Santa Catalina Island passed through many hands after first being claimed for Spain by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo in 1542. Its 76 square miles of land was used mostly for farming and ranching until the late 19th century. When George Shatto purchased it in 1887, he became the first owner to see the value of transformingContinue reading “Catalina Island’s casino has been an iconic presence in Avalon for nearly a century”
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Douglas Aircraft’s plant in El Segundo played a key role in World War II
Aviation pioneer Donald W. Douglas is most often associated with Douglas Aircraft, the firm he created near Clover Field in Santa Monica in 1921. (Clover Field was later renamed Santa Monica Municipal Airport). Born in Brooklyn, New York on April 6, 1892, Douglas was entranced with aviation from its earliest days. He dropped out ofContinue reading “Douglas Aircraft’s plant in El Segundo played a key role in World War II”
Those newfangled ZIP codes helped speed up mail processing and delivery
These days, we’re all accustomed to using the ubiquitous five-digit ZIP code. But it wasn’t always so. In fact, there were no postal codes in use at all up until thousands of U.S. mail workers left their jobs temporarily to join the armed services during World War II. Post office managers had to hire andContinue reading “Those newfangled ZIP codes helped speed up mail processing and delivery”
Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo explored the California coastline in the 1500s
In the decades following the historic voyage of Christopher Columbus to America in 1492, Mexico underwent much exploration and development – not to mention financial exploitation – by conquistadors under the aegis of the Kingdom of Spain. But Spanish and other European explorers knew very little about the lands along the coast north of Mexico.Continue reading “Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo explored the California coastline in the 1500s”
How and when did the South Bay come to be known by that name?
Geography tells us why the chunk of coastal Los Angeles County land south of Ballona Creek became known as the “South Bay.” The area from Playa del Rey down to the Palos Verdes Peninsula forms the lower half of Santa Monica Bay, hence the “South Bay” sobriquet. The South Bay’s boundaries are less well-defined thanContinue reading “How and when did the South Bay come to be known by that name?”
Award-winning 1965 short film ‘Skaterdater’ showed South Bay skateboarders in action
Skateboarding has been around longer than one might think. Tony Hawk helped make the sport famous during the early days of the X Games in the late 1990s, but skateboards already had been around for a long time before that. California surfers during the 1950s nailed roller skate wheels to wooden planks and began ridingContinue reading “Award-winning 1965 short film ‘Skaterdater’ showed South Bay skateboarders in action”
Lloyd Dennee moved from selling tires to selling televisions in the early 1950s
After graduating from Leuzinger High in Lawndale in 1934, David Lloyd George Dennee got a job working at the Continental Baking Co. in Beverly Hills. He soon worked his way up from route driver to district manager. The ambitious Dennee wanted to run his own business, however. He left Continental in 1944 to own andContinue reading “Lloyd Dennee moved from selling tires to selling televisions in the early 1950s”
Longren Aircraft executive Hampden Wentworth’s successful career ended in tragedy
Twenty-nine-year-old self-taught engineer and aviation pioneer Albin Longren made his first successful flight in a plane that he had built himself in Topeka, Kansas, on Sept. 2, 1911. Inspired, Longren started his own company, and the Longren Aircraft Corp. began turning out planes. One of his most interesting creations was aimed at Kansas farmers: aContinue reading “Longren Aircraft executive Hampden Wentworth’s successful career ended in tragedy”
Dee Hardison’s stint as Torrance mayor was only part of her service to the city
Dee Hardison became only the second woman to become mayor of Torrance when she won the office in 1994. She directly followed the city’s first female mayor, Katy Geissert, who served two terms from 1986 to 1994. But Hardison achieved a whole lot more before and after her two productive terms as mayor. She wasContinue reading “Dee Hardison’s stint as Torrance mayor was only part of her service to the city”
The search for solutions to the perilous Los Angeles smog attacks of the 1940s and 1950s
It’s fair to say that the descent of suffocating grey clouds into the Los Angeles basin on the blazing hot day of July 26, 1943, caused unhappy sensations in the ever-growing metropolis beyond the burning eyes and painful breathing. Denizens of the downtown area didn’t know who to blame for the new plague. Was itContinue reading “The search for solutions to the perilous Los Angeles smog attacks of the 1940s and 1950s”
