Author Archives: Sam Gnerre

This 1895 photo shows the former Pacific Salt Works buildings after the plant had been bought and shut down by Liverpool Salt Works. The salt lake is partially visible at left.   The first local industry in Redondo Beach began with the sale by Manuel Dominguez of  215 acres of the Rancho San Pedro toContinue reading “Redondo Beach’s salt lake”

Isabel Henderson established the first public library in Torrance in 1913 in the parlor of her house at 1804 Gramercy Avenue. Torrance’s first librarian, Isabel Henderson. (Photo courtesy Torrance Public Library.) The collection consisted of 300 books donated by her cousin, Jared Sydney Torrance, the city’s founder.     The first receipt for books purchasedContinue reading “Torrance Public Library”

The year 2010 marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Torrance. The hospital’s unusual name comes from the Sisters of the Little Company of Mary, the congregation of nuns founded by Mary Potter in Nottingham, England in 1877. The “little company” refers to “the faithful followersContinue reading “Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center”

The first high school to be built in Wilmington was Wilmington High School, which was completed in 1912. The striking red brick structure was located on Anaheim Street facing Avalon Boulevard.   Wilmington High School opened in 1912. It had to be demolished after it was damaged during the 1933 Long Beach earthquake.   A groupContinue reading “Banning High School”

The Hawthorne Club, shown here in an undated photograph from the 1940s, was a nightclub, a bowling alley, a boxing arena and a venue for community events in Hawthorne.   The Hawthorne Club was a focal point of night life in the city for several decades. Located on the west side of Hawthorne Boulevard atContinue reading “The Hawthorne Club”

Members of the Sweetser family lived in the distinctive house at 417 Beryl Street in Redondo Beach for more than 60 years.   The Sweetser House stands out like a miniature oasis of serenity in the middle of one of the Redondo Beach’s busiest areas, on the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Beryl Street.Continue reading “Sweetser House”

The Plush Horse Inn and Restaurant in the early 1970s.   The Plush Horse Inn opened at 1700 Pacific Coast Highway in Redondo Beach on August 3, 1960, with help from a throughbred horse from Del Mar named Plush Horse. According a Daily Breeze story, he helped to untie the ribbon to open the motor hotel forContinue reading “The Plush Horse Inn”

What institution has had four different names, and held classes in a banking office and an apartment building before finding a permanent home? Answer: California State University, Dominguez Hills.   It was chartered on April 19, 1960 as South Bay State College as part of the founding of the California State College system. Its early years were spentContinue reading “The early days of California State University, Dominguez Hills”

The Pacific Electric Railway depot in Torrance is shown in this photo taken between 1912 and 1916. The cigar stand can be seen at left of the depot. (Source: Historic Torrance: A Pictorial History of Torrance, California.) When noted architect Irving Gill designed the Pacific Electric Railway depot in Torrance almost 100 years ago, heContinue reading “The Depot in Torrance”

South Bay County. Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? Well, 35 years ago, its formation was seriously considered. The South Bay County Committee was formed in August 1975 to explore the creation of a separate county. It arose out of a taxpayer rights group called HURT — Homeowners Under Rapacious Taxation — formedContinue reading “South Bay County”