George Alphy Proctor’s name doesn’t have the same familiar ring as that of Jared Sydney Torrance, wealthy founder of the city of Torrance. But every burgeoning community needs enthusiastic boosters like Proctor to help get it up and running in its early days. Proctor was born in Vale, Iowa, on June 16, 1880, to JohnContinue reading “Torrance’s first mayor helped lead the city through its incorporation process in 1921”
Tag Archives: torrance
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”
Pioneer centenarian Phoebe Sykes came to Torrance before it was Torrance
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”
Huge postwar Kettler Knolls development carpeted Southeast Torrance with homes
The Kettler Ranch acreage in present-day Southeast Torrance was built on a ranch that once belonged to German immigrant Emil Kettler. Born in 1847, the pioneering farmer and landowner and his wife, Amalie, originally had settled on farmland he bought in Wilmington in 1877. Two years later, he sold that land in order to purchaseContinue reading “Huge postwar Kettler Knolls development carpeted Southeast Torrance with homes”
The remarkable story of “Torrance’s own” champion skater Michelle Kwan
Quick, name for me the U.S. Ambassador to Belize from 2022-2025. Answer: Figure skating legend Michelle Kwan. But we’re getting ahead of our story. It begins with Kwan’s birth at Little Company of Mary Hospital in Torrance (now owned by the Providence hospital chain) on July 7, 1980. Her parents, Danny and Estella Kwan, livedContinue reading “The remarkable story of “Torrance’s own” champion skater Michelle Kwan”
The Big Ben department store may be long gone, but Torrance Towne Center still thrives
The origin of the present-day outdoor shopping center known as Torrance Towne Center can be traced to 1959. At the Sept. 8, 1959 Torrance City Council meeting, George L. Graziadio, represented Airport Plaza, Inc., a group of developers with combined assets of $8 million. On its behalf, he presented a proposal calling for the constructionContinue reading “The Big Ben department store may be long gone, but Torrance Towne Center still thrives”
Eye-catching brick buildings near Torrance High School have had multiple uses
Every day, thousands of cars pass by the southwest corner of Carson St. and Plaza Del Amo near where three distinctive brick buildings have stood for many decades. If, like me, you were curious about their origins, read on. The city of Torrance and Los Angeles County owned the land on which they were erected.Continue reading “Eye-catching brick buildings near Torrance High School have had multiple uses”
