Francisco Solano Purchases
86 Acres Of Land, 13 September 1866
Portion of "Map of the City of Los Angeles" by Stevenson, 1876
Francisco Solano made three, separate land purchases from the City of Los Angeles on 13 September 1866. Two of the purchases were so-called
Donation Lots: Lot 7 in Block 46 and Lot 2 in Block 45, shown as the two square blocks in blue in the map, above.
[Stevenson, H. J., compiler. "Map of the City of Los Angeles". Washington, D.C.: United States. Surveyor General. ca. 1876.] Note the names of the ravines in the hills above Francisco's property: beginning at the Los Angeles River (located at the extreme upper-right-hand corner of the map and moving west), Reservoir Ravine
is followed by Solano Ravine, then Cemetery Ravine, then Sulphur Ravine, and, finally Chavez Ravine (not shown on the map). Dodger Stadium was build almost on the "3" in M. Keller's lot in Block 45, in the middle of Cemetery Ravine. Dodger Stadium therefore, was not build in, or on, Chavez Ravine.
Francisco's third purchase that day in 1866 was the narrow lot, also in blue on the map, above, labeled Solano 16A (16 acres). All three lots were later developed to one degree or another; but It is the 16-acre lot that became Solano Tract—later Solano Tract No. 1—in 1888.
The following map shows the survey made by George Hansen (of whom, more later). The 16-acre tract is the narrow, center portion of the larger, 36.65-acre tract that is outlined in red.
Portion of "Boundary Lines of Solano's Tract" by George Hansen, 1866 (edited)
Part of the legend on this map reads:
Francisco Solano has the tract of 35.65 acres surveyed Aug. 21. 1866 and petitioned The City Government to sell the same, but the Com. Council resolved to sell only 16 acres.
The City of Los Angeles to Francisco Solano. Sept 13. 1866. Recorded 18 October 1866 in Book of Deeds No 8 page 207
Note the proximity of the reservoir and the location of the Roman Catholic Cemetery to the southwest of the property. The street on the map was probably a trail when the map was made; it later became Buena Vista Road—now North Broadway. The road leading southwest to downtown Los Angeles from the cemetery was Eternity Street (Calle Eternidad). Cathedral High School was built on the approximate location of the cemetery. The line that meanders through the middle of the tract is the low point in elevation—bottom of the swale—below Solano Ravine.
This page was updated 06 Jun 2009