The origin of the present-day outdoor shopping center known as Torrance Towne Center can be traced to 1959.
At the Sept. 8, 1959 Torrance City Council meeting, George L. Graziadio, represented Airport Plaza, Inc., a group of developers with combined assets of $8 million. On its behalf, he presented a proposal calling for the construction of a shopping complex on a triangular 8.4 acres of vacant land on the northwest corner of Crenshaw Blvd. and Pacific Coast Hwy., south of the Torrance Municipal Airport.
The planned Airport Plaza would have 90,000 square feet of building area, and would include a supermarket, department store, drugstore and service station. The group promised that $1 million worth of construction would be undertaken over the next five years, including 270,000 square feet for vehicle parking.
Three months later, the city council, fed up with Graziadio’s perceived backpedaling on financial aspects of the agreement, threatened to tear up the $2,250-a-month lease and find a new firm for the project. “They’re still trying to chisel,” an exasperated Mayor Albert Isen told the Torrance Press.
Relations between Graziadio and the council became even frostier over the next few months. At a June 1960 meeting, his proposal to add a car wash to the plan was nixed by the counci. Its members then proceeded to argue that a “restaurant” proposed by Graziadio was little more than a hamburger stand, according to the Press.
Despite the bickering, the plan eventually moved ahead, with the council in July 1961 okaying plans for a huge 90,000-square-foot department store on the site. Work on it began immediately.
By the time the Big Ben Discount Store was preparing to open that November, the earlier ill will had transformed into civic enthusiasm. Big Ben Stores was a new chain with plans to open a dozen area stores, with Torrance as its first.
Its grand opening at noon on Friday, Nov. 24, 1961, the day after Thanksgiving, quickly turned into something akin to a modern-day Black Friday-style shopping frenzy.
Residents began arriving in the early morning hours. By the time that Mayor Isen presided over the ceremonial ribbon-cutting, police estimated that around 100,000 people had descended on the area, forcing authorities to issue a Sigalert over the ensuing traffic congestion.
After the initial excitement, Big Ben’s stay in Torrance turned out to be short-lived. The struggling company was bought out by another firm, Leonards Department Stores, in September 1962. The new owners, who already had locations in El Segundo and Garden Grove, changed the Torrance store’s name to Leonards.
The remodeled store held its grand opening celebration on Nov. 1, 1962. The ceremonies included guest appearances by the Beach Boys and local children’s television legend Engineer Bill.
The rest of Airport Plaza began to fill in as well, with a new Bank of America branch and the United Artists Theater among the new additions in 1963.
Airport Plaza often was overshadowed over the next few years by its neighbor directly across Crenshaw, the Rolling Hills Plaza Shopping Center, which also opened in 1961.
Leonards Department Store lasted a bit longer than Big Ben, but by April 1975, it had been replaced by a large National Lumber Co. location.
A mid-1980s renovation effort brought in new stores such as Miller’s Outpost, Men’s Clothiers and Big 5 Sporting Goods. But by the late 1990s, the shopping center was looking its age, with its anchor Circuit City store not drawing customers as it once did. (The Circuit City chain filed for bankruptcy in 2008.)
In the early 2000s, Airport Plaza was purchased by La Caze Development, whose owner Norm LaCaze told the Daily Breeze that the center “looks like it needs a bit of help.” LaCaze planned shopping center remodeling as part of his vision to make the Crenshaw-PCH intersection area a major shopping destination.
The announcement in March 2002 that the Wisconsin-based retailer Kohl’s would be opening one of its first California stores there gave the center a major boost. A new building was built to house the two-story department store.
In addition, the whole center was updated and remodeled, and given its new name: Torrance Towne Center.
In recent years, newer stores have joined Kohl’s and Big 5 Sporting Goods there. Among them are a Howard’s Appliance TV & Mattress, a large Goodwill store, Road Runner Sports and a larger location for Smart & Final. Also, a plethora of restaurants have joined longtime eateries Mimi’s Cafe and Gaetano’s, the most recent of which is a new branch of The Habit chain.
Factoring in the addition of retail outlets on the south side of PCH in recent years together with the Torrance Towne Center and Rolling HIlls Plaza, LaCaze’s vision of the area as a retail destination seems to have become a reality.
Sources:
Daily Breeze archives.
Torrance Press Herald archives.
