Torrance, California
Torrance is a city located in southwestern
Los Angeles County, California.
The city is named after its founder, oilman
Jared Sidney Torrance. 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 7th largest city in Los Angeles County.
Torrance is located at (33.834815, -118.341330).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 53.2
km² (20.5
mi²), all land.
 |
Typical roadside signage at Del Amo Fashion Center |
Del Amo Fashion Center, at three million square feet (300,000 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, scheduled to open in summer of 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").
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.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 main bakery facility for King's Hawaiian, the dominant
brand of
Hawaiian
bread in
North America.
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 corporate headquarters of
Edelbrock, a leading manufacturer of automotive and motorcycle aftermarket products.
The footwear company
Lakai also has headquarters in Torrance. Electronics manufacturer
Panasonic has a plant manufacturing
DVD-RAM and
Blu-Ray media in Torrance.
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:
Education
*Primary and secondary schools: The
Torrance Unified School District [
2] 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 an excellent 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.
*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 [
3].
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
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.
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.
As of the
census 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 industrial presence in Torrance, the city has one of the highest concentrations of Japanese expatriates and Japanese-Americans 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.
*
Larry Carlton - Guitarist
*
Bobby East -
NASCAR driver
*
Parnelli Jones and
P.J. Jones -
Indy car drivers
*
Fred Kendall - Former MLB Catcher and manager
*
Jason Kendall -
Oakland Athletics catcher
*
Michelle Kwan - Figure skater
* Alyson & Amanda Michalka (
Aly & AJ) - Singers & actresses
*
Lisa Moretti -
WWE's "Ivory"
*
Chad Morton - NFL Player
*
George Nakano - California politician
*
Daryl Sabara &
Evan Sabara - Actors (
Spy Kids)
*
Quentin Tarantino - Filmmaker
*
Rorion Gracie -
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu red belt and co-founder of the
UFC*
Royce Gracie -
Mixed Martial Arts legend
*
City of Torrance official website*
Torrance information page at City-Data.com*Local organizations and businesses
**
Torrance shopping centers **
Del Amo Fashion Center**
Friends of Madrona Marsh Preserve**
King's Hawaiian official website
