DIGS is the premiere luxury real estate lifestyle magazine serving the most affluent neighborhoods in the South Bay and Westside of Los Angeles, California.
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HISTORY OF TORRANCE S O U T H B A Y History Tidbits Torrance was founded on May 31, 1911 by Jared Sidney Torrance and Associates by the purchase of 2,791 acres of land from the Dominguez Estate Company for $976,850. Susana Dominguez del Amo sold an additional 730 acres to Torrance for $350 per acre. This land was originally a small part of the Spanish land grant called Rancho San Pedro, given to Juan Jose Dominguez in 1784. At its inception, this planned industrial town provided housing for 500 people. In March 1912, Torrance had originally proposed that the new development be named "Dominquez". The post office would not allow the use of this name since there was already a post office with that name. On March 12, 1912, at a meeting of the board of directors of The Dominquez Land Company, of which Jared Torrance was President, this issue was discussed, with many variants of the name "Dominquez" discussed. Other names considered included "Southport" ,""Coronel," "Obrador," "Don Manuel" and "Industrial". Finally, over the objections of Jared Torrance, the board approved a resolution naming the new development "Torrance". Frederick Law Olmstead, Jr., of Boston, the foremost landscape architect of the country at the time, who provided the landscape planning for the Palos Verdes Project, laid out the new industrial community of Torrance. On the broad empty cornfield he placed the industrial sites in the lee of the town, away from the prevailing westerly breeze, chose a knoll for the civic center, designated the sites of the city hall, library, auditorium and other public buildings, backed his civic center with a thirty-acre park and, fixing his eyes firmly upon the white peak of Mt. San Antonio at the horizon, laid out a broad boulevard straight through the business center toward the snowy crest. In addition, he gave the individual home site a minimum width of forty feet, and a depth of a hundred and forty feet, which was much larger than most home sites on the east coast. The Pacific Electric Railway depot in Torrance at 1250 Cabrillo Avenue was completed in 1912 to serve Red Car passengers on this Torrance spur from the Gardena line. The Depot is now a popular restaurant. The discovery of oil brought the initial development of Torrance. At the time the city was incorporated in May 1921, it had 3.82 sq. miles, and had a population of about 1,800 residents. The first oil well was dug in December 1921, and it was a gusher. The discovery of oil increased the population to 2,750 in 1922. Soon, there were oil derricks throughout the city. From 1926 to 1931, 5 annexations of land took place increasing Torrance to 18.88 square miles. Today, Torrance consists of 21 sq. miles. By the early1950's, there were 615 oil wells. In the late 1950's, however, oil production decreased significantly. Finally, an edict was passed by the city requiring the removal of all wooden oil derricks by July 1, 1961. The final tower came down in 1963. Torrance has now become one of the largest cities in Los Angeles County today. The above is an excerpt from my book "Historic Tales of Palos Verdes and the South Bay". For more info see http://www.southbayhistory.com. DRE#: 01368971 Maureen Megowan 310.541.6416 mdmegowan@gmail.com D E C E M B E R 1 4 , 2 0 1 8 | I S S U E 1 9 5 722 1st Street, Unit D, Hermosa Beach, California, 90254 Office: 310.373.0142 South Bay Digs Magazine is published every other Friday by m3 Media, LLC. Reproduction in any form or by any means is strictly prohibited without the prior written consent from m3 Media LLC. The Publisher and advertisers are not responsible or liable for misinformation, misprints, or typographical errors. All advertised properties are subject to prior sale or withdrawal without notice. Real estate advertised in this publication is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act. M3 Media will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis. Any and all submissions to this publication become the property of m3 Media, LLC and may be used in any media. CO N N E C T W I T H U S .net TO OUR READERS South Bay DIGS welcomes your feedback and encourages reader response to our editorial features. Please send your letters to the Publisher at 722 1st Street, Unit D, Hermosa Beach, California, 90254 or via email to WDOW@southbaydigs.com. Please include your name and contact information. Letters may be published and we reserve the right to edit. ADVERTISING For inquiries, please contact Publisher Warren Dow at 310.373.0142. EDITORIAL For editorial inquiries, please email Editorial@SouthBayDIGS.com on the cover FIND YOUR PLACE. DECEMBER 14, 2018 DIGS.NET PRESENTED BY LEE LEGRANDE OF NW REAL ESTATE BROKERS FEATURE ON PAGE 32 Special Edition ARCHITECT DESIGN BUILD INSIDE BRUTE FORCE SHOREBOUND INGENUITY RAW EDGE TOW N & BE ACH A NEW HIGH-STYLE SILICON BEACH HOME IS WALK STREET WONDERFUL IN MANHATTAN BEACH PRESENTED BY LEE LEGRANDE, NW REAL ESTATE BROKERS LIST PRICE $8,795,000 DEVELOPED BY SILICON BAY DEVELOPMENT CHRISTIAN SALCEDA, 310.546.1010 PHOTOGRAPH BY PAUL JONASON FEATURE ON PAGE 32 CREATIVE SERVICES & AD DESIGN/ORIGINAL ARTWORK PROVIDED EXCLUSIVELY BY SOUTH BAY DIGS. © 2018 m3 Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Publisher Associate Publisher Editorial Director Director of Operations Marketing Director Digital Media Director Senior Graphic Designer Graphic Designer Contributing Writers Senior Staff Photographer Warren J. Dow Carol Skeldon Amy Adams Lauren Potter Kyle Coats Kieron McKay Ryan Lyse Jim Alba Wendy Bowman Jenn Thornton Karine Monié Constance Dunn Paul Jonason 28 DIGS.NET | 12.14.2018