Clik here to view.
Methodists establish The Spanish American Institute in Gardena
Undated postcard from the early 1920s shows planned layout for the Institute, then only partially completed. In 1909, the Southern California Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church saw a need for...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Robert Ryan of Inglewood succeeds in his unusual quest to become a matador
Painting by matador Robert Ryan from the front of a June 1967 postcard commemorating his becoming a full matador de toros. Robert Ryan was an normal 11-year-old living in Inglewood with his parents...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Torrance’s oldest American Legion post honors World War I soldier
Ad from the Torrance Herald for the Legion’s Poppy Day program, May 26, 1932, Page 2-A. (Credit: Torrance Historic Newspaper & Directories database, Torrance Public Library) World War I Croix de...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Farmer Brothers brews up big business before leaving Torrance
Exterior of Farmer Brothers Coffee headquarters in Torrance circa 2012. (Credit: Still from Farmer Brothers YouTube video) Yes, there really were Farmer Brothers. Two of them. One of them, Roy E....
View ArticleClik here to view.
South Bay golfers find their way to LPGA tour
Torrance High golfer Angela Park tees off in Carson in 2004 in this file photo. (Scott Varley, Daily Breeze) The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) came into existence in 1950, making it the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
SST Records blazes musical contrails across the South Bay
Black Flag circa 1983. From left, Chuck Dukowski, Dez Cadena, Greg Ginn, Henry Rollins, Bill Stevenson. (Publicity photo) The SST name had nothing to do with supersonic aircraft. Greg Ginn was born on...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Cabrillo Marine Aquarium: Exploring the ocean for more than eight decades
The Cabrillo Marine Museum in San Pedro traces its origins to 1934. (Nov. 2017 Daily Breeze photo) The roots of the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium stretch back to 1934, when lifeguard Bob Foster set up a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Inglewood Public Library blossoms from humble origins
Opened in 1973, the Inglewood Public Library building remains an impressive local landmark. (November 2017 photo by Sam Gnerre) The roots of the Inglewood Public Library stretch back to the early...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tracy Austin’s rise from South Bay tennis courts to No. 1 in the world
Tennis great Tracy Austin in 2003. (Daily Breeze staff file photo) World Tennis magazine made her the cover girl of its July 1967 issue when she was all of four years old. No pressure. Tracy Ann...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Torrance’s Columbia Park became a reality – eventually
Columbia Park in Torrance took a few years to reach completion. (November 2016 photo by Sam Gnerre) Columbia Park in Torrance, the city’s largest, has been there forever, right? Actually, not really....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lawndale’s Tiki-Kai Polynesian Restaurant was short-lived but memorable
Undated postcard shows the Tiki-Kai in full splendor. If the medical office building on the lot at 4469 Redondo Beach Boulevard in Lawndale looks like it used to be a Pizza Hut, that’s because it was...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mayfair Creamery provided dairy products to generations of South Bay residents
What is this thing you call “milkman”? Torrance Herald ad, Oct. 28, 1953, Page 3. (Credit: Torrance Historic Newspapers & Directories database, Torrance Public Library) If you are under a certain...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Victory gardens supplied food to the home front during World War II
U.S. Vice President Henry Wallace cultivates his victory garden at the Vice President’s Residence in Washington, D.C., in 1943. (Credit: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division) Victory...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Houses finally go up on the Normandie Avenue right of way land
Construction of 63 homes being built along a 60-foo-wide abandoned railroad right of way sandwiched between “Little Normandie” (left) and “Big Normandie” (right) is finally under way about 17 years...
View ArticleClik here to view.
No South Bay History post this week (Dec. 29)
I’m recovering from recent knee surgery, so there won’t be a South Bay History blog post this week. Next post will be Friday, Jan. 5, 2018. Thanks for your patience!
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tom Ishibashi’s Torrance roadside produce stand was one of a kind
The landmark Ishibashi farm stand at the Torrance Municipal Airport on Crenshaw Boulevard the week before it closed on Oct. 31, 2011. (Daily Breeze staff file photo by Chuck Bennett) For years, the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Wilmington saves its historic branch library building as it gets a new one
The original Wilmington Branch Library of the Los Angeles Public Library opened in 1927 and is currently used as a community center. (Jan. 2018 photo by Sam Gnerre) The Wilmington Branch Library is the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
In its heyday, Gardena’s Bal Tabarin brought exotic entertainment to the...
Cardboard photograph holder from 1944, with a drawing of a big band on the cover, from the Bal Tabarin nightclub in Gardena. “The Houe of Pagones” refers to club owner C.J. Pagones. (Credit: Los...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Jamelle Holieway: The first true freshman quarterback to win a college...
In this Jan. 1, 1986 file photo, University of Oklahoma quarterback Jamelle Holieway (#4) looks for an open man as his team battles Penn State University in the Orange Bowl in Miami. Holieway dazzled...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Kumekichi Ishibashi launches an agricultural industry in the South Bay
Kumekichi Ishibashi, left, stands with his brother, Tomizo, in front of a Caterpillar Diesel tractor in an undated photo. (Credit: Ishibashi Family Collection, Japanese American Digitization project...
View Article