Author Archives: Sam Gnerre

It may be hard to believe now, but before 1965, Hawthorne Boulevard did not run through to the Palos Verdes Peninsula. The main thoroughfare ended in the Newton Street/Via Valmonte area just south of Pacific Coast Highway, and began again 1.1 miles south of there at Palos Verdes Drive North. The gap became more ofContinue reading “Connecting Hawthorne Boulevard from Torrance to Palos Verdes”

Benjamin D. Wilson was a key figure in Los Angeles history during the 19th Century. He became the second elected mayor ever of the City of Los Angeles in 1851, and also served one term as a Los Angeles County supervisor and three terms as a California State Senator. His grandson was World War IIContinue reading “Wilson College in Wilmington, the first coed campus in the West”

Most of the residents of Stoutenborough Lane in North Redondo were in bed when the Golden State Fireworks and Display Co. plant exploded at 11:50 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 8, 1940. The company, whose exact address was 2317 Stoutenborough Lane, specialized in staging outdoor fireworks displays for large civic celebrations such as those held onContinue reading “Golden State Fireworks explosion in Redondo Beach”

When the city of Torrance was incorporated on May 21, 1921, it consisted of a decidedly landlocked 3.82-square-mile parcel containing the downtown area, now known as Old Torrance. The neighboring city of Redondo Beach already had laid claim to most of the coastline west of Torrance when it incorporated in 1892, long before Torrance’s 1912Continue reading “How Torrance got its beach”

Hermosa Beach’s “1912 Days” celebration, which took place for the first time in 1952 and the last time in 1965, was a fun concept for a civic event. Everyone dressed in early 20th Century attire, and businesses and restaurants rolled back prices to 1912 levels, attracting lots of out-of-town visitors.

Polliwog Park in Manhattan Beach, one of the most attractive public parks in the South Bay, draws thousands of visitors annually. They enjoy its prime picnicking areas and large playgrounds, the summer concert series held in its amphitheater, and, perhaps most of all, the beauty of Polliwog Pond itself It wasn’t always this way, however.Continue reading “Manhattan Beach’s Polliwog Park”

  Ever driven by Carr Elementary School on 168th Street in North Torrance and wondered after whom it was named? Evelyn Carr was born on March 5, 1915, and moved to Torrance in 1933. She ended up playing a vital role in the establishment of the Torrance Unified School District, but her achievement didn’t involveContinue reading “Evelyn Carr’s role in the founding of the Torrance Unified School District”

Adolph Leuzinger was born in Wattwil, Switzerland in 1859. He came to the U.S. when he was 7 years old when his parents settled in Kansas in 1867. He moved to California in 1882 after working his way west from Kansas doing a series of odd jobs, mostly farm-related. He was industrious, finding work uponContinue reading “Adolph Leuzinger and Leuzinger High School”

Card clubs have been a part of the landscape in Gardena for so long that their origin has become obscure. Just exactly how did they come to land there exclusively for so long, anyway? Future gaming magnate Ernie Primm started the first card club in Gardena in 1936, the Embassy Palace, specifically as a placeContinue reading “How Gardena become home to legalized card clubs”