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San Pedro’s ‘Seventh Heaven’ a relic of a bygone era
The jail on the seventh floor atop the John S. Gibson Municipal Building in San Pedro housed prisoners from 1928 to 1962. (March 2016 Daily Breeze photo) Deputy LAPD chief James Lyons called it “the...
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Author Upton Sinclair causes a commotion in San Pedro in 1923
Author Upton Sinclair, democratic nominee for governor of California discussed his EPIC plan with newspapermen in San Francisco September 12, 1934. (Associated Press photo) The name of author Upton...
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The South Bay and Harbor Area have been popular location choices for filmmakers
The lifestyle wing at Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance is transformed into a Christmas shopping scene for the upcoming film, “Why Him?” March 23, 2016. (Chuck Bennett / Daily Breeze Staff...
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The Wilmington Bowl’s glory days
Undated file photo of the Wilmington Bowl. Marine Fenders International, a company that makes foam-filled buoys and floating cushions to protect docking ships, currently does business in an odd-looking...
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1952 Earthquake helps convince Redondo Beach leaders to build a new city hall
The original Redondo Beach City Hall, seen here in an undated postcard, opened in 1908. Redondo Beach became the first city in the South Bay to incorporate in 1882, but for the first 15 years of its...
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Charles Dycer stirs up derring-do, controversy – and dust – at his airports...
An aerial view looking southwest at Dycer Airport at 94th Street and Western Avenue, just east of Inglewood. Large hangars can be seen at left top, with smaller ones at bottom. (Credit: Airport...
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Woody’s Smorgasburger pioneers the dress-it-yourself hamburger
Woody’s Smorgasburger was co-founded by Ralph Wood Jr., who later founded Admiral Risty in Rancho Palos Verdes. The Culver City location, above, was the first Woody’s, opening in 1956. (Credit: Old Los...
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Bub Thomas: From barbershop quartets to The Roaring 20s to Disney World
Bub Thomas, 1958 photo taken onstage at The Roaring 20s nightclub in Torrance. (Credit: www.harmonize.com) Putting labels on the varied career of Charles David “Bub” Thomas takes a little while. The...
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Hawthorne Municipal Airport’s roots lie in the early days of the aerospace...
Hawthorne Municipal Airport’s control tower in 2013. (Daily Breeze staff file photo) Hawthorne Municipal Airport, one of the busiest, most thriving general aviation airports in California, began as a...
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Meet the man from whom the Scattergood Generating Station in Playa del Rey...
The Scattergood Generating Station in Playa del Rey. (May 2016 Daily Breeze photo) In past posts, we’ve written about two other large plants on the South Bay coastline, the AES power plant in Redondo...
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Barn dances, Western swing enlivened South Bay nightlife in the 1940s
Poster for “The National Barn Dance” film (1944). The radio show began in 1924. Before line dancing, there were barn dances. In the old West, barn dances were social events usually held on weekend...
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Why it took nearly a century for Bruce’s Beach to get its name back
Bruce’s Beach. (May 2016 Daily Breeze photo) Bruce’s Beach, the terraced 270-by-200-foot hillside park at 26th Street and Highland Avenue in Manhattan Beach, has a stunning view of the ocean. It also...
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Devastating fire can’t kill the San Pedro Elks Lodge’s spirit
The original San Pedro Elks Lodge building opened at Palos Verdes and 7th streets in 1911. (Undated 1920s postcard) The fire that engulfed the San Pedro Elks Lodge building on April 15, 2014 destroyed...
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On vacation
The South Bay History blog is on vacation this week. It will return on June 17.
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1327 Cabrillo Avenue: Small building in Old Torrance has big history
This building at 1327 Cabrillo Avenue in Old Torrance is where N.W.A. recorded its landmark “Straight Outta Compton” album. (June 2016 Daily Breeze photo) Property records show that the irregular,...
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Averill Park has been a San Pedro gem for nearly 100 years
The pond area at Averill Park. (June 2016 Daily Breeze photo) With its lush greenery, ponds and waterfall, the 10-acre Averill Park in San Pedro has been recognized for decades as among the most...
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‘He was a natural mayor’: William F. Czuleger ran Redondo Beach for 16...
Redondo Beach Mayor William F. Czuleger in 1966. (File photo) William F. “Bill” Czuleger never lost a Redondo Beach mayoral election. First elected in 1961, he was re-elected to three more terms before...
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Not too long ago, record stores dotted the South Bay retail landscape
Tower Records on Hawthorne Boulevard in Torrance is seen in this 2006 Daily Breeze file photo, taken shortly before the store closed. (Steve McCrank / Staff Photographer) Local history isn’t always old...
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Consumers Mart of America chain crashes and burns after its big Torrance debut
Torrance Herald, April 23, 1961. Betty Baker, center, was Miss Torrance at the time. (Credit: Torrance Historical Archives database, Torrance Public Library) Consumers Mart of America made a huge...
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Smothers Brothers graduate from Redondo Union High into big time show business
The Smothers Brothers perform for Children of the Night on July 30, 2003 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Giulio Marcocchi/Getty Images) The Smothers Brothers aren’t just the longest-running...
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