Torrance

 

industrial and residential city (1990 pop. 133,107), Los Angeles co., SW Calif.; inc. 1921. It has large aircraft and electronics industries. Among its many manufactures are aircraft, electronics, communications equipment, aluminum products, steel, and construction machinery. There is also food processing. Founded in 1911, Torrance was developed as a planned industrial city.

City of Torrance, California
Seal
Location of Torrance in the County of Los Angeles
Coordinates: 33°50′5″N 118°20′29″W / 33.83472, -118.34139
Country	United States
State	California
County	Los Angeles
Government
- Mayor	Frank Scotto
Area
- City	sq mi (km²)
- Land	sq mi ( km²)
- Water	sq mi ( km²)
Elevation	ft ( m)
Population (2000)
- City
- Density	/sq mi (/km²)
Time zone	PST (UTC−8)
- Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC−7)
ZIP codes	90501-90510
Area code(s)	310
FIPS code	06-80000
GNIS feature ID	1652802
Website: http://www.torrnet.com

Torrance is a city located in the southwestern or "South Bay" region of Los Angeles County, California.

As of the 2000 census, the city population was 137,946; in 2005 the population was estimated to be 142,384. Torrance is the sixth largest city in Los Angeles County and the 34th largest in the state of California.[1]

History

Torrance was originally part of the 1784 Rancho San Pedro Spanish land grant, issued to Juan Jose Dominguez, signed by King Carlos III of the Spanish Empire.

In the early 1900s, real estate developer Jared Sidney Torrance and other investors saw the value of creating a mixed industrial-residential community south of Los Angeles. They purchased part of an old Spanish land grant and hired landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. to design a new planned community. [2] The resulting town was founded in October 1912 and named after Torrance; the city of Torrance was formally incorporated in May 1921. [3]

A group known as Save Historic Old Torrance, or SHOT for short, led by Bonnie Mae Barnard, has sought to create a zone in Torrance's downtown area, making it tougher to develop in that area or reconstruct homes in such a manner that it would lose its historic character. Barnard and her husband, along with SHOT, recently tried to have the City Council pass an ordinance renaming the historic area, "The Olmsted District." The measure did not pass, however.

Barnard is also the author of a book on Old Torrance, and is currently an English teacher with the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District at Palos Verdes Intermediate School in Palos Verdes Estates. She and her husband live in the same home that once belonged to Louis Zamperini, who is oftentimes referred to as Torrance's hometown boy. Zamperini attended Torrance High School and later went on to be a track star in the Olympics. During World War II, he was shot down from his plane and spent days adrift in the Pacific Ocean. He survived the war and currently lives in Hollywood, California.

Transportation

Highways and freeways in the region include I-110, I-405, CA-91, CA 107, and CA-1. There is the harbor subdivision railroad which carries Union Pacific and BNSF lines. The city also has Torrance Transit and LACMTA Metro bus services.

Geography

Torrance is located at 33°50′5″N, 118°20′29″W (33.834815, -118.341330)¹. It is roughly bounded by Redondo Beach Blvd (the cities of Lawndale and Gardena) to the north, Western Avenue (Harbor Gateway, a neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles) to the east, the cities of Lomita, Rolling Hills Estates and Palos Verdes Estates to the south, and the Pacific Ocean and the city of Redondo Beach to the west. Residents of an unincorporated area to the east of Harbor Gateway abutting the city of Carson are allowed to use "Torrance" in their addresses by the USPS.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 53.2 km² (20.5 mi²), all land.

Area attractions

Del Amo Fashion Center, at 2.5 million square feet (232,000 m²), is one of the largest malls in the United States. Estimates vary between the second largest (after the Mall of America) and the fourth largest, depending on the measurements used. The current mall was created when Del Amo Center, built in 1958, merged with Del Amo Fashion Square, built in 1970. Once located on opposite sides of Carson Street, a gigantic expansion of the mall spanning Carson Street joined the two centers by 1982, making it the longest mall in the world at the time. Del Amo Fashion Center has been used as a location for several motion pictures, including Jackie Brown and Bad Santa. In 2005, the east end of the original mall north of Carson Street was demolished to make way for a new open-air shopping center, opened in mid-September, 2006. The new center features upscale clothiers Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters as well as the restaurant PF Chang's. The housewares retail giant Crate & Barrel opened in Spring 2007.

One of the country's few urban wetlands can be found in Torrance. Madrona Marsh is a nature preserve on undeveloped land once set aside for oil production.

Torrance Beach lies between Redondo Beach and Malaga Cove. The region shared by Torrance and Redondo Beaches are often called "Rat Beach" (short for "Right After Torrance" Beach or "Redondo and Torrance Beach"). ^{[citation needed]}

Torrance is well-known for its annual Armed Forces Parade on Armed Forces Day in mid-May every year down Torrance Boulevard. The parade features many military vehicles from the different branches of the Armed Forces. After the parade, the military vehicles are put on display at the parking lot of the Del Amo Fashion Center through the following day. ^{[citation needed]}Torrance High School is not only one of the oldest high schools in California, its facade is familiar to television viewers as the setting for Beverly Hills 90210 and Buffy the Vampire Slayer and to moviegoers for its appearances in She's All That and Not Another Teen Movie.

South High School, near the southern border of Torrance, was used as a location for the 1999 filming of the movie American Beauty.

Alpine Village, although not within the city boundaries but having a Torrance mailing address, is a European-themed restaurant, market and shop complex that hosts a locally popular version of the Oktoberfest celebrations every weekend during September and October for 35 years, featuring a beer brewed on site.

A scene in the movie Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle was filmed at the Foster's Freeze Drive-thru located in downtown Torrance. ^{[citation needed]}

Commerce and industry

As a major oil-producing region, Torrance was once dotted with thousands of oil wells and oil derricks. Though the oil wells are not as common as they once were, the ExxonMobil refinery in the north end of the city is responsible for much of Southern California's gasoline supply. In fact, much of Southern California's gasoline supply is refined within a few miles of Torrance. ARCO produces gasoline in Carson; Texaco has a refinery a bit further east in Wilmington; Unocal is in San Pedro while one of the oldest refineries in the state is the Chevron plant in El Segundo. Torrance was also an important hub and shop site of the Pacific Electric Railway.

Torrance has a busy general aviation airport, originally named simply "Torrance Airport" and since renamed Zamperini Field after local track star, World War II hero and Torrance High graduate Louis Zamperini. The airport handles approximately 175,000 annual take-offs and landings (473 per day [4]), down from the 1974 record of 428,000 operations. Airport noise abatement is a major local issue.

Torrance is home to the U.S. headquarters of two of the three largest Japanese auto makers, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. and American Honda Motor Company. Robinson Helicopters are designed and built in Torrance as are Garrett Systems turbochargers, used on automobile engines worldwide. California's aerospace industry began in Torrance and surrounding communities.

Torrance is also home to the U.S. Headquarters of numerous leading automotive aftermarket companies, including: Tanabe Racing Development, Speed Star Racing Wheels, Alpine Electronics, Koyo radiators, Stoptech brakes, Cosworth, and Edelbrock.

Torrance is also home to the main bakery facility for King's Hawaiian, the dominant brand of Hawaiian bread in North America.

The footwear companies Lakai and Globe also have headquarters in Torrance. Electronics manufacturer Panasonic has a plant manufacturing DVD-RAM and Blu-Ray media in Torrance. The United States division of Japanese videogame company Tecmo is also headquartered in Torrance. TabletKiosk, manufacturer of Tablet PCs, UMPCs and Mobile Computing Accessories is headquartered in Torrance.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

The Torrance Unified School District encompasses five high schools (Torrance High, North High, South High, West High, and Shery High) and their feeder schools. Area districts have created the Southern California Regional Occupational Center (SCROC) to teach technical classes to their students and to local adults. TUSD is a participant feeder district of the California Academy of Mathematics and Science or CAMS, a mathematics and science magnet high school, administered by the Long Beach Unified School District.

Private schools

A Roman Catholic high school (Bishop Montgomery High School), administered by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, is also located within the city.

Colleges and universities

Torrance is home to a two-year community college, El Camino College.

Public libraries

Libraries: The City of Torrance has the main Katy Geissert Civic Center Library and five branches [5].

Health Care

• Two major hospitals are located within the city -- Torrance Memorial Medical Center and Little Company of Mary Hospital. A third hospital, Los Angeles County Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, lies just outside the city limits (in the unincorporated Los Angeles County community of West Carson) but also has a Torrance address.

• Torrance Fire Department staffs four paramedic rescue squads at Fire Station 1 (Headquarters), Fire Station 3, Fire Station 4, and Fire Station 6. Torrance Memorial Medical Center, Little Company of Mary Hospital, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Kaiser Hospital-South Bay, and Memorial Hospital of Gardena are receiving hospitals for residents in Torrance who call 911 for medical assistance. Ambulance transportation is provided through Gerber Ambulance Service.

Parks

Torrance has 24 city parks; the focal point is 44-acre Wilson Park which has extensive picnic and sports facilities, including a modern gymnasium, skatepark, and roller-hockey rink. Wilson Park also hosts a Farmer's Market on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and is the site of the city's annual Fourth of July fireworks display.

Sister cities

In 1973, Torrance established a sister-city relationship with Kashiwa, Chiba (Japan), as part of the Sister Cities International program. Since then, citizens of Torrance have regularly engaged in cultural exchange with Kashiwa through the guidance of the Torrance Sister City Association, which facilitates a Japanese cultural festival, a yearly student exchange program, and contact between officials of the two cities.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 137,946 people, 54,542 households, and 36,270 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,593.1/km² (6,715.7/mi²). There were 55,967 housing units at an average density of 1,052.0/km² (2,724.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 59.16% White, 28.61% Asian, 4.72% from two or more races, 4.57% from other races, 2.19% Black or African American, 0.41% Native American and 0.35% Pacific Islander. 12.79% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Because of the large Japanese commercial and industrial presence in Torrance, the city has one of the highest concentrations of Japanese expatriates and Japanese Americans in the United States. Among Los Angeles citizens, Torrance is known for its large Asian American population.

There were 54,542 households out of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.1% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.5% were non-families. 27.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.10.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.0% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 32.4% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $56,489, and the median income for a family was $67,098. Males had a median income of $51,472 versus $37,114 for females. The per capita income for the city was $28,144. About 4.5% of families and 6.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.0% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.

Notable residents

See also: Category:People from Torrance, California

• John Butler - Leader of the John Butler Trio
• Larry Carlton - Guitarist
• Bobby East - NASCAR driver
• Ben Going - YouTube celebrity
• Rorion Gracie and Royce Gracie - Mixed martial arts practitioners and UFC fighters
• Parnelli Jones and P. J. Jones - Indy car drivers
• Fred Kendall - Former MLB catcher and manager
• Jason Kendall - Chicago Cubs catcher
• Kevin Kim - Professional tennis player
• Michelle Kwan - Figure skater
• Francisco Mendoza - MLS player
• Alyson & Amanda Michalka (Aly & AJ) - Singers & actresses
• Lisa Moretti - WWE's "Ivory"
• Chad Morton and Johnnie Morton - NFL players
• George Nakano - California politician
• Don Newcombe - Former L.A. Dodgers pitcher; only player to win Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player and Cy Young awards
• Chuck Norris - Karate expert. First Dojo opened in Torrance.
• Daryl Sabara & Evan Sabara - Actors (Spy Kids)
• Steve Sarkisian - Offensive Coordiner for USC Football, Quarterback Coach for Oakland Raiders
• Daewon Song - Professional skateboarder
• Joe Stevenson - Mixed martial arts practitioner and UFC fighter
• Quentin Tarantino - Filmmaker
• David Wells - MLB pitcher, currently with the Los Angeles Dodgers
• Louis Zamperini - Track star, author, World War II veteran

External links

• City of Torrance official website
• Torrance information page at City-Data.com

Coordinates: 33.834815° N 118.34133° W

• Torrance Airport Data from airnav.com
• Local organizations and businesses
  • Torrance shopping centers
  • Del Amo Fashion Center
  • Torrance Historical Society
  • Friends of Madrona Marsh Preserve
  • King's Hawaiian official website

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