The following was written by Beatriz Perez as part of La Vida Diferente, a volume of Boyle Heights’ cultural treasures, collected and profiled by Roosevelt High’s Class of 2015, in collaboration with The California Endowment, the Alliance for California Traditional Arts, and 826LA.

First Patients
Linda Vista Hospital was originally called Santa Fe Railroad Hospital and Santa Fe Coast Lines Hospital, named after the train station that used to lie across the street. Now it is just an abandoned building sitting across from Hollenbeck Park. You can’t miss it. It’s a big, worn down white building.

It was built in the late 1800s, and the hospital opened in 1904. When the hospital first opened it was built for railroad employees and it was also one of four railroad employee hospitals run by the railroad. Employees that worked for the railroad that was across the street from the hospital would go there whenever they were injured or needed medical help. Years later, the railroad sold the hospital because the company needed the money.

For the Community
After the building was purchased, it got burned down but was rebuilt. The hospital was remodeled in the late 1920s and it kept expanding during the 1920s-1960s. The hospital was opened from 1930-1991. In 1937 the hospital was renamed the Linda Vista Community Hospital. The Linda Vista Hospital was important for the community because during that time there would be many shootings and stabbings between the gang rivalries in Boyle Heights. According to a California Health Law News Report, when Linda Vista tried to reduce operational expenses, the hospital was blamed for an increase in facility death rates. By 1991, the hospital was in debt and had to close down. It’s a shame that the community hospital had to close down, because Boyle Heights needs hospitals that are locally accessible.

Paranormal Activity
Linda Vista is nothing but an old, abandoned building that has many cracked windows, and squatting has been taken. Graffiti and what also has what is believed to be “spells” are written all over the walls. Because of the death rates, rumors, and the abandonment of the hospital, it has become the center of several paranormal investigations. There have been rumors being said by the residence of Boyle Heights of the hospital about it being haunted. Some curious teenagers like going there on a regular night or on Halloween and try to experience on their own to see if the rumors about the hospital are true or not. One of the most notable investigations was initiated by Ghost Adventures, which is a TV show on Syfy. The crew stayed a full night in the hospital and did an investigation. Since then it has been used primarily as a filming Hollywood location.

Senior Apartments
In 2011, Linda Vista Hospital was purchased by AMCAL Multi-housing Inc. It will be renovated into the “Linda Vista Senior Apartments.” It will be reopened for senior citizens in the spring of 2014, when twenty-three units will open. The main units will be opened in 2015. There will be 120 apartments total. The senior apartments are going to be affordable for the elderly. This is important because many elders cannot work and afford most rent prices in Los Angeles. The senior apartments are going to have the same amount of rooms that the Linda Vista Hospital had before they closed down. This is important for the Boyle Heights Community because it will help the elderly live in a better home that will not be as expensive as the other options. The elderly will be getting more help and attention that is good for them because their families are not able to provide that at home.

’Til my Hands Fall
How long will Gonzalez continue painting murals? “’Til my hands fall,” answers Gonzalez cheerfully. Even though painting a mural takes a lot of work such as measuring the wall, knowing the amount of paint, and calibrating it, he enjoys what he does now. Gonzalez will now and then make a call out to whoever wants to help and let people show their skills in art. “I want to keep this as a social art,” Gonzalez points out. “You don’t have to be Picasso to help paint.”

To this day, Gonzalez has made over 100 murals and one of his successes was painting fifty murals in a year. “I just want to keep painting, just stick with painting, you know,” answers Gonzalez. He is very proud at the stage he is now. What’s the best part doing murals? “Cops never know if it’s illegal or not. Ha!” says Gonzalez jokily.

Raul Gonzalez has created a positive zone in Boyle Heights with his murals. Art has always been his passion and his talent. With his murals and the message he sends to the community, violence and tagging have been disappearing in Boyle Heights. Gonzalez believes that having murals in our community is part of our culture. For the past years, he has done and saved murals throughout the community. Gonzalez is continuing to paint and is happy in what he does.