Author Archives: Sam Gnerre

The original tract of land for Torrance consisted of about one square mile when the city was founded in 1912 by Jared Sidney Torrance. Torrance wasn’t incorporated until May 21, 1921. At the time of incorporation, the city’s area had increased to 3.82 square miles in the area now known as Old Torrance. The 1920sContinue reading “Torrance annexations”

Torrance retailer Sam Levy inside his downtown department store in an undated file photo.   Sam Levy was active in city affairs for decades, built many downtown Torrance buildings including the fire station and played a central role in the establishment of two hospitals in the city. Torrance named an elementary school and a park afterContinue reading “Who was Sam Levy?”

The Northrop YB-49 Flying Wing bomber during a test flight. Photo credit: U.S. Air Force. Shortly after Jack Northrop formed the Northrop Corporation in Hawthorne in 1939, he began the push to make his long-held vision of a flying wing aircraft a reality. In September 1941, his company submitted design plans for the XB-35 FlyingContinue reading “Northrop’s Flying Wing”

Various editions of the Torrance Herald. Daily Breeze file photo.   The first edition of the Torrance Herald appeared on Jan. 1, 1914. (The Daily Breeze began 20 years earlier in 1894, but covered a wider area of the South Bay, including its then-home Redondo Beach.) Its editor was B.M. Knutson, who operated at firstContinue reading “Torrance Press-Herald”

The Federal Theatre Project’s production of “Help Yourself” was staged in Redondo Beach and El Segundo in March 1937. Photo credit: Library of Congress.   Times were tough during the 1930s, even for those in show business. In 1935, Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal program the Works Progress Administration began several arts initiatives as aContinue reading “Federal Theatre Project”

Laura Hillebrand’s “Unbroken” has topped the best-seller lists, and has made a national figure out of Torrance’s favorite son, Olympic track star and World War II hero Louis Zamperini. Two major sites in Torrance already had been named for Zamperini long before Hillebrand’s book arrived. In an elaborate ceremony held on Dec. 7, 1946, theContinue reading “Honoring Louis Zamperini”

Poster announces the Free Harbor Jubilee. Credit: Library of Congress.   The Free Harbor Jubilee officially began on April 26, 1899, when President McKinley pushed a button in Washington, D.C. that signaled a barge 3,000 miles away in San Pedro to dump a load of large boulders into the sea, marking the beginning of theContinue reading “The Free Harbor Jubilee”

Simon Ramo, left, poses with partner Dean Wooldridge in front of the Ramo-Wooldridge Corp.’s first headquarters, a former barbershop in Westchester, in the early 1950s. Daily Breeze file photo. Simon Ramo had an amazing career as a scientist, engineer and creative thinker. His achievements have made him far more than just the “R” in theContinue reading “Simon Ramo and TRW”