Bowling alleys have become a dying breed in Torrance. The city, which had three bowling alleys still in operation at the beginning of 2020, will be down to one by 2023. Longtime owner Mickey Cogan, son of one of its original owners, announced earlier this year that Gable House Bowl, opened in 1960, would closeContinue reading “Torrance’s Gable House Bowl slated to become luxury condo development”
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Catalina Island’s World War II transformation included classified OSS operations
The Wrigley family had built Catalina Island into a major tourist destination before World War II. But the war’s outbreak changed everything, radically altering life on Catalina. After the Dec. 7 attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. government closed the island to the public on Dec. 23, 1941. Its strategic importance once war had beenContinue reading “Catalina Island’s World War II transformation included classified OSS operations”
A “happy bear” has kept watch over Torrance auto repair shop for decades
I don’t mean to alarm anyone, but there’s a giant bear on Carson St. on the eastern edge of Torrance. The large animal stands watch from atop a 35-foot-high sign in front of Torrance Auto Repair at 1750 W. Carson. That’s not the original name of the business, as it turns out. But, before weContinue reading “A “happy bear” has kept watch over Torrance auto repair shop for decades”
Navigating Harbor City’s Five Points intersection has always been challenging
Head south down Vermont Ave. past Kenneth Malloy Harbor Regional Park, and you’ll soon reach a crossroads that gives you options. Lots of options. Make a hard right onto Anaheim St. and you’ll continue through Harbor City headed for Lomita and Torrance. Bear right more gently and Palos Verdes Drive North will take you upContinue reading “Navigating Harbor City’s Five Points intersection has always been challenging”
Montrose Chemical’s DDT production has had a long-lasting environmental impact
Recent revelations in the Daily Breeze about the way DDT was dumped directly into the San Pedro Bay have caused some to wonder at how such a thing could be allowed to happen, knowing what we now know about the long-banned pesticide. Looking at its history might help to explain. A German chemistry student, OthmarContinue reading “Montrose Chemical’s DDT production has had a long-lasting environmental impact”
The Kim family has employed various strategies to keep the Gardena Cinema operational
The Gardena Cinema stands as the last free-standing, single-screen movie theater in the South Bay. Much of the credit for that goes to the Kim family, who have operated it since 1976. Three decades before the Kims arrived, Harry Milstein and Albert Mellinkoff decided to build a fourth theater in their local chain. The pairContinue reading “The Kim family has employed various strategies to keep the Gardena Cinema operational”
Torrance’s J.C. Penney store traces its roots back to 1929
Though its history in Torrance contains a 16-year gap, J.C. Penney’s has been operating its retail business in the city for more than 90 years. The chain itself was founded by James Cash Penney in 1902 when he opened his own branch of the Colorado-based Golden Rule dry goods store in Kemmerer, Wyoming. He tookContinue reading “Torrance’s J.C. Penney store traces its roots back to 1929”
Vaccines stopped the 1950s polio epidemic dead in its tracks
The first polio epidemic in the U.S. struck Rutland, Vermont, in June 1894. 132 cases were reported during that summer, with 18 fatalities, mostly children. Poliomyelitis had been around dating back to ancient times, but very little was known about the disease, even after the increasingly serious spate of outbreaks that hit the U.S. inContinue reading “Vaccines stopped the 1950s polio epidemic dead in its tracks”
The 1956 dedication of the Torrance Civic Center turned into a citywide party
Why did the city of Torrance feel the need to open a huge new civic center complex only twenty years after moving into their then-new building on Cravens Ave. downtown? One big part of the answer: population. In 1947, the city had 13,160 residents. In 1957, that number had grown to 94,302. During one 1954-56Continue reading “The 1956 dedication of the Torrance Civic Center turned into a citywide party”
The Dominator became a Palos Verdes Peninsula landmark after running aground
A few rusted pieces of a ship’s hull strewn on the shore at the foot of Rocky Point in Palos Verdes Estates scarcely tell the tale of the SS Dominator, the repurposed Liberty ship that ran aground just offshore more than 60 years ago. For decades, the aft section of the 10,000-ton, 441-foot-long vessel lieContinue reading “The Dominator became a Palos Verdes Peninsula landmark after running aground”
