Torrance, California

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 new planned community. The resulting town was founded in 1911 and named after Torrance; the city of Torrance was formally incorporated in 1921.

As of the 2000 census, the city population was 137,946; a 2003 estimate puts the total population at 142,621 [1]. Torrance is the sixth largest city in Los Angeles County.

1 Geography
2 Area attractions
3 Commerce and industry
4 Livability
5 Sister cities
6 Demographics
7 Notable residents
8 External links

[edit] Geography

Torrance is located at 33°50′5″N, 118°20′29″W (33.834815, -118.341330)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 53.2 km² (20.5 mi²), all land.

[edit] Area attractions

Typical roadside signage at Del Amo Fashion Center

Torrance as seen from the air

Del Amo Fashion Center, at 2.5 million square feet (232,000 m²), is one of the largest malls in the United States. Estimates vary between the second largest (after the Mall of America) and the fourth largest, depending on the measurements used. The current mall was created when Del Amo Center, built in 1958, merged with Del Amo Fashion Square, built in 1970. Once located on opposite sides of Carson Street, a gigantic expansion of the mall spanning Carson Street joined the two centers by 1982, making it the longest mall in the world at the time. Del Amo Fashion Center has been used as a location for several motion pictures, including Jackie Brown and Bad Santa. 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.

One of the country's few urban wetlands can be found in Torrance. Madrona Marsh is a nature preserve on undeveloped land once set aside for oil production.

Torrance Beach lies between Redondo Beach and Malaga Cove. The region shared by Torrance and Redondo Beaches are often called "Rat Beach" (short for "Right After Torrance" Beach). ^{[citation needed]}

Torrance is well-known for its annual Armed Forces Parade on Armed Forces Day in mid-May every year down Torrance Boulevard. The parade features many military vehicles from the different branches of the Armed Forces. After the parade, the military vehicles are put on display at the parking lot of the Del Amo Fashion Center for two days.

Torrance High School is not only one of the oldest high schools in California, its facade is familiar to television viewers as the setting for Beverly Hills 90210 and Buffy the Vampire Slayer and to moviegoers for its appearances in She's All That.

South High School, near the southern border of Torrance, was used as a location for the 1999 filming of the movie American Beauty.

Alpine Village is a european-themed restaurant, market and shop complex that hosts a locally popular version of the "Oktoberfest" celebration every weekend during September and October for 35 years, featuring a beer brewed on site.

[edit] Commerce and industry

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 ExxonMobil refinery in the north end of the city is responsible for much of Southern California's gasoline supply. In fact, much of Southern California's gasoline supply is refined within a few miles of Torrance. ARCO produces gasoline in Carson; Texaco has a refinery a bit further east in Wilmington; Unocal is in San Pedro while one of the oldest refineries in the state is the Chevron plant in El Segundo. Torrance was also an important hub and shop site of the Pacific Electric Railway.

Torrance has a busy 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. In 1990 the airport had 243,324 take-offs and landings, down from the 1974 record of 428,000 operations. Airport noise abatement is a major local issue.

Torrance is home to the U.S. headquarters of two of the three largest Japanese auto makers, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. and American Honda Motor Company. Robinson Helicopters are designed and built in Torrance as are Garrett Systems turbochargers, used on automobile engines worldwide. California's aerospace industry began in Torrance and surrounding communities.

Torrance is also home to the U.S. Headquarters of numerous leading automotive aftermarket companies, including: Tanabe Racing Development, Speed Star Racing Wheels, Alpine Electronics, Koyo radiators, Stoptech brakes, and Edelbrock.

Torrance is also home to the main bakery facility for King's Hawaiian, the dominant brand of Hawaiian bread in North America.

The footwear company Lakai also has headquarters in Torrance. Electronics manufacturer Panasonic has a plant manufacturing DVD-RAM and Blu-Ray media in Torrance. The United States division of Japanese videogame company Tecmo is also headquartered in Torrance. TabletKiosk, manufacturer of Tablet PCs, UMPCs and Mobile Computing Accessories is headquartered in Torrance.

[edit] Livability

Today, Torrance is considered to be a very desirable place to live in Los Angeles County, reflected in the ever-increasing property values and its proximity to the beach communities of Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach and the upscale coastal communities of the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

Torrance is one of the few American cities that approaches the ideal balance between the three major types of zones. This explains its slogan: "A Balanced City, Industrial, Residential, Commercial." Torrance however was not designed originally to be a balanced city, in the past it was known as "Headquarters City, Industry, Finance, Business." However, in recent years, major re-zoning of old industrial areas to residential has caused an enormous population growth and all the caveats that come with it, including heavy traffic congestion.

Other livability factors:

[edit] Education

Primary and secondary schools: The Torrance Unified School District encompasses five high schools (Torrance High, North High, South High, West High, and Shery High) and their feeder schools, and the district's students consistently score well above average on standardized tests. A Roman Catholic high school (Bishop Montgomery High School) is also located within the city.
Colleges: Torrance is home to a two-year community college, El Camino College.
Other schools: The largest English as a Second Language school in California, Language Systems, has a branch in the city. ^{[citation needed]}
Libraries: The City of Torrance has one of the best library systems in Los Angeles County, including the main Katy Geissert Civic Center Library and five branches [2].

[edit] Health Care

Two major hospitals are located within the city -- Torrance Memorial Medical Center and Little Company of Mary Hospital. A third hospital, Los Angeles County Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, lies just outside the city limits but also has a Torrance address

[edit] Parks

Torrance has 24 city parks; the focal point is 44-acre Wilson Park which has extensive picnic and sports facilities, including a modern gymnasium, skatepark, and roller-hockey rink. Wilson Park also hosts a Farmer's Market on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and is the site of the city's annual Fourth of July fireworks display.

[edit] Sister cities

In 1973, Torrance established a sister-city relationship with Kashiwa, Chiba (Japan), as part of the Sister Cities International program. 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.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 137,946 people, 54,542 households, and 36,270 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,593.1/km² (6,715.7/mi²). There were 55,967 housing units at an average density of 1,052.0/km² (2,724.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 59.16% White, 28.61% Asian, 4.72% from two or more races, 4.57% from other races, 2.19% Black or African American, 0.41% Native American and 0.35% Pacific Islander. 12.79% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Because of the large Japanese commercial and industrial presence in Torrance, the city has one of the highest concentrations of Japanese expatriates and Japanese-Americans living in the United States. Among Los Angeles citizens, Torrance is known for its large Asian American population.

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 the population was spread out with 23.0% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 32.4% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 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 was $56,489, and the median income for a family was $67,098. Males had a median income of $51,472 versus $37,114 for females. The per capita income for the city was $28,144. About 4.5% of families and 6.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.0% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.