Category Archives: Uncategorized

Not that many years ago, the South Bay and Harbor Area boasted an impressive array of bookstores, with both chain and independent outlets selling new books. Some of the same factors that led to the disappearance of record stores in the early 2000s also were the undoing of many book retail outlets. First came theContinue reading “How bookstores became an endangered species in the South Bay and Harbor Area”

For decades, surfers have caught waves at Haggerty’s, a popular break at Malaga Cove in Palos Verdes Estates. Many approach the spot by walking down the bluff just below the Neighborhood Church parking lot. So who was this Haggerty, and what was his relationship to the picturesque church above the beach? “Haggerty” actually was J.J.Continue reading “Haggerty’s is a popular South Bay surfing spot. But who was Haggerty?”

A salvage operation by Northrop employees to restore a World War II plane eventually led to the establishment of the Western Museum of Flight, currently housed at the Torrance Municipal Airport. The effort began in 1979. The aircraft was a Northrop-built N-3PB pilot bomber, one of 24 used by the Norwegian Air Force, that hadContinue reading “Western Museum of Flight in Torrance grew out of an aircraft restoration project”

The roots of what we know familiarly as LMU — Loyola Marymount University in Westchester — reach back to 1865 and the establishment of the first institution of higher learning in Los Angeles. That’s when Thaddeus Amat, L.A.’s first Catholic bishop, encouraged the Vincentian Fathers to establish St. Vincent’s College, named for St. Vincent deContinue reading “LMU’s roots run deep in the history of education in Los Angeles”

Bowling alleys underwent a major technological change in the 1950s. Before that, now-gone venues such as the 1930s-era Monticello Bowling Alleys in Torrance and the Rose Bowl Bowling Lanes in El Segundo relied on human pinsetters to replace the pins after each ball was rolled down the lanes. It was dirty, low-paying, menial work, andContinue reading “New-look Torrance Bowlero opened as Bowl-O-Drome in 1957”

Quonset huts, a common sight in old war movies, may sound foreign and vaguely exotic, but the name actually derives from the Quonset Point Naval Air Station in Rhode Island, where the U.S. Navy first engineered and manufactured them in 1941. The Navy wanted to produce temporary buildings that were strong, lightweight and could beContinue reading “Quonset huts once a familiar sight in South Bay and Harbor Area”

The roots of the American space program can be traced back to 1944, when Congress appropriated money for a program to develop experimental jet aircraft that could fly at high speeds and altitudes. A series of early experimental jets including the Bell X-1 and the Douglas D-558-1 made flights during the late 1940s. These included theContinue reading “The South Bay aerospace industry launched the fastest airplane ever built”

At the time of its incorporation on Dec. 7, 1912, the city of Manhattan Beach had about 600 residents. An incorporation election had been held on Nov. 25, with 92 voting in favor of cityhood, and 32 against. At that same election, a five-member Board of Trustees (later renamed the city council) was chosen, alongContinue reading “Manhattan Beach is on its fourth city hall”

Sandwiched between Cabrillo Beach and the Cabrillo Marina in San Pedro lies a choice piece of beachfront property whose future has often been the subject of speculation. After the end of World War II, the Los Angeles Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America organization signed a lease in 1946 for the 12.3 acresContinue reading “Boy Scouts beach camp near Cabrillo Beach has been a fixture since 1946”

On a quiet, well-kept stretch of Opp Street in Wilmington sits a true marvel: Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church, home of the second-oldest Catholic parish in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Only the parish of La Iglesia de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles (The Church of Our Lady Queen of the Angels),Continue reading “Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church in Wilmington traces roots back to 1865”