Phoebe Sykes knew Torrance when it was mostly just an idea in founder Jared Sydney Torrance’s mind. The Torrance she knew then was mostly dusty fields, broken up by occasional encampments of workers on construction projects in the nascent city. Sykes was born Phoebe Hartley in Huddersfield, England, on Oct. 25, 1868. She married jeweler AlbertContinue reading “Pioneer centenarian Phoebe Sykes came to Torrance before it was Torrance”
Tag Archives: local-history
Some still lament the loss of Aviation High School in Redondo Beach
The post-World War II population boom in the South Bay, fueled by returning GIs and the rapid rise of the aerospace industry, posed a major challenge to its school systems in the 1950s. How would they accommodate the increasingly large numbers of students pouring through the doors of their schools? The South Bay Union HighContinue reading “Some still lament the loss of Aviation High School in Redondo Beach”
The burgeoning city of Torrance tries to deal with its growing trash problem in the 1950s
The front-page headline in the Torrance Press screamed it out with one giant word: “RATS.” The newspaper, known for its sensationalism, had been going all in on addressing a variety of concerns expressed by nearby residents over the Torrance City Dump. The dump, located on a large plot of barren land at the southwest cornerContinue reading “The burgeoning city of Torrance tries to deal with its growing trash problem in the 1950s”
