DotDotDash: Holiday in "the Flats" Edition

By Ed Fuentes
Published: Thursday, December 06, 2007, at 11:05AM

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — The “Flats” is the isolated Los Angeles neighborhood sitting between the eastside bluffs and the L.A. River. Take a look, via DotDotDash, at some history and hope found in the area culturally linked to Boyle Heights, and geographically related to the Arts District:

SITTING ALONG THE RIVER: While Boyle Heights was becoming the new homeland for immigrants in the early 20th Century, Molokan Russians fled the Bolshevik revolution and some settled in the Flats, providing a new workforce for the local lumberyards. Many built small homes and some are still standing today ..— The Russian rush changed the Flats turn of the century reputation of ‘worst slum” in the country..—Tenements once extended from the bluffs to across the river at Vignes and Aliso, where the Arts District is now located.

'United we stand. And, more importantly, united we sit.': That’s the tagline for The Dock Downtown (1481 East 4th St), the upscale home furnishing retailer that sells made-to-order upholstered and wood furniture. According to store manager Donnette Ortel, some items are up to 80% off retail. ..— HELPING NEIGHBORS During the holiday season, owner Ali Ferber helps impoverished families with a holiday special. When anyone buys a couch, The Dock Downtown donates an upholstered chair to community-based nonprofit L.A. Family Housing, who then passes it along to a family rebuilding their home. L.A. Family Housing's Stephanie Klasky-Gamer says, “When families lose their home, we work hard to help them retain their dignity. It is a symbol of respect for the families during a challenging time.”

..—

NEW COURTYARD: The Dolores Mission Catholic Church recently held a dedication for phase one of a new brick covered plaza that connects the church with the Parish Hall and day-care center...— The church has a long history of helping those in poverty and its program, Comunidad en Movimiento, was awarded the 2007 Sister Margaret Cafferty Development of People Award from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) last February. ..—

Previous Life: Those low-income residents once came from the 1940s Federal Government Housing Projects known as Pico Gardens, Aliso Village and Aliso Extension. It was razed for the current homes, some from the the HOPE VI project..— Many east siders still call the area Pico-Aliso.

..—

FREEWAY SIGHTING: At Kolster and Pecan street, Refugio Lopez lives next to a freeway sound wall. Five years ago he had muralist Raul Gonzales and friends paint an Our Lady of Guadalupe on the wall portion that dead ends the street..— Lopez even got the City to paint the curb red and place a No Parking Anytime sign next to the icon, and now each year he places holiday lights all over the short street. Unknown Link: Lopez shares the story of how his "new" home, built in the early 1900s, was purchased in 1998 from “an older Russian lady” who inherited it from her family.

The past is never far away in the Flats.

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Comments

Juanito Crandello writes:

Previous to the Russians expanding east up into Boyle Heights, the first Molocan community centered along Vignes, north of First Street. The east edge of this area, along the edge of the rail tracks, had been a major red light district, yes, red lights - advertising hospitality to arriving male passengers. This had also been the eastern edge of the longtime French Quarter, the city's heritage from viticulturalist Louis Vignes and and so many of his relatives and friends who had immigrated to California from France in the decades following his arrival in L.A. in 1832. He was the father of the wine industry in western America, long before the emergence of Sonoma/Napa/Mendocino. The Quarter was bounded by First, Los Angeles, Aliso and the river. If you were to discover a trove of gold rush era wine bottles in the Sierra foothills, they all would have labels of fine wineries of the Los Angeles Valley.

# on Dec.06.2007 AT 04:05 PM

Manya writes:

I just want to acknowledge the Molokans history in the area. The Molokans are a highly moral, and hard-working sect. I take offense to the red-light area connection. Most Molokans who settled in the area were only interested in settling more Molokans. Acquiring property......guilty! Being involved in prostitution is so beyond the scope of this religious community. Most Molokans who came to the community in the early years came with family. The community is so tight-knit, even today 2008, that being part of a red-light district is practically slander. Let me also bring up...The Molokans in the Boyle Heights area, many were dual immigrants. Migrated from Russia, to Mexico, to East LA. One of the most predominant talents was farming. From the granparents down to the grandchildren, Early Molokan immigrants worked the agricultural industry here in Los Angeles.

Here is the next startling fact.........my Tzetha(grandfather) was a shrewd business man. He bought up much property........the fact it was "red light" property, maybe. I understand. That property was probably cheaper.

BUT, Molokans do look towards to advancing the community, not tainting it. Cheap real estate......advance. Cheap history......someone else's guilt, not Molokan.

# on Feb.07.2008 AT 12:07 AM

Andy Conovaloff writes:

I find 3 errors/misunderstandings:

Ed wrote: "Molokan Russians fled the Bolshevik revolution and some settled in the Flats, providing a new workforce for the local lumberyards."

Molokans and Jumpers actually left BEFORE the Revolution. Less than 1% came to America in small groups from the southern end of the Empire (now Turkey, Armenia, and Georgia) due to famine, and the Russian-Turkish war in which many Molokans and Jumpers were killed and their villages raided. Most Molokans and Jumpers were not affected by the Revolution or war and some became wealthy with government contracts. The lumberyard was next to the railroad in the Flats and its owner was a Russian-speaking Jew, which helped many Jumper men get quick work. Many women worked in nearby factories.

Manya missed the fact that Juanito actually wrote: "PREVIOUS to the Russians ... The east edge ... had been a major red light district... " Implying that new residents (Jewish, Japanese, Jumper, Molokan) reformed the ghetto. He in no way said Molokans were "... part of a red-light district ..." as Manya misinterpreted.
The transliteration of the Russian word for "grandfather" is "d'eda" not "Tzetha", as shown by Manya.

3 distinct sub-groups of Molokans migrated to the US: Original Molokans, Spiritual Jumpers, and Jumper-Maksimists. They have similar traditions but different holidays and religious ceremonies. Today all congregations in America self-labeled "Molokan" are actually Jumper-Maksimists except two -- San Francisco CA, and Woodburn OR.

Maksimists officially reject original Molokans yet use that label to name their congregation, which confuses many. Jumpers were a minor sub-group in the Caucasus, yet a larger fraction migrated to the US than Molokans because they were more rebellious against the Orthodoxy.

The pure Spiritual Jumpers now only exist in Russia, mainly in Southern Russia and the Caucasus.

Learn much more at "Molokans Around the World" http://www.Molokane.org with 1000s of pages of information.

# on Feb.12.2008 AT 02:23 PM