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Torrance, California

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Torrance is a coastal city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay region of the metropolitan area. A small section of the city, Template:Convert, abuts the Pacific Ocean. Torrance has a moderate year-round climate with average rainfall of Template:Convert per year.<ref name="city">City of Torrance Website: About Torrance (Template:Webarchive) Retrieved April 7, 2009</ref> Torrance was incorporated in 1921, and at the 2020 census had a population of 147,067 residents.<ref name="quick"/> Torrance has a beachfront and 30 parks located around the city.<ref name="city"/> It is also the birthplace of the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO).

History

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File:Manuel Domínguez of California.jpg
Don Manuel Domínguez, a signer of the Californian Constitution and owner of Rancho San Pedro, which included all of modern-day Torrance.

Pre-colonial era

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For thousands of years, the area of Torrance was occupied by the Tongva Native Americans. The land that is now part of the City of Torrance and much of the modern South Bay was part of the extensive marshlands.

Spanish and Mexican eras

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In 1784, the Spanish Crown deeded Rancho San Pedro (including present-day Torrance), a tract of over Template:Convert in the province of Las Californias of New Spain, to soldier Juan José Domínguez.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Robert Cameron Gillingham, 1961, The Rancho San Pedro, Cole Holinquist</ref> It was later divided in 1846, with Governor Pío Pico granting Rancho de los Palos Verdes to José Loreto and Juan Capistrano Sepulveda in the Alta California territory of independent Mexico.<ref>Ogden Hoffman, 1862, Reports of Land Cases Determined in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Numa Hubert, San Francisco.</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Modern Era

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In the early 1900s, real estate developer Jared Sidney Torrance and other investors saw the value of creating a mixed industrial–residential community south of Los Angeles. They purchased part of an old Spanish land grant and hired landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. to design a planned community.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The resulting town was founded in October 1912 and named after Torrance. The city of Torrance was formally incorporated in May 1921, the townsite initially being bounded by Western Avenue on the east, Del Amo Boulevard on the north, Crenshaw Boulevard on the west, and on the south by Plaza del Amo east of where it meets Carson Street, and by Carson Street west of where it meets Plaza del Amo.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The first residential avenue created in Torrance was Gramercy and the second avenue was Andreo. Many of the houses on these avenues reached the centennial mark in 2012. Both avenues are located in the area referred to as Old Torrance. This section of Torrance is under review to be classified as a historical district.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Some of the early civic and residential buildings were designed by the renowned and innovative Southern California architect Irving Gill, in his distinctive combining of Mission Revival and early Modernist architecture.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Historic Olmstead District

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Torrance was planned as a new prototype of a balanced industrial city based on the principles of the Garden City Movement. The original tract developed by the Olmstead Brothers consists of 109 city blocks divided into three sub-districts: residential, commercial, and industrial. The plan is most notable for its axial landscaped downtown commercial neighborhood aligned to have a view of Mount San Antonio in the San Gabriel Mountains. The Olmsted Tract includes a number of buildings designed by the noted Southern California Architect Irving Gill, including the original train depot.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The footprint of the downtown neighborhood, now called Old Torrance, was designed on a diagonal to allow the trade breezes coming from the Pacific Ocean to keep the air clean from industrial pollution for the residential and commercial neighborhoods. The industrial sections of the city were placed on the eastern side of the original tract.

Public transportation played a key role in the founding of Torrance. The Pacific Electric Red Car connected downtown Los Angeles to the new development of downtown Torrance. Designed in 1912 by Irving Gill, the terminus depot of the Red Car line was designed in a Spanish revival style popularized during this era.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In May 1913, the Pacific Electric Railroad Bridge was built. Often called the "El Prado Bridge", it further expanded the industrial heart of the South Bay. The concrete double-tracked arch bridge was the Pacific Electric Railway's first interurban line that connected north–south to San Pedro via the Gardena Line.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The bridge was used for transporting freight and commuting workers to Torrance factories. The Red Car line connected under the bridge as it connected to the train depot located on Cabrillo Avenue. The bridge no longer carries any rail cars, with Pacific Electric closing the Red Car line to Torrance in the 1940s. The bridge became the city of Torrance's second entry in the National Register of Historic Places on July 13, 1989, and is used as a logo for the city's new wayfinding signage and city materials.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

File:Torrance Bridge a.jpg
The Pacific Railroad Bridge, often called the El Prado Bridge, was designed by famed architect Irving Gill. The bridge stands as an icon for the city of Torrance.

Geography

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File:Torrance Beach.jpg
Torrance Beach lies between the Palos Verdes Peninsula and Redondo Beach on the Santa Monica Bay.

Torrance is a coastal community in southwestern Los Angeles County sharing the climate and geographical features common to the Greater Los Angeles area. Its boundaries are: Redondo Beach Boulevard and the cities of Lawndale and Gardena to the north; Western Avenue and the Harbor Gateway neighborhood of Los Angeles to the east; the Palos Verdes Hills with the cities of Lomita, Rolling Hills Estates and Palos Verdes Estates on the south; and the Pacific Ocean and the city of Redondo Beach to the west.

The western portion of Torrance is in ZIP Code 90277, which is a city of Redondo Beach postal address.<ref>Torrance profile, planning.lacounty.gov. Accessed September 5, 2022.</ref> It is about Template:Convert southwest of Downtown Los Angeles.<ref name="FujitaAkikoToyota">Fujita, Akiko. "Toyota built Torrance into the second-largest home of Japanese Americans. Now, it's leaving" (Archive). The World. Public Radio International. May 16, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2015.</ref>

Torrance Beach lies between Redondo Beach and Malaga Cove on Santa Monica Bay.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The southernmost stretch of Torrance Beach, on a cove at the northern end of the Palos Verdes peninsula, is known to locals as Rat Beach (Right After Torrance).

An urban wetland, the Madrona Marsh is a nature preserve on land once set for oil production and saved from development, with restoration projects enhancing the vital habitat for birds, wildlife, and native plants.<ref name="MMcity">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Climate

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Torrance has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csb), bordering with a semi-arid climate (Bsk). The rainy season is November through March, as shown in the adjacent table.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Summers tend to be warm but dry, despite Torrance's proximity to the coast.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Sunset Western Garden Book places most of Torrance in Zone 22, part of a basin area in Greater Los Angeles where cold air can pool—hence the surprisingly chilly record low temperatures for each calendar month at the airport, which has risk of frost over six months. Milder microclimates are found upslope of the airport to the south (Zone 23—thermal belt) and in the western blocks bordering the beach communities and Palos Verdes Estates (Zone 24—marine influence dominant).<ref>https://sunsetplantcollection.com/climate-zones/Sunset Western Garden Book Climate Zone Maps</ref>

Template:Weather box

Demographics

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Template:US Census population

File:Torrance CA City Hall.jpg
Torrance City Hall
Torrance, California
Sunset at Torrance Beach

2020 census

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Torrance city, California – Racial and ethnic composition
Template:Nobold
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>Template:Cite web</ref> Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Partial<ref name=2020CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref> % 2000 % 2010 Template:Partial
White alone (NH) 72,234 61,591 51,913 52.36% 42.35% 35.30%
Black or African American alone (NH) 2,911 3,740 4,781 2.11% 2.57% 3.25%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 360 304 235 0.26% 0.21% 0.16%
Asian alone (NH) 39,210 49,707 51,857 28.42% 34.18% 35.26%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH) 434 473 523 0.31% 0.33% 0.36%
Other Race alone (NH) 383 505 980 0.28% 0.35% 0.67%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) 4,777 5,678 8,698 3.46% 3.90% 5.91%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 17,637 23,440 28,080 12.79% 16.12% 19.09%
Total 137,946 145,438 147,067 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

2010

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The 2010 United States Census<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> reported that Torrance had a population of 145,438. The population density was Template:Convert. The racial makeup of Torrance was 74,333 (51.1%) White (42.3% Non-Hispanic White), 50,240 (34.5%) Asian, 3,955 (2.7%) African American, 554 (0.4%) Native American, 530 (0.4%) Pacific Islander, 7,808 (5.4%) from other races, and 8,018 (5.5%) from two or more races. There were 23,440 Hispanic or Latino residents, of any race (16.1%).

The Census reported that 144,292 people (99.2% of the population) lived in households, 506 (0.3%) homeless who lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 640 (0.4%) were institutionalized.

There were 56,001 households, out of which 18,558 (33.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 29,754 (53.1%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 6,148 (11.0%) had a female householder with no husband present, 2,510 (4.5%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 2,152 (3.8%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 309 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 14,472 households (25.8%) were made up of individuals, and 5,611 (10.0%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58. There were 38,412 families (68.6% of all households); the average family size was 3.14.

There were 31,831 people (21.9%) under the age of 18, 10,875 (7.5%) aged 18 to 24, 38,296 (26.3%) aged 25 to 44, 42,710 (29.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 21,726 (14.9%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.8 males.

There were 58,377 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert, of which 31,621 (56.5%) were owner-occupied, and 24,380 (43.5%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.8%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.3%. 85,308 people (58.7% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units, and 58,984 people (40.6%) lived in rental housing units.

As of March 2019, Torrance had a median household income of $85,070 and a median family income of $102,637.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Torrance has the second-highest percentage of residents of Japanese ancestry in California (8.9%), after the neighboring city of Gardena.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2000

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As of the census<ref name="GR2">Template:Cite web</ref> of 2000, there were 137,946 people, 54,542 households, and 36,270 families residing in the city. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 55,967 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the city was 59.2% White, 28.6% Asian, 2.2% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.4% Pacific Islander, 4.6% from other races, and 4.7% from two or more races. 12.8% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 54,542 households, out of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.1% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.5% were non-families. 27.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.10.

In the city, 23.0% of the population was under the age of 18, 6.8% was from 18 to 24, 32.4% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city in 2008 was $79,312, and the median income for a family was $98,473.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Males had a median income of $50,606 versus $36,334 for females. The per capita income for the city was $39,118. About 4.7% of families and 5.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.7% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over.

Japanese Americans

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Template:See also

File:Inside Mitsuwa Torrance.jpg
The inside of the old demolished Torrance Mitsuwa (relocated to the Del Amo Mall)

As of 2014, Torrance had the second-largest concentration of people of Japanese ancestry of any U.S. city, after Honolulu. The city has offices of numerous Japanese companies, including those in the automotive industry.<ref name=FujitaAkikoToyota/> Because of this, many Japanese restaurants and other cultural offerings are in the city, and Willy Blackmore of L.A. Weekly wrote that Torrance was "essentially Japan's 48th prefecture".<ref>Blackmore, Willy. "Top 10: Japanese Noodles Shops in Torrance Template:Webarchive." LA Weekly. Retrieved on May 10, 2013.</ref> Japanese supermarkets, schools, and banks serve the community.<ref name=FujitaAkikoToyota/>

In the pre-World War II period, the South Bay region was one of the few areas that allowed non-U.S. citizens to acquire property, so a Japanese presence came. According to John Kaji, a Torrance resident quoted in Public Radio International who was the son of Toyota's first American-based accountant, the Japanese corporate presence in Torrance, beginning with Toyota, attracted many ethnic Japanese. Toyota moved its operations to its Torrance campus in 1982 because of its proximity to the Port of Long Beach and Los Angeles International Airport, and many other Japanese companies followed suit. In 2014, Toyota announced it was moving its U.S. headquarters to Plano, Texas.<ref name=FujitaAkikoToyota/>

Korean Americans

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Template:See also Template:As of, about 60% of the Korean population in the South Bay region lived in Torrance and Gardena.Template:R In 1990, 5,888 ethnic Koreans lived in Torrance, a 256% increase from the 1980 figure of 1,652.<ref name="LAT 1992-02-02">Template:Cite news</ref>

Homelessness

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In 2022, Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority's Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count counted 306 homeless individuals in Torrance.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Template:Historical populations

Economy

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File:AmericanHondaTorranceCA.JPG
American Honda Motor Company headquarters

Torrance is home to the U.S. headquarters of Japanese automaker Honda and its luxury vehicle division, Acura. Robinson Helicopters are designed and built in Torrance as are Honeywell's Garrett turbochargers, used on automobile engines worldwide. Alcoa Fastening Systems (now known as Arconic) is headquartered in Torrance, producing aerospace fasteners. Pacific Sales, Pelican Products, Virco, and Rapiscan Systems are among the other companies based in Torrance.

According to the city's 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report,<ref>https://www.torranceca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/93134/638711578493600000</ref> the city's top 10 employers (by number of employees) are:

No. Employer Number of employees
1 Torrance Memorial Health System 4,070
2 Torrance Unified School District 2,675
3 Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center 2,429
4 City of Torrance 1,556
5 American Honda Motor Company, Inc. 1,496
6 Robinson Helicopter Company 1,212
7 Honeywell Aerospace 766
8 Moog Aircraft Group 684
9 PBF Energy - Torrance Refining Company 607
10 Arconic Fastening Systems 583
File:Interior of Del Amo Fashion Center.jpg
Del Amo Fashion Center, one of the largest malls in the United States

The Del Amo Fashion Center, at Template:Convert, is one of the five largest malls in the United States by gross leasable area. The current mall was created when Del Amo Center, built in 1958, merged with Del Amo Fashion Square, built in 1972. Once located on opposite sides of Carson Street, an expansion of the mall spanning Carson Street joined the two centers by 1982, making it the largest mall in the world at the time. In 2005, the east end of the original mall north of Carson Street was demolished to make way for a new open-air shopping center, opened in mid-September 2006. This was followed in 2015 by the opening of an expanded northern Fashion Wing, with Nordstrom as the mall anchor and supplemented by luxury retailers such as Kate Spade, Hugo Boss, Uniqlo, Michael Kors, and Ben Bridge.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Old Towne Mall was an entertainment-themed mall operating in the 1970s.

As a major oil-producing region, Torrance was once dotted with thousands of oil wells and oil derricks. Though the oil wells are not as common as they once were, the Torrance oil refinery owned by PBF Energy in the north end of the city is responsible for much of Southern California's gasoline supply.<ref>Template:Citation needed</ref> Torrance was an important hub and shop site of the Pacific Electric Railway.<ref name="Walker2007">Template:Cite book</ref>

Torrance has a general aviation airport, originally named simply "Torrance Airport" and since renamed Zamperini Field after local track star, World War II hero and Torrance High graduate Louis Zamperini. The airport handles approximately 175,000 annual take-offs and landings (473 per day),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> down from the 1974 record of 428,000 operations. Airport noise abatement is a major local issue.

Torrance is also home to the main bakery facility for King's Hawaiian, the dominant brand of Hawaiian bread in North America.<ref name="NihipaliPelayo2012">Template:Cite book</ref> Younger Optics, Torrance's 10th-largest employer, created the first seamless or "invisible" bifocal.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The headquarters of Mitsuwa Marketplace<ref>Privacy Policy Template:Webarchive Mitsuwa Marketplace. Retrieved June 19, 2013. "Customer Relations Mitsuwa Marketplace 1815 W. 213th St. Suite 235 Torrance, CA 90501"</ref> and Nijiya Market<ref name=bloombergJinon>Template:Cite web</ref> are both located in Torrance.

Operations of foreign companies

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All Nippon Airways operates its United States headquarters, a customer relations and services office, in Torrance.<ref>"ANA City Offices/Ticketing Offices North America/Hawaii/Guam", All Nippon Airways. Retrieved December 22, 2008</ref>

The Toyota Motor Company of Japan established a U.S. headquarters on October 31, 1957, at a former Rambler dealership in Hollywood. Toyota sold 287 Toyopet Crowns and one Land Cruiser during the company's first year of U.S. operation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It moved Toyota Motor Sales USA operations to Torrance in 1982, because of easy access to port facilities and the LAX airport. In 2013, it sold 2.2 million vehicles in the U.S. In 2014, it announced it would move 3,000 of its white-collar employees to Plano, Texas to be closer to its American factories. Numerous other Japanese firms followed Toyota to Los Angeles, because of its location and its reputation as the national trend-setter.<ref>Jerry Hirsch, "Toyota to uproot from California, move to 'macho' Texas", Los Angeles Times April 28, 2014.</ref>

The Los Angeles South Bay area, as of 2014, has the largest concentration of Japanese companies in the United States.<ref name=FujitaAkikoToyota/>

Arts and culture

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File:USMC horses.JPG
The Torrance Armed Forces Day Parade, with a USMC unit

The Armed Forces Day Parade in Torrance, which was first produced in 1960, is the longest-running military parade sponsored by a city. It is held annually on Armed Forces Day, and runs down Torrance Boulevard. The parade features military vehicles, school bands, and prominent community members.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Torrance Cultural Arts Center hosts cultural events year-round. In partnership with the City of Torrance, the Torrance Cultural Arts Foundation (TOCA) provides diverse cultural, educational and entertainment experiences. Additional performances are provided by the Torrance Performing Arts Consortium, including The Aerospace Players, Torrance Art Museum, Los Cancioneros Master Chorale, South Bay Ballet, South Bay Conservatory, and The Torrance Symphony.

In the 2010 Rose Parade, City of Torrance's entry won the top Lathrop K. Leishman trophy for its Garden of Dreams float, judged as the "Most Beautiful Non-Commercial" float. In 2011, Torrance won the Tournament Volunteers' Trophy for best floral design of parade theme under 35 feet in length. In 2012, the city's entry won the Governor's Trophy for best depiction of life in California. In 2015, an entry honoring Rose Parade Grand Marshal Louis Zamperini won the Theme trophy for excellence in presenting parade theme. In 2016, the City of Torrance float won the Princess trophy for most beautiful float 35 feet and under.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Historic landmarks

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These Torrance landmarks are on the National Register of Historic Places:

Parks and recreation

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City parks

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File:Wilson Park, Torrance.jpg
Wilson Park at sunset
File:Madrona Marsh1.jpg
Madrona Marsh Park during springtime

The Torrance City Parks Department directs and maintains the thirty Torrance City Parks.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They include:

Government

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Local government

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The City of Torrance is a charter city. The original city charter was voted on and ratified by the qualified electors at an election held August 20, 1946, and filed with the Secretary of State January 7, 1947. The elective officers of the city are the mayor, six members of the City Council, five members of the Board of Education, the City Clerk and the City Treasurer.<ref>City of Torrance Municipal Code Retrieved April 4, 2009</ref>

Using the council-manager form of government, the City Council, as the elected body, adopts legislation, sets policy, adjudicates issues, and establishes the budget of the city. The City Council appoints the City Manager and the City Attorney. The city has 13 appointed boards and commissions which advise the council on matters of concern to local residents, such as the city airport, arts, parks, and libraries.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

State and federal representation

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In the California State Senate, Torrance is split between Template:Representative, and Template:Representative.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the California State Assembly, it is in Template:Representative.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In the United States House of Representatives, Torrance is split between Template:Representative, and Template:Representative.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Postal service

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The United States Postal Service operates the Torrance Post Office at 2510 Monterey Street,<ref>"Post Office Location – Torrance." United States Postal Service. Retrieved on December 6, 2008.</ref> the Marcelina Post Office at 1433 Marcelina Avenue,<ref>"Post Office Location – Marcelina." United States Postal Service. Retrieved on December 6, 2008.</ref> the Walteria Post Office at 4216 Pacific Coast Highway,<ref>"Post Office Location – Walteria." United States Postal Service. Retrieved on December 6, 2008.</ref> the North Torrance Post Office at 18080 Crenshaw Boulevard,<ref>"Post Office Location – North Torrance." United States Postal Service. Retrieved on December 6, 2008.</ref> and the Del Amo Post Office at 291 Del Amo Fashion Square.<ref>"Post Office Location – Del Amo." United States Postal Service. Retrieved on December 6, 2008.</ref> Zip codes 90277, 90501, 90503, 90504, 90505.

Healthcare

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There are two major hospitals in Torrance: Torrance Memorial Medical Center and Little Company of Mary Hospital. A third hospital, Los Angeles County Department of Health Services Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, lies just outside the city limits (in unincorporated West Carson).<ref name="ladhs">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="WCMap">"West Carson CDP, California." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on May 18, 2019. Compare to the Zoning map of and Land use map of (which indicates hospitals) Torrance, California. Harbor-UCLA is not in the Torrance city limits.</ref>

The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services operates the Torrance Health Center in Harbor Gateway, Los Angeles.<ref>"Torrance Health Center Template:Webarchive." Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. Retrieved on March 18, 2010.</ref>

Fire

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  • Torrance Fire Department staffs seven Engine Companies, five Paramedic Rescue Squads, and two Truck Companies. The department operates out of six Fire Stations providing Fire and EMS coverage for the City and Mutual Aid to the surrounding communities. Torrance Memorial Medical Center, Little Company of Mary Hospital, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Kaiser Hospital-South Bay, and Memorial Hospital of Gardena are receiving hospitals for residents in Torrance who call 911 for medical assistance. The department is a Class 1 rated Fire Department, the Fire Chief is Martin Serna. Ambulance transportation is provided through McCormick Ambulance.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Police

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  • Torrance Police Department provides 24-hour law enforcement coverage to the city. The department is broken down into four major divisions, each with its own subdivisions. The department has one main station located at the Civic Center near City Hall. It houses the administrative offices, the city jail, and the public safety dispatch center. The department works closely with other local law enforcement agencies for training and SWAT operations. The police chief is Jeremiah Hart.
  • Torrance operates its own 911 dispatch center located at the police station, and is responsible for all 911 calls originating in Torrance. The communications center answers emergency and non-emergency calls and requests for assistance in addition to dispatching for both the Fire and Police Departments.

Public library

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The City of Torrance operates a main library facility (named after former mayor Katy Geissert) in the city Civic Center, plus five branches at locations throughout the city.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Transportation

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Zamperini Field (IATA: TOA ICAO: KTOA) is a general aviation airport. Commercial airlines service is within 15 minutes at Los Angeles International Airport and Long Beach Airport.

Highways and freeways in the region include I-110, I-405, SR 91, SR 107, and SR 1. The city is served by Torrance Transit, LACMTA Metro bus, and LADOT services.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Rail

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Union Pacific currently operates what is left of the Pacific Electric's San Pedro via Gardena Line and Torrance Loop Line both built in 1911 (passenger service was provided until 1940, afterwards only the Torrance shop train was operated for employees). The Pacific Electric Torrance Shops were completed in 1918 and closed in 1955 two years after all passenger service was taken over by Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority. Freight operations were taken over by PE's parent company, Southern Pacific, in 1965. SP was merged into UP in 1996.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) plans to complete the C Line Extension of their Metro Rail system from Redondo Beach sometime between 2030 and 2033, though there are plans to accelerate the project as part of the Twenty-eight by '28 initiative so it can be done by the 2028 Olympics.

Freight to Torrance is served by BNSF and Union Pacific. BNSF operates on the former Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Harbor Subdivision line originally built in the 1920s. AT&SF was merged with Burlington Northern in 1996 to form BNSF.

Proposed metro expansion

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There have been proposals to expand the LA Metro to Torrance, but these proposals have faced opposition by Torrance politicians. In 2023, members of the Torrance City Council, Aurelio Mattucci and Jon Kaji, sought to block the expansion, arguing that the Metro would bring crime and homelessness to Torrance.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Education

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Primary and secondary schools

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Public schools

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Torrance Unified School District (TUSD) was established in 1947 and unified in 1948. The district comprises the City of Torrance, bordered by the Palos Verdes Peninsula on the south, the cities of Redondo Beach and Gardena on the north, the City of Los Angeles (Harbor Gateway) on the east and the Pacific Ocean on the west. The district's jurisdiction covers approximately Template:Convert, and it operates 17 elementary schools, eight middle schools, five high schools (one of which is a continuation school), three adult education centers, and a child development center.

File:2010-1101-FernAveSchool (cropped).jpg
Fern Elementary School
File:TorranceHighSchool Doors.jpg
Torrance High School is one of the oldest high schools in California, having opened in 1917. The school is a popular filming location.<ref>Torrance Unified School District website – About Torrance High Retrieved April 8, 2009Template:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref>

The Torrance Unified School District's five high schools are:

The Torrance Unified School District's eight middle schools are:

  • Calle Mayor Middle School
  • Casimir Middle School
  • Bert Lynn Middle School
  • J.H. Hull Middle School
  • Jefferson Middle School
  • Madrona Middle School
  • Philip Magruder Middle School
  • Richardson Middle School

The Torrance Unified School District's 17 elementary schools are:

  • Hickory Elementary School
  • John Adams Elementary School
  • Torrance Elementary School
  • Howard Wood Elementary School
  • Anza Elementary School
  • Arlington Elementary School
  • Arnold Elementary School
  • Carr Elementary School
  • Yukon Elementary School
  • Walteria Elementary School
  • Riviera Elementary School
  • Towers Elementary School
  • Fern Elementary School
  • Edison Elementary School
  • Lincoln Elementary School
  • Seaside Elementary School
  • Victor Elementary School

Area districts have created the Southern California Regional Occupational Center (SCROC) to teach technical classes to their students and to local adults. TUSD is a participant feeder district of the California Academy of Mathematics and Science or CAMS, a mathematics and science magnet high school, administered by the Long Beach Unified School District.

Private schools

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Torrance also has several private schools. Catholic schools under the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles include Bishop Montgomery High School, Nativity Catholic School, St James Catholic School and St Catherine Laboure Catholic School. Protestant private schools include Ascension Lutheran School and First Lutheran School.<ref>Template:Cite web - See also land use map</ref>

In 1980 the Lycée Français de Los Angeles bought the Template:Convert former Parkway School property, located in the Hollywood Riviera section of Torrance, from TUSD.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This property became the Lycee's Torrance campus, and as of February 1990 the campus had 100 students. In November 1989 the Lycee sold the property for $2.65 million to Manhattan Holding Co. and scheduled to transfer the students to its West Los Angeles campuses. As of February 1990 neighbors of the campus site were asking the City of Torrance to not modify the zoning of this property. The Lycee stated that the campus closed due to low enrollment.<ref>Rae-Dupree, Janet. "Development Fears Raised by Torrance School Sale : Land Use: Neighbors of 6.2-acre campus of Lycee Francais de Los Angeles ask City Council to retain current zoning." (Archive). Los Angeles Times. February 16, 1990. Retrieved on June 29, 2015.</ref>

At one time, Coast Christian Schools (now Valor Christian Academy) maintained a high school campus in Torrance.<ref name=Campuses1999>"Where Are We Located?" Coast Christian Schools. November 9, 1999. Retrieved on July 9, 2016. "4010 Pacific Coast Highway, Torrance, CA 90505"</ref>

Colleges and universities

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Torrance is in the El Camino Community College District. The campus El Camino College is mostly outside the city limits in unincorporated Alondra Park, while a portion is in the Torrance City limits.<ref>Template:Cite web - Shows outline of the college against the city limits boundary.</ref><ref>Template:Cite web - Compare against the college map.</ref> El Camino College was founded in 1947, and the campus covers Template:Convert. As of 2011, the college enrolls over 25,000 students each semester.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Miscellaneous education

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In 1980, Asahi Gakuen, a weekend Japanese-language education institution, began renting space in South Torrance High School.<ref name=Rainey>Rainey, James. "Children of Japanese Executives Flock to Special Classrooms." Los Angeles Times. December 31, 1987. Retrieved on March 6, 2014.</ref> The weekend school continues to use the high school for its Torrance Campus (トーランス校 Tōransu-kō). Asahi Gakuen has its administrative offices in Harbor Gateway, near Torrance.<ref name=Addressesfor2024>Template:Cite web - Compare the administrative office location to the Map of Harbor Gateway from the City of Los Angeles. Despite the Torrance address, the administrative office is not in the City of Torrance.</ref>

Media

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The Los Angeles Times is the metropolitan area's newspaper.

The Daily Breeze, a 70,000-circulation daily newspaper, is published in Torrance. It serves the South Bay cities of Los Angeles County. Its slogan is "LAX to LA Harbor". Herald Publications, media group started the Torrance Tribune, a community newspaper, which was started November 2010, it has a distribution of 15,000 newspapers to single-family homes and businesses in the City of Torrance.

Torrance CitiCABLE, shown on KNET 25.2, Spectrum 3, Frontier FiOS 31 is the government access channel. Programming includes news, sports, entertainment, information, public affairs, and city council meetings.

Notable people

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Sister cities

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In 1973, Torrance established a sister-city relationship with Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan, as part of the Sister Cities International program.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Since then, citizens of Torrance have regularly engaged in cultural exchange with Kashiwa through the guidance of the Torrance Sister City Association, which facilitates a Japanese cultural festival, a yearly student exchange program, and contact between officials of the two cities. North High is the official sister high school of Kashiwa Municipal High. Torrance has also had a sister-city relationship with Konya, Türkiye since 1958.

See also

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References

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