Author Archives: Sam Gnerre

The first South Bay History blog post I ever wrote way back in 2009 had as its subject the discount chain White Front, which opened a branch in Torrance in 1963. But Zodys discount department store actually came to the South Bay first, opening in Redondo Beach in 1960. Younger readers are forgiven for notContinue reading “Zodys discount department stores set up shop early in Redondo Beach”

The arrival of a full-on tropical storm in Southern California earlier this week marked the first such meteorological occurrence in the area in 84 years, so a look back at that 1939 storm seems fitting. September 1939 was by all accounts a wild weather month in the southern part of the state. It began  withContinue reading “Until 2023, a 1939 deluge was the last tropical storm to hit Southern California”

If you’ve ever driven through Westchester and wondered for whom Wiley Post Ave. was named, this column explaining a few South Bay/Harbor Area road names is for you. It’s fitting that Will Rogers St. becomes Wiley Post Ave. north of Airlane Ave. in Westchester. Just as the community has linked the two streets, so historyContinue reading “Finding out sometimes surprising truths about South Bay/Harbor Area street names”

The Dana Strand housing project in Wilmington originally was among several such developments built by the federal government in the Harbor Area to provide homes for wartime defense industry workers in and around the Port of Los Angeles. Others included the Wilmington Hall complex, Normont Terrace in Harbor City, and Channel Heights and Banning HomesContinue reading “Changing the face of the Dana Strand housing project in Wilmington took decades”

The story of Hot Rod City in Torrance starts with one man: Anthony “Tony” Capanna. Capanna, sometimes misspelled “Capana,” was born to Italian immigrant parents in Utica, New York, on June 14, 1921. They had arrived in the U.S. one year earlier, and moved to Los Angeles three years later, in 1924. Tony Capanna attendedContinue reading “Gearheads flocked to Tony Capanna’s Hot Rod City in Torrance in the 1960s”

The idea of creating a new high school in the harbor town of San Pedro began to circulate in earnest in June 1902. Geography was a driving force. Parents in the growing settlement weren’t happy about having to send their high-school age children out of town to further their education. The idea became a realityContinue reading “San Pedro High School is one of the South Bay/Harbor Area’s oldest”

Perhaps you’ve driven by the mammoth Ganahl lumber yard on Del Amo Blvd. in Torrance between Maple Ave. and Crenshaw Blvd. It’s hard to miss. But you might not know that Ganahl Lumber is owned and operated by the oldest lumber company in continuous operation in California. Ganahl can trace its roots back to 1882,Continue reading “California’s oldest lumber company has a big presence in Torrance”

When the Foods Co. supermarket opened its doors on March 24, 1959, it became not only the largest grocery store in Torrance at the time, but also the first business to open on a large plot of land on the northeast corner of Crenshaw Blvd. and Pacific Coast Hwy. It wouldn’t be the last. AtContinue reading “Rolling Hills Plaza shopping center has changed with the times many times since 1961”

The July 2023 landslide that destroyed 12 homes and endangered at least 10 more on Peartree Lane in Rolling Hills Estates is a tragic but not unprecedented occurrence on the Palos Verdes Peninsula and nearby hillside areas. The Peninsula once was an island surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. Its hills were formed by a seismicContinue reading “Shifting soil and landslides have been part of Palos Verdes Peninsula life for decades”

Frances Mason Young’s lifetime love of plants and gardening led her on a long and incredibly fruitful journey. Born on Feb. 9, 1900, Young’s affinity for both stemmed from her childhood days roaming the woods near the family home in Memphis, Tennessee.  After marrying her husband, Richard, a highway construction engineer, the couple spent theContinue reading “Frances M. Young cultivated the creation of the South Bay’s biggest garden”