body, which is bythe author greg melville, and he
(08:41):
had profiled several differentcemeteries and just talked about
the history in general and itwas really interesting.
One of the things that wascited in there was there was a
data visualization expert namedJoshua Stephen, who was inspired
by none other than StephenKing's Pet Cemetery, decided to
map all 145,000 graveyards andcemeteries, at least, that are
(09:06):
known in the US on a map, and Iwill that sounds like a lot of
work.
I'm sure it's all automated andyou code and it pops up but, um,
I'll ask his permission to seeif we could post it on our
social media.
I don't know him, but sometimespeople are really good about
that, sure, but there are.
For all the places where therewas a graveyard or cemetery at
(09:28):
least according to the data andthe maps that he pulled it's
dotted in red, so, like when youlook at the south, it's like
bright red, which makes sensebecause that area was settled
earlier than the rest of the US.
It's also where the Civil Warwas, Right earlier than the rest
of the US.
It's also where the Civil Warwas.
When you think about it,there's probably lots of Native
graveyards and others that justcould have been bulldozed over
(09:51):
or even moved through time, sowhen I?
think about not just wherethings are, but where they used
to be.
It's probably just so much more, but to put the 145,000 figure
into perspective.
That's 10 times the number ofStarbucks in this country and
eight times the number ofMcDonald's restaurants, To which
I say there's more Starbucksthan McDonald's.
(10:14):
I guess that makes sense.
That's a lot.
The expression six feet underTurns out actually graves are
typically four to five feetunder.
Six feet under Turns outactually graves are typically
four to five feet under.
Because it would take five tosix hours, I'm assuming, for
like an average healthy person,to dig a six foot plot.
So, April, I'm not going tohelp you bury the body.
You can do that on your own.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Oh, it all sounds like a lot of work, I know.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
I don't think I could Seriously.
But you know, even before weget to Seriously.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
But you know who did, even before we get to that
point.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
But you knew who could and did.
Two famous people who spenttime as grave diggers Tom Petty
and Abraham Lincoln.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
They were both grave diggers at one point.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
Wow, yeah, and that always makes me think of the Tom
Petty song Last Dance with MaryJane, which is a super, super
creepy video.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
I was going to say do you remember the video with Kim
Basinger when he dances?
Speaker 1 (11:13):
with a corpse.
I'm like oh, a little tooappropriate.
Yeah, a little too appropriate.
Many of the cemeteries thatwere built early in the United
States history were built beforepublic parks were available, so
, in the absence of park spacefor recreation, it was actually
really common for people to havepicnics at graveyards.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Oh yes, I don't know what was I recently reading or
watching, and it was like verycommon for people to go and
visit their loved ones and havea picnic in the graveyard.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
That's so crazy to me , I know, and I think just even
coincidentally I might haveshared it on our stories, but
someone had posted a historicalphoto of like a family having a
picnic on a grave site, which isjust so, so odd to me, but I
guess.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
I mean, if culturally that's what you do, then you
know it's no big deal, yeah, andthere are beautiful peaceful
places.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
So I guess, yeah, all kinds of things like hunting,
carriage racing, all that stuff,graveyards were the happening
place to be.
But did you ever think youwon't be buried or cremated if
you've ever given?
Speaker 2 (12:26):
thought to that.
Oh, my husband and I havetalked about this.
He wants to be cremated and I'drather be buried.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Yeah, I would rather be buried.
But then after reading thisbook I was like maybe the more
environmentally responsiblething to do is to get cremated.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
I just don't want to be burned.
Not that I'm going to know thedifference at that point.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
I don't know what it is, I just I don't like that
idea, yeah, just being reduceddown to a pile of ashes.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
I know Well an environmental concern I would
have never thought about beforereading this book, but totally
makes sense.
Apparently, 4 million gallonsof embalming fluid are placed
underground each year when webury our dead, which is like
yeah, I mean totally Like we areliterally just putting these
(13:13):
chemicals that eventually maketheir way into groundwater.
And that's not even to mentionthat, like a lot of coffins have
preservatives mercury in yourdental fillings.
So there are now green burialalternatives where, like you,
could be wrapped inbiodegradable cloth and the
(13:34):
casket also same.
It's eco-friendly.
You can have your grave markedby, like a piece of wood or
stone so that over time you willjust all naturally break down
into nature without causing anyproblems.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
So this is all really depressing.
It is really depressing.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
It's been a really depressing day it started out
with me like watching that movieMidsommar, with that completely
screwed up ritual at the endand now we're talking about
death.
Yeah, they got cremated in theend.
Oh, oops, I didn't say that.
That's a plot spoiler Spoiler.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
I'm serious, not all of them.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
I need to talk about this movie for a second.
That was such a messed up.
That was so messed up, that wasso not okay.
Oh yeah, I was like why arethey staying?
Speaker 2 (14:25):
What are they doing?
Get out of there.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
Where would they go, though?
They're like four hours awayfrom civilization.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
I really didn't know.
Maybe I wouldn't be good in acult.
I don't know.
I don't think I'd be verycompliant.
I don't think I'd be verycompliant.
I don't think I would either.
I'd be like Sidney BristowYou're never going to break me
down.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
You're going to think you brainwashed me, but you
really didn't that was soamazing.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Oh gosh, Season three is the best season.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
What was her name?
Was it Veronica?
Speaker 2 (15:03):
something.
You became Veronica.
Oh, I don't remember JuliaThorne.
Season three is the best season.
What was her name, was it?
Speaker 1 (15:06):
veronica, something you became, veronica.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
Oh, julia thorn julia , julia thorn you became julia
thorn.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
Yeah, heck, yeah.
Who knows their trivia?
I don't know if that'ssomething to be proud of but Of
course it is.
Before I move into the actualgrave sites that have moved, not
entirely in Los Angeles, though.
One thing that was funny I waslooking up like headstones
(15:29):
because I'm like I bet you somecreative people have like done
some cool stuff and there arelike just like funny ones that
are fun, that it's like I'm aghost, I know something you
don't know.
And there is an Instagramaccount and I believe she's on
other platforms too, but hername is Rosie Grant, but she has
(15:51):
it's called the Ghostly Archiveand she posts headstones where
people have left their favoriterecipes, which is kind of cool.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
That's interesting.
I'm totally going to leave myburn list, but that's really
nice as an alternative.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
I know at least one person that's going to be on
there from high school wait forme or for you?
Oh, for you, oh yeah, we're notgonna name names, but what's?
Speaker 1 (16:28):
the taylor says line yeah, it's gonna be in red, it's
gonna be underlined and it's tobe checked twice.
Yatch, I don't know if I'mgoing to keep any of that, but,
baby, you know what we should dothat as like a Patreon bonus.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Who's on Leah's?
Speaker 1 (16:52):
list.
That's right, guys.
We're going to start a Patreoneventually and if you want to
know if you're on my list, youshould just join the Patreon.
So, getting back to Los Angeles, there are multiple times over
decades in Los Angeles whenfreeways were going to be built,
or like a mass transit line, orlike a building was going to
get expanded, then all of asudden, oops, we just dug up
(17:14):
some skeletons and a coffin.
This has happened multipletimes.
According to the PBS articleLost Cemeteries of Early LA
exact quote the first Catholic,jewish and Protestant cemeteries
in Los Angeles were abandonedby 1910.
The displaced dead werescattered to other cemeteries.
Not all were found and reburied.
(17:37):
There are permanent Angelenos,their names unknown, under
parking lots, playing fields andcity streets, and those are the
ones we're going to dive into,some of them anyway.
So first one is a.
It's one of the earliest burialplaces in Los Angeles and it's
called Campo Santo, which isSpanish for sacred ground.
(18:00):
I think I'm pretty sure.
Okay, I'll edit it out if I'mwrong.
Okay, okay, but that was builtin 1823, and it was located
right next to a Catholic churchknown as La Placida.
It was in what we now know asdowntown Los Angeles today, what
we now know as downtown LosAngeles today.
Between the years of 1823 and1844, it's estimated by the
(18:22):
historian Stephen W Hackle thataround 700 people were buried
there, and many of the peoplewho were buried there, by the
way, are like the who's who ofLos Angeles.
Let me see if you rememberthese names Hervacio, alipaz.
Maria del Rosario Villa andDomingo Villas.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
Oh wow, Interesting.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
Okay, from our Griffith Park episode.
Yep, oh, there's anotherreference to that episode in
here coming up in just a littlebit, a really good one too.
Yeah, so we talked aboutlegends and lore in the history
of Griffith Park, and if youmissed that one, I think you
should go back because there'sso much interesting stuff in
(19:04):
there.
But these guys were not allfriends.
In fact, maria and Domingo weremarried at one point, and
Hervacio was her lover, and thenHervacio or Maria, or both,
killed Domingo like brutally,brutally killed, and then
Hervaso and Maria had a horrificand tragic end.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
You'll have to go back Because they didn't hide
the body well enough.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
Yes, yeah, they messed up a lot.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
They did not dig any feet down, they just used leaves
.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
Yeah, exactly, nobody's going to find them.
Nobody's had anything.
Speaker 2 (19:39):
Spoiler alert.
I know Spoiler alert.
You need to do a better job,yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
Yes, but their ending was just horrific.
But it's just crazy that allthree of them you know it's not
a big graveyard at this pointthey're all buried in the same
place.
But they're not the only peoplewho have been buried next to
each other who probably wouldprefer to never have been buried
next to each other.
There's like an example of.
There were three men that werefound guilty and executed
(20:04):
because they robbed and brutallykilled a German shoemaker and
shopkeeper named Nicholas Fink,and many people buried her were
from the indigenous groups, suchas the Tongva, that lived here
well before Spanish missionarieshad come over hundreds of years
ago and essentially took overtheir land, and in many, if not
(20:25):
most all, cases they basicallyforced them into what looked a
lot like slavery and to convertto the.
Catholic faith.
When the cemetery began fillingup and outrunning its space,
you also start to get complaintstoo, because, like you know,
you put in a cemetery and thenthings grow up around it and
(20:46):
nobody wants to be by a cemetery.
So in 1844, another cemeterycalled Calvary is opened up
about a mile away.
It's in what is now Chinatowntoday, which is not very far
from the Dodger Stadium.
In fact, I think it's less thana mile in Elysian Park.
So it's literally on the other.
(21:08):
If you're familiar with thearea which I know you aren't but
it's on the other side of thefreeway, the 110 from the park,
so that's the location we'retalking about.
Bodies were moved there.
So, it was said, a plaque wasput up at Campo Santo indicating
all of the people who had beenburied there were moved over to
Calvary, and so everyone waslike sure I believe you, because
(21:30):
why would you not do that?
Right, yeah.
But then, 150 years later, whenthe site is excavated to
accommodate the new outdoorplaza for it was a new center
celebrating Mexican-Americanculture and heritage the
construction workers find theremains of what was
approximately it ended up beinga count of 100 people and then
(21:54):
the remains were stored offsite,and this is awful in bags and
buckets, and it wasn't likethere was nothing expedient
about trying to identify or burythem.
So that, of course, led toprotests from Native American
communities who knew certainlymany of them were their
ancestors.
The right protocols were notfollowed.
(22:15):
The right parties weren'tconsulted.
In fact, I read that theNational Park Service even got
involved and withheld money fromthe county at one point, or
threatened to, so it was bad.
But eventually they were allreburied in the spot of where
Campo Santo is.
For what I understand, it'slike a very like, it's not a
very descript spot.
I wanted to visit it, I justran out of time.
(22:36):
It's now.
It looks like a little gardenand it's by a fence.
So at least they got the space,but without a lot of ceremony.
Now we're still not done withthe story though.
Okay, so the Campo Santo people, so they've been located and
people figured out.
Okay, now all the bodies weremoved, but then the place they
(23:00):
were supposed to go to Cavalrythis site begins to fill up, of
course.
By 1896, a new Caval was openedup farther away in east.
It was east of downtown, onWhittier Boulevard, just east of
what, if you're familiar withthe neighborhoods, what's called
Boyle Heights, the old cavalrycemetery, though at this point,
by the time the new one hadopened, people were not really
(23:22):
being buried there, like it hadalmost come to a complete halt.
And I think 1896, when the newone opened up, was officially
like the last year anyone knewhad been buried in the old
cemetery.
But when you think of an oldcemetery at this point in time,
the old cavalry cemetery itprobably looks like that
(23:42):
traditional Halloween cemeterythat you would never visit,
never go on a dare.
It's overgrown, they didn'thave maintenance keeping it up,
so it's overgrown with weeds.
It's full of cobwebs and dust.
The graves and tombstones thatwere left are sinking into the
ground, the inscriptions on themare fading, and because people
(24:03):
were moving their loved ones outof the cemetery gradually over
time, you have all of thesegiant holes all over the place.
Actually, though, you'dprobably be more afraid of the
living in the cemetery than theghosts that might haunt it,
because one of the key reasonspeople are moving their loved
ones out is because there wasall kinds of vandalism just
(24:24):
really horrible stories of graverobbing.
Some people would even stealmarble tiles, like anything that
could be sold.
You also have this becomes apopular site for people who are
homeless to sleep there becausethey won't be disturbed.
This is a horrible story.
There was one little boy thatcame across the skeleton of the
(24:45):
first lady of Mexican California.
Her name was Maria Ignacio Pico, and I can't imagine like I
never would be the same.
She had been pulled from thevault where she had been
interred, but she wasn'tentirely decomposed Like she
still had her hair.
She, like she still had her hairshe, her, her clothes were
(25:08):
still like they hadn'tdecomposed so how horrifying
that must be.
Speaker 2 (25:09):
Oh my gosh, that would be terrifying.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
As a kid I know I know there are stories here and
there of ghosts that roam theproperty.
It's so long ago so a lot of itis just like lore.
But there was one the los LosAngeles Times had reported at
one point a lot of people weresaying no, seriously, we've seen
a ghost like so many that itwas too coincidental.
(25:33):
But then it was determined itwas actually just somebody who
was homeless but was ultimatelyarrested for using an abandoned
vault as a place to sleep.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
Oh my gosh, I know so this is not no wonder they
thought it was a ghost.
Speaker 1 (25:48):
I know I oh gosh, I know.
Finally, in 1925, this oldcavalry cemetery, it's taken
over by the city who claim againthose that had been remained
had remained, had all been moved, and it's impossible to know
exactly who was buried there andconfirm if they actually had
(26:10):
been moved, because all theinternment records from the old
cavalry cemetery had been lost.
Right now that site, the siteof Cathedral High School, so
it's a high school now and achurch called St Peter's Church.
I think they have done I heard,I had heard somewhere but then
(26:31):
I couldn't find the article andsource but like they have done
construction and they have foundbodies there, indicating that
in fact not everybody who couldhave or should have been moved
over was.
It's likely.
There probably are still bodiesburied under the school's
football field and parking lot.
The school was like we're goingto just lean into that and they
are known as the phantoms.
That's their mascot.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
Good for them.
Way to spin it for the positive.
Speaker 1 (26:57):
I'm like I kind of want to go to a haunted high
school, but I kind of don't.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
Yeah, I don't know if I'm ready for ghost hunting.
Are there stories from thathigh school that it's haunted at
all?
Speaker 1 (27:10):
I took a ghost tour of that area.
It was when the podcast wasjust like a inkling of a thought
in my mind and I believe thatwe stopped.
We stopped by and there werestories, but I don't remember
and I was looking for my noteson it and I didn't see them.
Speaker 2 (27:25):
so I know there are I just don't.
Speaker 1 (27:28):
And then, crawling around the web, I don't really
trust you know right, there canbe.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
Yeah, anybody can write anything, exactly, exactly
exactly, but they do.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
They do have some of the stones from the old cemetery
have been preserved.
I saw pictures that they'vekept like they're on display in
different locations.
All right, so now we're goingto move over to Boyle Heights,
which is a historic neighborhoodin East Los Angeles.
Construction workers werebreaking ground for the Metro
Gold Lines East Side Extensionback in 2005 near the Evergreen
(28:03):
Cemetery, and they found humanremains while digging up the Los
Angeles County Crematorydriveway.
What would ultimately happen isthat the excavation would
reveal 174 burial sites, alongwith an array of personal
artifacts, like everything frombuttons, jewelry, coins, even
(28:25):
opium pipes.
Some dated all the way back tothe 1880s.
Some of these grave sites theywere located on what was
ultimately they were able tofigure out it was a potter's
field for paupers.
So it's estimated that between1877 and 1924, approximately
(28:45):
13,000 people were buried there.
So it was like people who werepoor could not be identified.
And this is horrible.
Many of the bodies recoveredwere Chinese immigrants who were
denied burial at the EvergreenCemetery.
Oh, that's sad.
So Chinese laborers that playedcrucial roles in that time
(29:07):
period, building a lot of like.
America's railroads, basicinfrastructure, including the
very transit lines that nowcrisscross Los Angeles.
It just shows that segregationexists even in death, and it's
hard to identify, unfortunately,exactly who's been assumed,
because it's from so long agoand a lot of immigrants they
(29:28):
used fake names and I didn'tknow that they had no children
because federal policies did notallow Chinese women to
immigrate to the US.
What they didn't want them tohave kids.
It's like you're good enough tocome work here but not have a
family.
Dang, I know that is messed up,I know so.
I know the history with withpeople who have come over from
(29:48):
China is so messed up.
I had no idea it was.
It was like that that bad?
Speaker 2 (29:53):
I didn't know that piece of it, I know.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
I know, wow, and the Chinese were the only ethnic
group denied burial at Evergreen.
Oh my, gosh I know.
And then, to add insult toinjury, they would get charged
if they were buried in thepotter's field.
But everyone else that wasburied in Evergreen got it for
free.
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
I know they already don't have money.
Like, what are you doing?
Speaker 1 (30:17):
I know it's like the good old days, guys.
The good old days were not good, no, no.
So that's just really tragic.
There's a historical societytoo that got really involved and
they've preserved stuff andthey have I can't remember if
there's like a memorial or it'sa plaque at least we're able to
do some.
I mean, it never could beenough justice.
(30:38):
but for those who were, who wereburied there and found.
So that leaves us to our lastbut not least location, which is
like kind of on topic but kindof not.
I felt like I'm like I can'tnot talk about this because it's
so Los Angeles.
It's the Hollywood ForeverCemetery, which I feel like I
just have to mention.
(30:58):
Are you familiar with theHollywood Forever Cemetery?
Speaker 2 (31:04):
No.
Speaker 1 (31:05):
Okay, so it was built in 1899, and it's the final
resting place of many famouscelebrities, like all types too,
not just movie stars like JudyGarland, but also Griffith Jay
Griffith.
Oh yeah, the gigantic or goodfriend, yes, and by friend we
mean complete asshole who shothis wife in the face and still
(31:27):
got a parking after him.
He's buried there.
So is bugsy siegel who he was agangster, and one of the early
developers of las vegas and italmost went bankrupt in the late
90s, but then it was saved frombankruptcy and rebranded, and,
and the rebranding is likebringing back the entertainment
(31:48):
and parks piece.
So there's all kinds ofcommunity events like music,
summer movies, of all places tovisit in LA.
I've lived here for a decade.
You'd think I would havevisited that a long time ago.
I actually have not.
I've not been there yet, butI'm going to try to go by at
least to take some pictures.
Speaker 2 (32:07):
That'd be an interesting one.
Speaker 1 (32:09):
I know I.
Speaker 2 (32:10):
I.
Speaker 1 (32:11):
I've been asked I think my husband has asked a
couple of times about movies inthe park, which would be cool,
especially depending on what itis.
But every year they do have thelast Saturday before November
2nd, they have a hugecelebration of Dia de los
Muertos, the Day of the Dead.
It sounds really really, reallycool.
(32:34):
So maybe this year that's cool,yeah, yeah.
Now it's also located right nextto Parent Mount Pictures and
that's why I was like I think Ican kind of squeeze it into this
episode.
It's on theme Back in 1920, thecemetery sold large tracts to
Paramount and RKO Pictures,which no longer exists.
Speaker 2 (32:54):
It makes me think of who Framed Roger Rabbit.
Oh, my gosh, I told you,because RKO's in who Framed
Roger Rabbit?
Go ahead, sorry.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
Totally forgot about that movie.
I did not see evidence per sethat Paramount Pictures studio
was built directly on spotswhere bodies were buried but not
moved.
So there are lots of reallycool stories and by cool scary,
but some of them are cool.
Some of them are just reallyscary of hauntings at Paramount
(33:25):
and at Hollywood forever.
I'm not going to tell you thosehere, though, because I think
for the month of October I'mgoing to compile shorts on all
of these different scary storiesI've been coming across, but
they just don't fit into anepisode or they're too long,
yeah.
So more on that later.
That's my little bit, at least,on Hollywood Forever.
(33:45):
For now, With that April, doyou want to give us a preview of
our episode in two weeks and wereally mean two weeks this time
, not three.
I shouldn't say that and I'lljinx myself.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
Don't do that, so we're going to be talking about
the Queen Mary.
It resides in Long Beach,there's a lot of history behind
it, which is really cool, andthen a lot of ghost stories.
Speaker 1 (34:14):
So we're excited, yay , okay.
So we're going to stay on thetheme You're not going to.
There's no way you're not goingto make it to LA in the next
two weeks to visit the QueenMary.
Speaker 2 (34:26):
No, I really want to.
Now, after I've researched it,I really want to.
Speaker 1 (34:31):
I know I have questions.
I'm not going to ask them, I'lljust save them.
I remember hearing about thisas a kid and being so enchanted
by it, but I don't remember anyof the details, so I'm sure you
probably found like all that andmore.
So join us in two weeks.
Thanks everyone for listening,and if you've stuck through to
(34:51):
the end, that probably means youliked what you heard.
So go ahead, click that.
Smash that rate.
Subscribe button wherever you'relistening, come follow us on
Instagram Facebook threads underdark city pod If you want to
see pictures from this week'sepisode.
I have a few I'm going to postsoon, and I'll also share some
information over those mediumsabout the Disneyland of
graveyards that I did not talkabout today.
(35:13):
Until then, stay away from thedark side, because if you don't,
you might be buried next toyour ex lover and ex husband,
who you might have killed oryour lover might have killed.
Speaker 2 (35:30):
Bye, bye, thank you.
Hello Dark City fans.
This is Leah.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
And this is April.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Today we're unearthing the eerie tales of
Los Angeles cemeteries, wherethe headstones were moved but
the bodies not so much.
Depending on where you arewalking in downtown Los Angeles,
you're going to learn thatthere's a chance that a long
forgotten grave just might beunderneath your feet.
This is Dark City season one,los Angeles.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
So the funniest thing happened the other day and I
just want to tell you because itreally made me laugh.
So my husband, sometimes, whenhe comes home from work, we'll
put on a scary movie.
I don't always want to watchhorror movies.
I know I'm one of those peoplethat I'd rather watch Dateline
(00:57):
than some horror movie.
So sometimes he'll put it on.
The kids are usually upstairs.
They're like doing their ownthing, you know, hanging out,
watching their own stuff orplaying video games, whatever.
Um, and so the last week he wasdownstairs he had a movie on.
(01:19):
He was like cleaning up in thekitchen, straightening things up
and whatever.
And he turns around and, um,you've been in my house before.
The silverware drawer was openand he was like what the crap?
And so he goes and he closesthe drawer and he's like doing a
little bit more.
And he turns around and it'sopen again and he's like what is
(01:44):
happening?
He's creeped out from the movie.
He's, I don't know, like let meguess I already did, I closed
this once.
Can I guess so, or should I not?
Well, hang on, okay, so then athird time it happens.
And now he's like getting angrybecause he's like still creeped
(02:05):
out, but he's like he's able tolike fix things, install things
, whatever.
He's like I'm going to fix thisdrawer, like what the heck is
going on.
So he closes the drawer and heopens the cabinet underneath and
as soon as he opens the cabinethe hears rah it's my daughter,
(02:26):
I knew it.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
I totally knew it Because I've seen her.
Oh, I didn't think about that.
Like that she could actuallymove the drawer from inside the
cabinet but.
I've seen her open it up and Ican't remember if she went in,
but she was joking about how shecould crawl in.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
So yes, because whenever the kids will play hide
and seek, or if we have friendsover and their kids are over,
they'll play hide and seek andthat's one of their hiding spots
.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But he was so mad because itstartled him.
He wasn't expecting to see herdown there.
He didn't even hear her come in.
So anyways, it was a cute story, I thought yeah, she's fly that
(03:09):
one.
Yep.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
We are back.
It's been three weeks.
I know we said two.
We've had a lot of stuff goingon.
I was sick.
Then we had vacation that neverended.
When I went to Colorado it wassupposed to be for a week, it
ended up being two.
I got some really good stories.
(03:32):
So at some point we'll do likea dark town series on all the
things.
Because while I was sitting inan eight hour traffic jam,
literally on the I-15, becausewe decided to drive all the way
over to Montrose, Colorado,where we have family, I was like
I'm just going to startresearching places and so I did.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
I mean yeah why, not.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
What else would you do?
The traffic jam happened at theI-15 and it's the freeway you
take between Los Angeles to goto Las Vegas, but it's on the
way to Colorado.
There was a truck that hadflipped over completely and it
had lithium ion batteries in it,so it caught fire.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
I don't think there were any fatalities, not that I
saw.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
That's good yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
But it's extremely toxic, it's hard to put out.
Plus, it's in the middle of theMojave Desert, so there's not a
lot going on.
One of the alternative routeshad a crash, so that closed down
completely, so there's nothinglike being two and a half hours
in to your trip, like whatshould be hour two and a half.
Oh gosh, yeah, hour by hourticking up your arrival time.
(04:42):
But then I looked over to theright and I was like, is that a
lava field?
And it was so fun fact, therewas volcanic activity thousands
of years ago in the MojaveDesert, so I just dropped some
knowledge on you.
And what's this?
Oh, pisgah, the Pisgah crater.
They're extinct now so youdon't have to worry about it
(05:05):
erupting again.
But it's called the Lovick LakeVolcanic Field and apparently
the Pisgah crater.
It has hundreds of lava tubesand you can actually go caving
in them.
I was like we should just pullour car over to the side of the
road and go caving in a pitchblack lava tube in 110 degrees
in the the hobby desert.
That sounds freaking brilliant.
(05:25):
We did not do that.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Northern Arizona has lava tubes also outside of
Flagstaff yeah Cool.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Maybe I'll go caving in those in the winter.
It ended up being two weeks,because our flight out of
Montrose ended up gettingcanceled and the next one wasn't
until Thursday, because it'ssmall, and then it's like
everything else had a layover inDenver and it was like a
thousand dollars more, and so weended up just driving back with
my husband and son.
(05:54):
But here we are, we're back,ready to go, ready to talk more
about graveyards.
Before we jump in to ourepisode today, we just wanted to
pause to say thank you so muchfor listening and to help us out
to be more discoverable on allthe different platforms that
we're streaming.
(06:15):
If you could click thesubscribe and the rate and
review, that would be amazing.
It really helps a lot forothers to find us.
And also, too, if you are onsocial media reminder, we are
under dark city pod at Instagram, facebook and threads.
We were on TikTok.
We'll probably go back up onTikTok at some point, but it's
(06:38):
like all of the other platformsreally likes faces and we did
not realize when we started thisthat the video podcast is the
new audio podcast, so we'll getthere.
I know you all want to know whoyour creators are, which is
completely understandable, butuntil then it's just like TikTok
is just not really a goodplatform for us All.
(06:59):
Right, in our last two specialedition episodes on Denver my
gosh, that feels like that wasforever ago.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
I know it does Because it was.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
We went to Denver for those of you who didn't listen
to those yet, we were in Denverfor the True Crime and
Paranormal Podcast Festival,which was a lot of fun, but it
was obligatory while we werethere to it felt like do
episodes on the history.
So one of the stories that wetold was about Cheesman Park,
which is in the Capitol Hillneighborhood of Denver, and it's
(07:33):
a former graveyard where theheadstones were moved, but not
necessarily all of the bodies.
It turns out this happens allof the time, far and wide, I bet
probably almost every city.
So since we are diving backinto our regular season on Los
Angeles, we are going to talkabout a few of the times it has
happened here, at least that weknow about.
(07:54):
There's probably many more timesthat we don't know about and
we're not going to talk aboutevery single time it's happened
that, at least, has beendocumented, but just a few
select ones that I found digging.
No pun intended, oh gosh, mygosh.
All right, I'll see myself out.
I don't even know what I wassaying.
(08:20):
Probably a good thing.
One that you found while youwere digging.
Yeah, that weren't particularlyinteresting, but before we go
there, I'm gonna drop someknowledge on you about
cemeteries, because I read thisreally interesting book called
over my dead body, which is bythe author greg melville, and he
(08:41):
had profiled several differentcemeteries and just talked about
the history in general and itwas really interesting.
One of the things that wascited in there was there was a
data visualization expert namedJoshua Stephen, who was inspired
by none other than StephenKing's Pet Cemetery, decided to
map all 145,000 graveyards andcemeteries, at least, that are
(09:06):
known in the US on a map, and Iwill that sounds like a lot of
work.
I'm sure it's all automated andyou code and it pops up but, um,
I'll ask his permission to seeif we could post it on our
social media.
I don't know him, but sometimespeople are really good about
that, sure, but there are.
For all the places where therewas a graveyard or cemetery at
(09:28):
least according to the data andthe maps that he pulled it's
dotted in red, so, like when youlook at the south, it's like
bright red, which makes sensebecause that area was settled
earlier than the rest of the US.
It's also where the Civil Warwas, Right earlier than the rest
of the US.
It's also where the Civil Warwas.
When you think about it,there's probably lots of Native
graveyards and others that justcould have been bulldozed over
(09:51):
or even moved through time, sowhen I?
think about not just wherethings are, but where they used
to be.
It's probably just so much more, but to put the 145,000 figure
into perspective.
That's 10 times the number ofStarbucks in this country and
eight times the number ofMcDonald's restaurants, To which
I say there's more Starbucksthan McDonald's.
(10:14):
I guess that makes sense.
That's a lot.
The expression six feet underTurns out actually graves are
typically four to five feetunder.
Six feet under Turns outactually graves are typically
four to five feet under.
Because it would take five tosix hours, I'm assuming, for
like an average healthy person,to dig a six foot plot.
So, April, I'm not going tohelp you bury the body.
You can do that on your own.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Oh, it all sounds like a lot of work, I know.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
I don't think I could Seriously.
But you know, even before weget to Seriously.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
But you know who did, even before we get to that
point.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
But you knew who could and did.
Two famous people who spenttime as grave diggers Tom Petty
and Abraham Lincoln.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
They were both grave diggers at one point.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
Wow, yeah, and that always makes me think of the Tom
Petty song Last Dance with MaryJane, which is a super, super
creepy video.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
I was going to say do you remember the video with Kim
Basinger when he dances?
Speaker 1 (11:13):
with a corpse.
I'm like oh, a little tooappropriate.
Yeah, a little too appropriate.
Many of the cemeteries thatwere built early in the United
States history were built beforepublic parks were available, so
, in the absence of park spacefor recreation, it was actually
really common for people to havepicnics at graveyards.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Oh yes, I don't know what was I recently reading or
watching, and it was like verycommon for people to go and
visit their loved ones and havea picnic in the graveyard.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
That's so crazy to me , I know, and I think just even
coincidentally I might haveshared it on our stories, but
someone had posted a historicalphoto of like a family having a
picnic on a grave site, which isjust so, so odd to me, but I
guess.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
I mean, if culturally that's what you do, then you
know it's no big deal, yeah, andthere are beautiful peaceful
places.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
So I guess, yeah, all kinds of things like hunting,
carriage racing, all that stuff,graveyards were the happening
place to be.
But did you ever think youwon't be buried or cremated if
you've ever given?
Speaker 2 (12:26):
thought to that.
Oh, my husband and I havetalked about this.
He wants to be cremated and I'drather be buried.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Yeah, I would rather be buried.
But then after reading thisbook I was like maybe the more
environmentally responsiblething to do is to get cremated.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
I just don't want to be burned.
Not that I'm going to know thedifference at that point.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
I don't know what it is, I just I don't like that
idea, yeah, just being reduceddown to a pile of ashes.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
I know Well an environmental concern I would
have never thought about beforereading this book, but totally
makes sense.
Apparently, 4 million gallonsof embalming fluid are placed
underground each year when webury our dead, which is like
yeah, I mean totally Like we areliterally just putting these
(13:13):
chemicals that eventually maketheir way into groundwater.
And that's not even to mentionthat, like a lot of coffins have
preservatives mercury in yourdental fillings.
So there are now green burialalternatives where, like you,
could be wrapped inbiodegradable cloth and the
(13:34):
casket also same.
It's eco-friendly.
You can have your grave markedby, like a piece of wood or
stone so that over time you willjust all naturally break down
into nature without causing anyproblems.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
So this is all really depressing.
It is really depressing.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
It's been a really depressing day it started out
with me like watching that movieMidsommar, with that completely
screwed up ritual at the endand now we're talking about
death.
Yeah, they got cremated in theend.
Oh, oops, I didn't say that.
That's a plot spoiler Spoiler.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
I'm serious, not all of them.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
I need to talk about this movie for a second.
That was such a messed up.
That was so messed up, that wasso not okay.
Oh yeah, I was like why arethey staying?
Speaker 2 (14:25):
What are they doing?
Get out of there.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
Where would they go, though?
They're like four hours awayfrom civilization.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
I really didn't know.
Maybe I wouldn't be good in acult.
I don't know.
I don't think I'd be verycompliant.
I don't think I'd be verycompliant.
I don't think I would either.
I'd be like Sidney BristowYou're never going to break me
down.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
You're going to think you brainwashed me, but you
really didn't that was soamazing.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Oh gosh, Season three is the best season.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
What was her name?
Was it Veronica?
Speaker 2 (15:03):
something.
You became Veronica.
Oh, I don't remember JuliaThorne.
Season three is the best season.
What was her name, was it?
Speaker 1 (15:06):
veronica, something you became, veronica.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
Oh, julia thorn julia , julia thorn you became julia
thorn.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
Yeah, heck, yeah.
Who knows their trivia?
I don't know if that'ssomething to be proud of but Of
course it is.
Before I move into the actualgrave sites that have moved, not
entirely in Los Angeles, though.
One thing that was funny I waslooking up like headstones
(15:29):
because I'm like I bet you somecreative people have like done
some cool stuff and there arelike just like funny ones that
are fun, that it's like I'm aghost, I know something you
don't know.
And there is an Instagramaccount and I believe she's on
other platforms too, but hername is Rosie Grant, but she has
(15:51):
it's called the Ghostly Archiveand she posts headstones where
people have left their favoriterecipes, which is kind of cool.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
That's interesting.
I'm totally going to leave myburn list, but that's really
nice as an alternative.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
I know at least one person that's going to be on
there from high school wait forme or for you?
Oh, for you, oh yeah, we're notgonna name names, but what's?
Speaker 1 (16:28):
the taylor says line yeah, it's gonna be in red, it's
gonna be underlined and it's tobe checked twice.
Yatch, I don't know if I'mgoing to keep any of that, but,
baby, you know what we should dothat as like a Patreon bonus.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Who's on Leah's?
Speaker 1 (16:52):
list.
That's right, guys.
We're going to start a Patreoneventually and if you want to
know if you're on my list, youshould just join the Patreon.
So, getting back to Los Angeles, there are multiple times over
decades in Los Angeles whenfreeways were going to be built,
or like a mass transit line, orlike a building was going to
get expanded, then all of asudden, oops, we just dug up
(17:14):
some skeletons and a coffin.
This has happened multipletimes.
According to the PBS articleLost Cemeteries of Early LA
exact quote the first Catholic,jewish and Protestant cemeteries
in Los Angeles were abandonedby 1910.
The displaced dead werescattered to other cemeteries.
Not all were found and reburied.
(17:37):
There are permanent Angelenos,their names unknown, under
parking lots, playing fields andcity streets, and those are the
ones we're going to dive into,some of them anyway.
So first one is a.
It's one of the earliest burialplaces in Los Angeles and it's
called Campo Santo, which isSpanish for sacred ground.
(18:00):
I think I'm pretty sure.
Okay, I'll edit it out if I'mwrong.
Okay, okay, but that was builtin 1823, and it was located
right next to a Catholic churchknown as La Placida.
It was in what we now know asdowntown Los Angeles today, what
we now know as downtown LosAngeles today.
Between the years of 1823 and1844, it's estimated by the
(18:22):
historian Stephen W Hackle thataround 700 people were buried
there, and many of the peoplewho were buried there, by the
way, are like the who's who ofLos Angeles.
Let me see if you rememberthese names Hervacio, alipaz.
Maria del Rosario Villa andDomingo Villas.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
Oh wow, Interesting.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
Okay, from our Griffith Park episode.
Yep, oh, there's anotherreference to that episode in
here coming up in just a littlebit, a really good one too.
Yeah, so we talked aboutlegends and lore in the history
of Griffith Park, and if youmissed that one, I think you
should go back because there'sso much interesting stuff in
(19:04):
there.
But these guys were not allfriends.
In fact, maria and Domingo weremarried at one point, and
Hervacio was her lover, and thenHervacio or Maria, or both,
killed Domingo like brutally,brutally killed, and then
Hervaso and Maria had a horrificand tragic end.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
You'll have to go back Because they didn't hide
the body well enough.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
Yes, yeah, they messed up a lot.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
They did not dig any feet down, they just used leaves
.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
Yeah, exactly, nobody's going to find them.
Nobody's had anything.
Speaker 2 (19:39):
Spoiler alert.
I know Spoiler alert.
You need to do a better job,yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
Yes, but their ending was just horrific.
But it's just crazy that allthree of them you know it's not
a big graveyard at this pointthey're all buried in the same
place.
But they're not the only peoplewho have been buried next to
each other who probably wouldprefer to never have been buried
next to each other.
There's like an example of.
There were three men that werefound guilty and executed
(20:04):
because they robbed and brutallykilled a German shoemaker and
shopkeeper named Nicholas Fink,and many people buried her were
from the indigenous groups, suchas the Tongva, that lived here
well before Spanish missionarieshad come over hundreds of years
ago and essentially took overtheir land, and in many, if not
(20:25):
most all, cases they basicallyforced them into what looked a
lot like slavery and to convertto the.
Catholic faith.
When the cemetery began fillingup and outrunning its space,
you also start to get complaintstoo, because, like you know,
you put in a cemetery and thenthings grow up around it and
(20:46):
nobody wants to be by a cemetery.
So in 1844, another cemeterycalled Calvary is opened up
about a mile away.
It's in what is now Chinatowntoday, which is not very far
from the Dodger Stadium.
In fact, I think it's less thana mile in Elysian Park.
So it's literally on the other.
(21:08):
If you're familiar with thearea which I know you aren't but
it's on the other side of thefreeway, the 110 from the park,
so that's the location we'retalking about.
Bodies were moved there.
So, it was said, a plaque wasput up at Campo Santo indicating
all of the people who had beenburied there were moved over to
Calvary, and so everyone waslike sure I believe you, because
(21:30):
why would you not do that?
Right, yeah.
But then, 150 years later, whenthe site is excavated to
accommodate the new outdoorplaza for it was a new center
celebrating Mexican-Americanculture and heritage the
construction workers find theremains of what was
approximately it ended up beinga count of 100 people and then
(21:54):
the remains were stored offsite,and this is awful in bags and
buckets, and it wasn't likethere was nothing expedient
about trying to identify or burythem.
So that, of course, led toprotests from Native American
communities who knew certainlymany of them were their
ancestors.
The right protocols were notfollowed.
(22:15):
The right parties weren'tconsulted.
In fact, I read that theNational Park Service even got
involved and withheld money fromthe county at one point, or
threatened to, so it was bad.
But eventually they were allreburied in the spot of where
Campo Santo is.
For what I understand, it'slike a very like, it's not a
very descript spot.
I wanted to visit it, I justran out of time.
(22:36):
It's now.
It looks like a little gardenand it's by a fence.
So at least they got the space,but without a lot of ceremony.
Now we're still not done withthe story though.
Okay, so the Campo Santo people, so they've been located and
people figured out.
Okay, now all the bodies weremoved, but then the place they
(23:00):
were supposed to go to Cavalrythis site begins to fill up, of
course.
By 1896, a new Caval was openedup farther away in east.
It was east of downtown, onWhittier Boulevard, just east of
what, if you're familiar withthe neighborhoods, what's called
Boyle Heights, the old cavalrycemetery, though at this point,
by the time the new one hadopened, people were not really
(23:22):
being buried there, like it hadalmost come to a complete halt.
And I think 1896, when the newone opened up, was officially
like the last year anyone knewhad been buried in the old
cemetery.
But when you think of an oldcemetery at this point in time,
the old cavalry cemetery itprobably looks like that
(23:42):
traditional Halloween cemeterythat you would never visit,
never go on a dare.
It's overgrown, they didn'thave maintenance keeping it up,
so it's overgrown with weeds.
It's full of cobwebs and dust.
The graves and tombstones thatwere left are sinking into the
ground, the inscriptions on themare fading, and because people
(24:03):
were moving their loved ones outof the cemetery gradually over
time, you have all of thesegiant holes all over the place.
Actually, though, you'dprobably be more afraid of the
living in the cemetery than theghosts that might haunt it,
because one of the key reasonspeople are moving their loved
ones out is because there wasall kinds of vandalism just
(24:24):
really horrible stories of graverobbing.
Some people would even stealmarble tiles, like anything that
could be sold.
You also have this becomes apopular site for people who are
homeless to sleep there becausethey won't be disturbed.
This is a horrible story.
There was one little boy thatcame across the skeleton of the
(24:45):
first lady of Mexican California.
Her name was Maria Ignacio Pico, and I can't imagine like I
never would be the same.
She had been pulled from thevault where she had been
interred, but she wasn'tentirely decomposed Like she
still had her hair.
She, like she still had her hairshe, her, her clothes were
(25:08):
still like they hadn'tdecomposed so how horrifying
that must be.
Speaker 2 (25:09):
Oh my gosh, that would be terrifying.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
As a kid I know I know there are stories here and
there of ghosts that roam theproperty.
It's so long ago so a lot of itis just like lore.
But there was one the los LosAngeles Times had reported at
one point a lot of people weresaying no, seriously, we've seen
a ghost like so many that itwas too coincidental.
(25:33):
But then it was determined itwas actually just somebody who
was homeless but was ultimatelyarrested for using an abandoned
vault as a place to sleep.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
Oh my gosh, I know so this is not no wonder they
thought it was a ghost.
Speaker 1 (25:48):
I know I oh gosh, I know.
Finally, in 1925, this oldcavalry cemetery, it's taken
over by the city who claim againthose that had been remained
had remained, had all been moved, and it's impossible to know
exactly who was buried there andconfirm if they actually had
(26:10):
been moved, because all theinternment records from the old
cavalry cemetery had been lost.
Right now that site, the siteof Cathedral High School, so
it's a high school now and achurch called St Peter's Church.
I think they have done I heard,I had heard somewhere but then
(26:31):
I couldn't find the article andsource but like they have done
construction and they have foundbodies there, indicating that
in fact not everybody who couldhave or should have been moved
over was.
It's likely.
There probably are still bodiesburied under the school's
football field and parking lot.
The school was like we're goingto just lean into that and they
are known as the phantoms.
That's their mascot.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
Good for them.
Way to spin it for the positive.
Speaker 1 (26:57):
I'm like I kind of want to go to a haunted high
school, but I kind of don't.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
Yeah, I don't know if I'm ready for ghost hunting.
Are there stories from thathigh school that it's haunted at
all?
Speaker 1 (27:10):
I took a ghost tour of that area.
It was when the podcast wasjust like a inkling of a thought
in my mind and I believe thatwe stopped.
We stopped by and there werestories, but I don't remember
and I was looking for my noteson it and I didn't see them.
Speaker 2 (27:25):
so I know there are I just don't.
Speaker 1 (27:28):
And then, crawling around the web, I don't really
trust you know right, there canbe.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
Yeah, anybody can write anything, exactly, exactly
exactly, but they do.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
They do have some of the stones from the old cemetery
have been preserved.
I saw pictures that they'vekept like they're on display in
different locations.
All right, so now we're goingto move over to Boyle Heights,
which is a historic neighborhoodin East Los Angeles.
Construction workers werebreaking ground for the Metro
Gold Lines East Side Extensionback in 2005 near the Evergreen
(28:03):
Cemetery, and they found humanremains while digging up the Los
Angeles County Crematorydriveway.
What would ultimately happen isthat the excavation would
reveal 174 burial sites, alongwith an array of personal
artifacts, like everything frombuttons, jewelry, coins, even
(28:25):
opium pipes.
Some dated all the way back tothe 1880s.
Some of these grave sites theywere located on what was
ultimately they were able tofigure out it was a potter's
field for paupers.
So it's estimated that between1877 and 1924, approximately
(28:45):
13,000 people were buried there.
So it was like people who werepoor could not be identified.
And this is horrible.
Many of the bodies recoveredwere Chinese immigrants who were
denied burial at the EvergreenCemetery.
Oh, that's sad.
So Chinese laborers that playedcrucial roles in that time
(29:07):
period, building a lot of like.
America's railroads, basicinfrastructure, including the
very transit lines that nowcrisscross Los Angeles.
It just shows that segregationexists even in death, and it's
hard to identify, unfortunately,exactly who's been assumed,
because it's from so long agoand a lot of immigrants they
(29:28):
used fake names and I didn'tknow that they had no children
because federal policies did notallow Chinese women to
immigrate to the US.
What they didn't want them tohave kids.
It's like you're good enough tocome work here but not have a
family.
Dang, I know that is messed up,I know so.
I know the history with withpeople who have come over from
(29:48):
China is so messed up.
I had no idea it was.
It was like that that bad?
Speaker 2 (29:53):
I didn't know that piece of it, I know.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
I know, wow, and the Chinese were the only ethnic
group denied burial at Evergreen.
Oh my, gosh I know.
And then, to add insult toinjury, they would get charged
if they were buried in thepotter's field.
But everyone else that wasburied in Evergreen got it for
free.
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
I know they already don't have money.
Like, what are you doing?
Speaker 1 (30:17):
I know it's like the good old days, guys.
The good old days were not good, no, no.
So that's just really tragic.
There's a historical societytoo that got really involved and
they've preserved stuff andthey have I can't remember if
there's like a memorial or it'sa plaque at least we're able to
do some.
I mean, it never could beenough justice.
(30:38):
but for those who were, who wereburied there and found.
So that leaves us to our lastbut not least location, which is
like kind of on topic but kindof not.
I felt like I'm like I can'tnot talk about this because it's
so Los Angeles.
It's the Hollywood ForeverCemetery, which I feel like I
just have to mention.
(30:58):
Are you familiar with theHollywood Forever Cemetery?
Speaker 2 (31:04):
No.
Speaker 1 (31:05):
Okay, so it was built in 1899, and it's the final
resting place of many famouscelebrities, like all types too,
not just movie stars like JudyGarland, but also Griffith Jay
Griffith.
Oh yeah, the gigantic or goodfriend, yes, and by friend we
mean complete asshole who shothis wife in the face and still
(31:27):
got a parking after him.
He's buried there.
So is bugsy siegel who he was agangster, and one of the early
developers of las vegas and italmost went bankrupt in the late
90s, but then it was saved frombankruptcy and rebranded, and,
and the rebranding is likebringing back the entertainment
(31:48):
and parks piece.
So there's all kinds ofcommunity events like music,
summer movies, of all places tovisit in LA.
I've lived here for a decade.
You'd think I would havevisited that a long time ago.
I actually have not.
I've not been there yet, butI'm going to try to go by at
least to take some pictures.
Speaker 2 (32:07):
That'd be an interesting one.
Speaker 1 (32:09):
I know I.
Speaker 2 (32:10):
I.
Speaker 1 (32:11):
I've been asked I think my husband has asked a
couple of times about movies inthe park, which would be cool,
especially depending on what itis.
But every year they do have thelast Saturday before November
2nd, they have a hugecelebration of Dia de los
Muertos, the Day of the Dead.
It sounds really really, reallycool.
(32:34):
So maybe this year that's cool,yeah, yeah.
Now it's also located right nextto Parent Mount Pictures and
that's why I was like I think Ican kind of squeeze it into this
episode.
It's on theme Back in 1920, thecemetery sold large tracts to
Paramount and RKO Pictures,which no longer exists.
Speaker 2 (32:54):
It makes me think of who Framed Roger Rabbit.
Oh, my gosh, I told you,because RKO's in who Framed
Roger Rabbit?
Go ahead, sorry.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
Totally forgot about that movie.
I did not see evidence per sethat Paramount Pictures studio
was built directly on spotswhere bodies were buried but not
moved.
So there are lots of reallycool stories and by cool scary,
but some of them are cool.
Some of them are just reallyscary of hauntings at Paramount
(33:25):
and at Hollywood forever.
I'm not going to tell you thosehere, though, because I think
for the month of October I'mgoing to compile shorts on all
of these different scary storiesI've been coming across, but
they just don't fit into anepisode or they're too long,
yeah.
So more on that later.
That's my little bit, at least,on Hollywood Forever.
(33:45):
For now, With that April, doyou want to give us a preview of
our episode in two weeks and wereally mean two weeks this time
, not three.
I shouldn't say that and I'lljinx myself.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
Don't do that, so we're going to be talking about
the Queen Mary.
It resides in Long Beach,there's a lot of history behind
it, which is really cool, andthen a lot of ghost stories.
Speaker 1 (34:14):
So we're excited, yay , okay.
So we're going to stay on thetheme You're not going to.
There's no way you're not goingto make it to LA in the next
two weeks to visit the QueenMary.
Speaker 2 (34:26):
No, I really want to.
Now, after I've researched it,I really want to.
Speaker 1 (34:31):
I know I have questions.
I'm not going to ask them, I'lljust save them.
I remember hearing about thisas a kid and being so enchanted
by it, but I don't remember anyof the details, so I'm sure you
probably found like all that andmore.
So join us in two weeks.
Thanks everyone for listening,and if you've stuck through to
(34:51):
the end, that probably means youliked what you heard.
So go ahead, click that.
Smash that rate.
Subscribe button wherever you'relistening, come follow us on
Instagram Facebook threads underdark city pod If you want to
see pictures from this week'sepisode.
I have a few I'm going to postsoon, and I'll also share some
information over those mediumsabout the Disneyland of
graveyards that I did not talkabout today.
(35:13):
Until then, stay away from thedark side, because if you don't,
you might be buried next toyour ex lover and ex husband,
who you might have killed oryour lover might have killed.
Speaker 2 (35:30):
Bye, bye, thank you.
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