Author Archives: Sam Gnerre

One of the worst storms in Redondo Beach history pounded the city’s north coast during the period from December 31, 1952 through January 13, 1953.   At least 18 structures were destroyed, most of them houses and apartment buildings along The Strand. A section of Hermosa Avenue about 75 feet long was taken out by theContinue reading “The storms of 1952-53”

“Torrance is fast becoming a city of sumps.”– Frank Bartley, Hollywood Riviera Homeowners Group, from an April 23, 1957 Daily Breeze story. Many cities have sumps, open-air water retention basins, but Torrance has more within its city limits than most, 15 by the city’s count. During Torrance’s development heyday — the 1950s — subdivisions wereContinue reading “Torrance, City of Sumps”

The Palos Verdes Golf Club opened for business on November 15, 1924. Together with the La Venta Inn, which opened the year before, it was part of a strategy on the part of the Palos Verdes Project developers to attract new residents to Palos Verdes through the construction of well-designed recreational facilities.   The 6,018-yard-long courseContinue reading “Palos Verdes Golf Club”

An aerial view of the Lomita Flight Strip after its completion on March 31, 1943. In 1941, the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads purchased 480 acres of the Weston Ranch property in what was then Lomita for $380,000 and began developing it as an airstrip as part of a government program to encourage civil air transportation projects,Continue reading “Lomita Flight Strip”

Singles-only apartment living was a novel concept when the real estate development firm R&B Enterprises first introduced it to Torrance in 1965 with its South Bay Club apartment building, a 248-unit building located at 20900 Anza Avenue. The company’s trio of Howard Ruby, Ed Broida and Ken Franks enivisioned a facility that would cater toContinue reading “South Bay Club”

This past Sunday, the Los Angeles Conservancy led a tour of historic 1960s architecture called “It’s a Mod, Mod, Mod, Mod City.” (Read Daily Breeze reporter Gene Maddaus’ story about the tour here.) One of the tour’s centerpieces: the LAX Theme Building.   Its futuristic look and space-age design helped give LAX a modern identity at theContinue reading “LAX Theme Building”

When The Daily Breeze was founded by Redondo Beach pharmacist S.D. “Doc” Barkley, left, in 1894, prohibition was the hot-button issue of the day. In addition to fomenting boosterism in Redondo, Barkley aslo used the paper to promote the pro-alcohol cause. He jumped right into the battle, aligning himself with the saloonkeepers in town who were leadingContinue reading “Wets vs. Drys”

Which came first, the towers or the park? KNX’s radio towers came first, decades before Columbia Park in Torrance was built. In September 1938, 17 years after Los Angeles radio station KNX-AM took out its first broadcast license, the station began transmitting from its new 500-foot tower built on a 12-acre plot of land near theContinue reading “KNX radio towers”

Longtime San Pedro resident Vincent Thomas, left, first was elected to the California Assembly in 1940. He would end up serving for 19 terms in the Assembly, a total of 38 years, before losing to Gerald Felando in the November 1978 election. He died on January 31, 1980.   One of the many projects he fought forContinue reading “The Vincent Thomas Bridge”

Eleven people died and 23 were injured when the tanker S.S. Markay exploded at 2:05 a.m. on the morning of Sunday, June 22, 1947 at Berth 167, Shell Oil Company at Mormon Island in Wilmington. It was one of the deadliest explosions in the history of the Port of Los Angeles, yet actually it couldContinue reading “The Markay tanker disaster”