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| MARAVILLA HANDBALL COURT AND EL CENTRO GROCERY |
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In partnership with the Maravilla Historical Society and the Los Angeles County Historical Landmarks and Records Commission, the Conservancy has nominated the Maravilla Handball Court and El Centro Grocery Store for listing in the California Register of Historical Resources. The nomination has the formal support of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. The State Historical Resources Commission will review the nomination in spring or summer 2012. A small electrical fire in mid-December caused some minor damage to the El Centro Grocery Store, though it does not affect the structure's integrity or nomination. As the oldest remaining handball court in East Los Angeles, the 1928 site has a rich, layered history and continues to serve as an important community space for youth and families. Thank you to all the MHS volunteers and to Shannon Davis of ASM Affiliates, who donated extensive pro bono work for the nomination and the site’s Historic Structures Report. This great two-minute version of the Maravilla Handball Court video played on Metro buses' Transit TV over Thanksgiving weekend. Thanks to everyone who made this happen!
Maravilla Handball Court: A Place that Matters from Out the Window on Vimeo This unique sitereflects the rich layers of history common in Los Angeles. The handball court was built brick-by-brick by East L.A. residents in 1928, and the El Centro Grocery Store was added in 1946.
“It is my passion to save the legacy of my people, my community, and our Chicano culture,” says MHS President Amanda Perez, who grew up in the Maravilla neighborhood and has garnered broad support on this preservation issue. “We want this place to be a beacon for all to come and step into the past, present, and future.” In December 2009, the MHS organized the court’s first-ever co-ed youth handball tournament. Attended by over twenty-five local boys and girls, the event helped introduce the sport and the historic court to a new generation of players. Veteran players attended to mentor participants, including young girls eager to learn the sport.
The effort to preserve the Maravilla Handball Court is part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s This Place Matters campaign, spearheaded locally by the Conservancy, which identifies important historic sites that merit national attention. The National Trust for Historic Preservation profiled the Maravilla Handball Court on its website during Latino Heritage Month in September 2009.
From 1928 to 2007, the court was home to the men’s-only Maravilla Handball Club. In the early 1940s, Michi and Tommy Nishiyama purchased the land following Michi’s internment at a Japanese relocation camp. The family opened a local El Centro grocery store next to the court; the store and court together became an important historic and cultural landmark to East Los Angeles residents. Maravilla was also the only court in East Los Angeles where players still played bola basca, also known as Basque pelota. This court sport, played with one’s hand or a racket, is commonly seen in Basque communities throughout Oregon and Idaho.
In 2006, Michi passed away; Tommy followed a year later, and the court and store were closed. The site was boarded up for a year, until Amanda Perez and the Maravilla Historical Society began efforts in 2008 to restore the court and store for community residents to appreciate, use, and learn about an important part of their neighborhood’s history. Residents and handball veterans who remembered the legacy of the court took up the cause to save the building. For more information or to donate to the capital campaign, visit the Maravilla Historical Society website. In the News |
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Wilshire May Company Photo courtesy of Julius Shulman |
