Torrance is a coastal city in the

Los Angeles metropolitan area Greater Los Angeles is the most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. state of California, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino County and Riverside County in the east, ...

located in southwestern

Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the List of United States counties and county equivalents, most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 202 ...

, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay region of the metropolitan area. A small section of the city, , abuts the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. Torrance has a moderate year-round climate with average rainfall of per year.City of Torrance Website: About Torrance
() Retrieved April 7, 2009 Torrance was incorporated in 1921, and at the 2020 census had a population of 147,067 residents. Torrance has a beachfront and 30 parks located around the city. It is also the birthplace of the

American Youth Soccer Organization The American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) is one of the two main national organizations in youth soccer in the United States for children aged 4 through 19. AYSO was established as a non-profit soccer organization in Torrance (a suburb of ...

(AYSO).

History

Pre-colonial era

For thousands of years, the area of Torrance was occupied by the

Tongva The Tongva ( ) are an Indigenous peoples of California, Indigenous people of California from the Los Angeles Basin and the Channel Islands of California, Southern Channel Islands, an area covering approximately . In the precolonial era, the peop ...

Native Americans. The land that is now part of the City of Torrance and much of the modern South Bay was part of the extensive marshlands.

Spanish and Mexican eras

In 1784, the

Spanish Crown The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish ...

deeded

Rancho San Pedro Rancho San Pedro was one of the first California land grants and the first to win a patent from the United States. The Spanish Crown granted the of land to soldier Juan José Domínguez in 1784, with his descendants validating their legal clai ...

(including present-day Torrance), a tract of over in the province of

Las Californias The Californias (), occasionally known as the Three Californias or the Two Californias, are a region of North America spanning the United States and Mexico, consisting of the U.S. state of California and the Mexican states of Baja California an ...

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

, to soldier Juan José Domínguez. It was later divided in 1846, with Governor

Pío Pico Don (honorific), Don Pío de Jesús Pico IV (May 5, 1801 – September 11, 1894) was a California politician, ranchero, and entrepreneur, famous for serving as the List of governors of California before 1850, last governor of Alta California und ...

granting

Rancho de los Palos Verdes ''Rancho de los Palos Verdes'' was a Mexican land grant in present-day Los Angeles County, California given in 1846 by Governor Pío Pico to José Loreto and Juan Capistrano Sepulveda. The name means "Ranch of the Green Trees". The grant encomp ...

to José Loreto and Juan Capistrano Sepulveda in the

Alta California Alta California (, ), also known as Nueva California () among other names, was a province of New Spain formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but was made a separat ...

territory of independent

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Modern Era

In the early 1900s, real estate developer

Jared Sidney Torrance Jared Sidney Torrance (August 3, 1852 or 1853 – March 29, 1921) was an American real estate developer, best known as the founder of Torrance in southwest Los Angeles County, California. Southern California Jared Torrance was born in Gowanda, New ...

and other investors saw the value of creating a mixed industrial–residential community south of

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. They purchased part of an old Spanish land grant and hired landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. to design a

planned community A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...

. The resulting town was founded in October 1912 and named after Torrance. The city of Torrance was formally incorporated in May 1921, the townsite initially being bounded by Western Avenue on the east, Del Amo Boulevard on the north,

Crenshaw Boulevard Crenshaw Boulevard is a north–south thoroughfare that runs through Crenshaw and other neighborhoods along a route in the west-central part of Los Angeles, California, United States. The street extends between Wilshire Boulevard in Mid-W ...

on the west, and on the south by Plaza del Amo east of where it meets Carson Street, and by Carson Street west of where it meets Plaza del Amo. The first residential avenue created in Torrance was Gramercy and the second avenue was Andreo. Many of the houses on these avenues reached the centennial mark in 2012. Both avenues are located in the area referred to as Old Torrance. This section of Torrance is under review to be classified as a historical district. Some of the early civic and residential buildings were designed by the renowned and innovative

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

architect

Irving Gill Irving John Gill (April 26, 1870 – October 7, 1936), was an American architect, known professionally as Irving J. Gill. He did most of his work in Southern California, especially in San Diego and Los Angeles. He is considered a pioneer of the ...

, in his distinctive combining of

Mission Revival The Mission Revival style was part of an architectural movement, beginning in the late 19th century, for the revival and reinterpretation of American colonial styles. Mission Revival drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century ...

and early

Modernist architecture Modern architecture, also called modernist architecture, or the modern movement, is an architectural architectural movement, movement and architectural style, style that was prominent in the 20th century, between the earlier Art Deco Architectu ...

Historic Olmstead District

Torrance was planned as a new prototype of a balanced industrial city based on the principles of the

Garden City Movement The garden city movement was a 20th century urban planning movement promoting satellite communities surrounding the central city and separated with Green belt, greenbelts. These Garden Cities would contain proportionate areas of residences, i ...

. The original tract developed by the Olmstead Brothers consists of 109 city blocks divided into three sub-districts: residential, commercial, and industrial. The plan is most notable for its axial landscaped downtown commercial neighborhood aligned to have a view of Mount San Antonio in the San Gabriel Mountains. The Olmsted Tract includes a number of buildings designed by the noted Southern California Architect Irving Gill, including the original train depot. The footprint of the downtown neighborhood, now called Old Torrance, was designed on a diagonal to allow the trade breezes coming from the Pacific Ocean to keep the air clean from industrial pollution for the residential and commercial neighborhoods. The industrial sections of the city were placed on the eastern side of the original tract. Public transportation played a key role in the founding of Torrance. The Pacific Electric Red Car connected downtown Los Angeles to the new development of downtown Torrance. Designed in 1912 by Irving Gill, the terminus depot of the Red Car line was designed in a Spanish revival style popularized during this era. In May 1913, the

Pacific Electric Railroad Bridge The Pacific Electric Railroad Bridge (also the Southern Pacific Railroad Bridge and officially named the Pacific Electric Railway-El Prado Bridge) is a historic double-tracked arch bridge in Torrance, California, U.S. It spans Torrance Boulevard ...

was built. Often called the "El Prado Bridge", it further expanded the industrial heart of the South Bay. The concrete double-tracked arch bridge was the Pacific Electric Railway's first interurban line that connected north–south to San Pedro via the Gardena Line. The bridge was used for transporting freight and commuting workers to Torrance factories. The Red Car line connected under the bridge as it connected to the train depot located on Cabrillo Avenue. The bridge no longer carries any rail cars, with Pacific Electric closing the Red Car line to Torrance in the 1940s. The bridge became the city of Torrance's second entry in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on July 13, 1989, and is used as a logo for the city's new wayfinding signage and city materials. Torrance Bridge a

Geography

Torrance is a coastal community in southwestern Los Angeles County sharing the climate and geographical features common to the

Greater Los Angeles area Greater Los Angeles is the most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. state of California, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino County and Riverside County in the east, ...

. Its boundaries are: Redondo Beach Boulevard and the cities of Lawndale and Gardena to the north; Western Avenue and the

Harbor Gateway The Harbor Gateway, sometimes informally known as the L.A. Strip due to its shape, is a in the South Bay and Los Angeles Harbor Region, in the southern part of the City of Los Angeles. The neighborhood is narrow and long, running along a nor ...

neighborhood of

to the east; the Palos Verdes Hills with the cities of Lomita, Rolling Hills Estates and

Palos Verdes Estates Palos Verdes Estates is a coastal city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated on the Palos Verdes Peninsula and neighboring Rancho Palos Verdes and Rolling Hills Estates. The city was master-planned by the noted American lan ...

on the south; and the

and the city of

Redondo Beach Redondo Beach (Spanish for ) is a coastal city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located in the South Bay region of the Greater Los Angeles area. It is one of three adjacent beach cities along the southern portion of Santa Mo ...

to the west. The western portion of Torrance is in ZIP Code 90277, which is a city of

postal address. It is about southwest of

Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) is the central business district of the city of Los Angeles. It is part of the Central Los Angeles region and covers a area. As of 2020, it contains over 500,000 jobs and has a population of roughly 85,000 residents ...

.Fujita, Akiko
"Toyota built Torrance into the second-largest home of Japanese Americans. Now, it's leaving"Archive
. ''

The World The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk of a "plu ...

''.

Public Radio International Public Radio International (PRI) was an American public radio organization. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, PRI provided programming to over 850 public radio stations in the United States. PRI was one of the main providers of programmi ...

. May 16, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2015. Torrance Beach lies between Redondo Beach and Malaga Cove on

Santa Monica Bay Santa Monica Bay is a bight of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, United States. Its boundaries are slightly ambiguous, but it is generally considered to be the part of the Pacific within an imaginary line drawn between Point Dume, in ...

. The southernmost stretch of Torrance Beach, on a cove at the northern end of the

Palos Verdes The Palos Verdes Peninsula () is a peninsular subregion of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, located within southwestern Los Angeles County, California. It is often called simply "Palos Verdes", and is made up of a group of cities in the Palos ...

peninsula, is known to locals as Rat Beach (Right After Torrance). An urban

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

, the

Madrona Marsh The Madrona Marsh Preserve, in the city of Torrance in the South Bay region of Southern California, is a seasonal Delta wetland with vernal pools. The was a former site of oil wells and is one of the few natural areas remaining within an u ...

is a

nature preserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geolog ...

on land once set for oil production and saved from development, with restoration projects enhancing the vital habitat for birds, wildlife, and

native plant In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often popularised as "with no human intervention") during history. The term is equi ...

Climate

Torrance has a

warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Csb''), bordering with a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of se ...

(''Bsk''). The rainy season is November through March, as shown in the adjacent table. Summers tend to be warm but dry, despite Torrance's proximity to the coast. The Sunset Western Garden Book places most of Torrance in Zone 22, part of a basin area in Greater Los Angeles where cold air can pool—hence the surprisingly chilly record low temperatures for each calendar month at the airport, which has risk of frost over six months. Milder microclimates are found upslope of the airport to the south (Zone 23—thermal belt) and in the western blocks bordering the beach communities and

(Zone 24—marine influence dominant).

Demographics

2020 census

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Torrance had a population of 145,438. The population density was . The racial makeup of Torrance was 74,333 (51.1%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

(42.3% Non-Hispanic White), 50,240 (34.5%) Asian, 3,955 (2.7%)

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 554 (0.4%) Native American, 530 (0.4%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 7,808 (5.4%) from other races, and 8,018 (5.5%) from two or more races. There were 23,440

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino residents, of any race (16.1%). The Census reported that 144,292 people (99.2% of the population) lived in households, 506 (0.3%) homeless who lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 640 (0.4%) were institutionalized. There were 56,001 households, out of which 18,558 (33.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 29,754 (53.1%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 6,148 (11.0%) had a female householder with no husband present, 2,510 (4.5%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 2,152 (3.8%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 309 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 14,472 households (25.8%) were made up of individuals, and 5,611 (10.0%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58. There were 38,412

families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...

(68.6% of all households); the average family size was 3.14. There were 31,831 people (21.9%) under the age of 18, 10,875 (7.5%) aged 18 to 24, 38,296 (26.3%) aged 25 to 44, 42,710 (29.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 21,726 (14.9%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.8 males. There were 58,377 housing units at an average density of , of which 31,621 (56.5%) were owner-occupied, and 24,380 (43.5%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.8%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.3%. 85,308 people (58.7% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units, and 58,984 people (40.6%) lived in rental housing units. As of March 2019, Torrance had a median household income of $85,070 and a median family income of $102,637. Torrance has the second-highest percentage of residents of

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

ancestry in California (8.9%), after the neighboring city of Gardena.

2000

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 137,946 people, 54,542 households, and 36,270 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 55,967 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 59.2%

, 28.6% Asian, 2.2%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

, 0.4% Native American, 0.4%

, 4.6% from other races, and 4.7% from two or more races. 12.8% of the population were

or Latino of any race. 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 Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

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, 23.0% of the population was under the age of 18, 6.8% was from 18 to 24, 32.4% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% was 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 in 2008 was $79,312, and the median income for a family was $98,473. Males had a median income of $50,606 versus $36,334 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $39,118. About 4.7% of families and 5.4% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 5.7% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over.

Japanese Americans

As of 2014, Torrance had the second-largest concentration of people of Japanese ancestry of any U.S. city, after

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

. The city has offices of numerous Japanese companies, including those in the automotive industry. Because of this, many Japanese restaurants and other cultural offerings are in the city, and Willy Blackmore of ''

L.A. Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. The paper covers music, arts, film, theater, culture, and other local news in the Los Angeles area. ''LA Weekly'' was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin (among others), ...

'' wrote that Torrance was "essentially Japan's 48th

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

". Japanese supermarkets, schools, and banks serve the community. In the pre-

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

period, the South Bay region was one of the few areas that allowed non-U.S. citizens to acquire property, so a Japanese presence came. According to John Kaji, a Torrance resident quoted in

who was the son of Toyota's first American-based accountant, the Japanese corporate presence in Torrance, beginning with Toyota, attracted many ethnic Japanese. Toyota moved its operations to its Torrance campus in 1982 because of its proximity to the

Port of Long Beach The Port of Long Beach, administered as the Harbor Department of the City of Long Beach, is a container port in the United States, which adjoins Port of Los Angeles. Acting as a major gateway for US–Asian trade, the port occupies of land wi ...

and

Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles and its Greater Los Angeles, surrounding metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of California. LAX is located in the Westchester, Los Angeles, Westcheste ...

, and many other Japanese companies followed suit. In 2014, Toyota announced it was moving its U.S. headquarters to

Plano, Texas Plano ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "flat surface" /'plano/) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, where it is the largest city in Collin County, Texas, Collin County. A small portion of Plano is located in Denton County, Texas, Denton Count ...

Korean Americans

, about 60% of the Korean population in the South Bay region lived in Torrance and Gardena. In 1990, 5,888 ethnic Koreans lived in Torrance, a 256% increase from the 1980 figure of 1,652.

Homelessness

In 2022, Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority's Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count counted 306 homeless individuals in Torrance.

Economy

Torrance is home to the U.S. headquarters of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese

automaker The automotive industry comprises a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, selling, repairing, and modification of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industries ...

Honda commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...

and its luxury vehicle division,

Acura Acura is the luxury and performance division of Japanese automaker Honda, based primarily in North America. The brand was launched on March 27, 1986, marketing luxury and performance automobiles. Acura sells cars in the United States, Canada, M ...

. Robinson Helicopters are designed and built in Torrance as are

Honeywell Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building automation, industrial automa ...

Garrett Garrett may refer to: Places in the United States * Garrett, Illinois, a village * Garrett, Indiana, a city * Garrett, Floyd County, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Garrett, Meade County, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Garrett, ...

turbocharger In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (also known as a turbo or a turbosupercharger) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake air, forcing more air into th ...

s, used on

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

engines worldwide.

Alcoa Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for "Aluminum Company of America") is an American industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary alu ...

Fastening Systems (now known as Arconic) is headquartered in Torrance, producing aerospace fasteners. Pacific Sales, Pelican Products,

Virco The Virco Manufacturing Corporation, more commonly known as Virco, is an American furniture manufacturer based in Torrance, California which focuses on providing products for educational markets. The principal products of the company include stu ...

, and Rapiscan Systems are among the other companies based in Torrance. According to the city's 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, the city's top 10 employers (by number of employees) are:
Interior of Del Amo Fashion Center

The

Del Amo Fashion Center Del Amo Fashion Center is a three-level regional shopping mall in Torrance, California, United States. It is currently managed and co-owned by Simon Property Group. With a gross leasable area (GLA) of , it is the seventh largest shopping mall ...

, at , is one of the five largest malls in the United States by gross leasable area. The current mall was created when Del Amo Center, built in 1958, merged with Del Amo Fashion Square, built in 1972. Once located on opposite sides of Carson Street, an expansion of the mall spanning Carson Street joined the two centers by 1982, making it the largest mall in the world at the time. 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. This was followed in 2015 by the opening of an expanded northern Fashion Wing, with

Nordstrom Nordstrom, Inc. () is an American Luxury goods, luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin in 1901. The original store operated exclusively as a shoe store, and a seco ...

as the mall anchor and supplemented by luxury retailers such as

Kate Spade Katherine Noel Valentine Brosnahan Spade (born Katherine Noel Brosnahan; December 24, 1962 – June 5, 2018) was an American fashion designer and entrepreneur. She was the co-founder and co-owner of the designer brand Kate Spade New York. E ...

Hugo Boss Hugo Boss AG (stylized in all caps) is a designer fashion company headquartered in Metzingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company sells clothing, Fashion accessory, accessories, footwear, and Leather, leather goods. Hugo Boss is one of the ...

Uniqlo ( ; ) is a Japanese casual wear designer and retailer. The company is a subsidiary of Fast Retailing, Fast Retailing Co., Ltd. Clare Waight Keller is the creative director. History Men's Shop OS was founded in Ube, Yamaguchi. It was rebrand ...

Michael Kors Michael David Kors (born Karl Anderson Jr. August 9, 1959) is an American fashion designer. He is the chief creative officer of his brand, Michael Kors, which sells men's and women's ready-to-wear, accessories, watches, jewelry, footwear, and f ...

, and Ben Bridge. The Old Towne Mall was an entertainment-themed mall operating in the 1970s. As a major oil-producing region, Torrance was once dotted with thousands of

oil wells An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsatur ...

and

oil derrick A derrick is a lifting device composed at minimum of one guyed mast, as in a gin pole, which may be articulated over a load by adjusting its guys. Most derricks have at least two components, either a guyed mast or self-supporting tower, and a ...

s. Though the oil wells are not as common as they once were, the Torrance oil refinery owned by

PBF Energy PBF Energy Inc. is a petroleum refining and logistics company that produces and sells transportation fuels, heating oils, lubricants, petrochemical feedstocks, and other petroleum products. The company owns and operated 6 refineries throughout th ...

in the north end of the city is responsible for much of Southern California's gasoline supply. Torrance was an important hub and shop site of the

Pacific Electric Railway The Pacific Electric Railway Company, nicknamed the Red Cars, was a privately owned mass transit system in Southern California consisting of electrically powered streetcars, interurban cars, and buses and was the largest electric railway system ...

. Torrance has a

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

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 Louis Silvie Zamperini (January 26, 1917 – July 2, 2014) was an American World War II veteran, an Olympic distance runner and a Christian Evangelism, evangelist. He took up running in high school and qualified for the United States in t ...

. The airport handles approximately 175,000 annual take-offs and landings (473 per day), down from the 1974 record of 428,000 operations. Airport noise abatement is a major local issue. Torrance is also home to the main bakery facility for

King's Hawaiian King's Hawaiian is a Los Angeles-based family-owned and operated bakery, known chiefly for its Hawaiian bread. It was founded by Robert Taira in Hilo, Hawaii, in 1950. History Robert Taira founded the company, then called Robert's Bakery, i ...

, the dominant brand of Hawaiian bread in North America. Younger Optics, Torrance's 10th-largest employer, created the first seamless or "invisible" bifocal. The headquarters of

Mitsuwa Marketplace is a Japanese supermarket chain in America, with locations in California, Illinois, Texas, Hawaii, and New Jersey. History As a subsidiary of Yaohan, ''Yaohan USA'' opened its first supermarket in Fresno in 1979. During its heyday, Yaohan o ...

and

Nijiya Market Nijiya Market (ニジヤマーケット ''Nijiya Māketto'') is an American chain of Japanese supermarkets headquartered in Torrance, California, with store locations in California and Hawaii. The store's rainbow logo is intended to represent ...

are both located in Torrance.

Operations of foreign companies

All Nippon Airways (ANA) is a Japanese airline headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. ANA operates services to both domestic and international destinations and is Japan's largest airline, ahead of its main rival flag carrier Japan Airlines. the airline has approximate ...

operates its United States headquarters, a customer relations and services office, in Torrance. The Toyota Motor Company of Japan established a U.S. headquarters on October 31, 1957, at a former Rambler dealership in Hollywood. Toyota sold 287 Toyopet Crowns and one Land Cruiser during the company's first year of U.S. operation. It moved

Toyota Motor Sales USA Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. (TMS, also known as Toyota USA) is the North American Toyota sales, marketing, and distribution subsidiary devoted to the United States market. Founded in 1957 in California, TMS currently employs more than 6,500 pe ...

operations to Torrance in 1982, because of easy access to port facilities and the LAX airport. In 2013, it sold 2.2 million vehicles in the U.S. In 2014, it announced it would move 3,000 of its white-collar employees to

to be closer to its American factories. Numerous other Japanese firms followed Toyota to Los Angeles, because of its location and its reputation as the national trend-setter. The Los Angeles South Bay area, as of 2014, has the largest concentration of Japanese companies in the United States.

Arts and culture

The

Armed Forces Day An Armed Forces Day, alongside its Military branch, branch-specific variants often referred to as Army or Soldier's Day, Navy or Sailor's Day, and Air Force or Aviator's Day, is a holiday dedicated to honoring the Military, armed forces, o ...

Parade in Torrance, which was first produced in 1960, is the longest-running military parade sponsored by a city. It is held annually on Armed Forces Day, and runs down Torrance Boulevard. The parade features military vehicles, school bands, and prominent community members. The Torrance Cultural Arts Center hosts cultural events year-round. In partnership with the City of Torrance, the Torrance Cultural Arts Foundation (TOCA) provides diverse cultural, educational and entertainment experiences. Additional performances are provided by the Torrance Performing Arts Consortium, including The Aerospace Players, Torrance Art Museum, Los Cancioneros Master Chorale, South Bay Ballet, South Bay Conservatory, and The Torrance Symphony. In the 2010

Rose Parade The Rose Parade, also known as the Tournament of Roses Parade (or simply the Tournament of Roses), is an annual parade held mostly along Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, California, United States, on New Year's Day (or on Monday, January 2 if New ...

, City of Torrance's entry won the top Lathrop K. Leishman trophy for its ''Garden of Dreams'' float, judged as the "Most Beautiful Non-Commercial" float. In 2011, Torrance won the Tournament Volunteers' Trophy for best floral design of parade theme under 35 feet in length. In 2012, the city's entry won the Governor's Trophy for best depiction of life in California. In 2015, an entry honoring Rose Parade Grand Marshal Louis Zamperini won the Theme trophy for excellence in presenting parade theme. In 2016, the City of Torrance float won the Princess trophy for most beautiful float 35 feet and under.

Historic landmarks

These Torrance landmarks are on the

: *

Main Building (Torrance High School) The Main Building of Torrance High School is located on the campus in Torrance, California, Torrance, southwestern Los Angeles County, California., Nomination for the National Register of Historic Places, dated February 1983 . accessed 2.28.2016. ...

– ''

Mediterranean Revival architecture Mediterranean Revival is an architectural style introduced in the United States, Canada, and certain other countries in the 19th century. It incorporated references to Architecture of the Spanish Renaissance, Spanish Renaissance, Spanish Colonia ...

, 1917 and 1921'' * Original Science Building – Current Home Economics Building (Torrance High School) *

Auditorium (Torrance High School) The Auditorium, also known as the Assembly Hall, is a PWA Moderne style building located on the campus of Torrance High School in Torrance, Los Angeles County, California. When built in 1924 the building was a source of pride for Torrance, and ...

– ''

Streamline Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by Aerodynamics, aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In indu ...

, 1938'' * Torrance Elementary School – Current High School Annex – Mediterranean Revival *

– ''designed by

, 1913''

Parks and recreation

City parks

The Torrance City Parks Department directs and maintains the thirty Torrance City Parks. They include: * Wilson Park – the park has picnic and sports facilities, including a gymnasium, skatepark, and roller-hockey rink. Wilson Park also hosts th
Torrance Farmers Market
** The Southern California Live Steamers Miniature Railroad is located at the Southeast corner of Charles H. Wilson Park. Free train rides on actual miniature live steam trains are given on the first Sunday and third Saturday of each month and the 4th of July. SCLS was one of the first live steam clubs in California started in 1946 with original members like Walt Disney, Olie Johnston and Ward Kimball all of Disney fame. The club moved to Torrance in 1986 after leaving the Lomita Railway Museum property. * Madrona Marsh Wildlife Preserve & Nature Center – a rare Southern California

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

with higher Coastal sage

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

native plants In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often popularised as "with no human intervention") during history. The term is equi ...

areas, wildlife and

birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescop ...

, and a

Nature center A nature center (or nature centre) is an organization with a visitor center or interpretive center designed to educate people about nature and the environment. Usually in a protected open space, nature centers often have trails through thei ...

with natural gardens classes. *

Columbia Park Columbia Park or Columbia Avenue Grounds was a baseball park in Philadelphia. It was built in 1901 as the first home of the Philadelphia Athletics, who played there for eight seasons, including two games of the 1905 World Series. Columbia Park ...

– the large recreational

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

regional park A regional park is an area of land preserved on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, recreational use or other reason, and under the administration of a form of local government. Definition A regional park can be a special park distr ...

has picnic areas, field sports facilities, walking paths,

jogging Jogging is a form of trotting or running at a slow or leisurely pace. The main intention is to increase physical fitness with less stress on the body than from faster running but more than walking, or to maintain a steady speed for longer periods ...

trails, and a competitive

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and soil, earth, pass through woodlands and ope ...

racecourse. The

cherry blossom The cherry blossom, or sakura, is the flower of trees in ''Prunus'' subgenus '' Cerasus''. ''Sakura'' usually refers to flowers of ornamental cherry trees, such as cultivars of ''Prunus serrulata'', not trees grown for their fruit (although ...

tree grove, part of Living Tree Dedication program, is in Columbia Park. * Torrance Smart Gardening Center – Columbia Park features a

Community Garden A community garden is a piece of land gardened or cultivated by a group of people individually or collectively. Normally in community gardens, the land is divided into individual plots. Each individual gardener is responsible for their own plot ...

providing planting beds and "community" for residents. It is one of twelve county-operated Smart Gardening Centers around the region. Columbia Park additionally serves as home to the Home Garden Learning Center, and is a backyard

compost Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical, and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by Decomposition, decomposing plant and food waste, recycling organic materials, and man ...

ing demonstration center provided by

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...

. * Living Tribute Trees park program – The Torrance Parks Living Dedication Tree Program is coordinated and by the city, so that families, individuals, and groups can sponsor the planting of a new tree in the park to honor a person or commemorate an event with a living tribute Tree Dedication. * Torrance Beach Park, and the beach along the Pacific Coast of Torrance, known as " RAT Beach". * Marvin Braude Bike Trail (The Strand), a paved bicycle path that runs mostly along the

shoreline in

, ends there.

Government

Local government

The City of Torrance is a

charter city Home rule in the United States relates to the authority of a constituent part of a U.S. state to exercise powers of governance (i.e., whether such powers must be specifically delegated to it by the state—typically by legislative action—or a ...

. The original city charter was voted on and ratified by the qualified electors at an election held August 20, 1946, and filed with the Secretary of State January 7, 1947. The elective officers of the city are the mayor, six members of the City Council, five members of the Board of Education, the City Clerk and the City Treasurer. Using the council-manager form of government, the City Council, as the elected body, adopts legislation, sets policy, adjudicates issues, and establishes the budget of the city. The City Council appoints the City Manager and the City Attorney. The city has 13 appointed boards and commissions which advise the council on matters of concern to local residents, such as the city airport, arts, parks, and libraries.

State and federal representation

In the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature (the lower house being the California State Assembly). The state senate convenes, along with the state assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. ...

, Torrance is split between , and . In the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...

, it is in . In the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, Torrance is split between , and .

Postal service

The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

operates the Torrance Post Office at 2510 Monterey Street, the Marcelina Post Office at 1433 Marcelina Avenue, the Walteria Post Office at 4216 Pacific Coast Highway, the North Torrance Post Office at 18080 Crenshaw Boulevard, and the Del Amo Post Office at 291 Del Amo Fashion Square. Zip codes 90277, 90501, 90503, 90504, 90505.

Healthcare

There are two major hospitals in Torrance:

Torrance Memorial Medical Center Torrance Memorial Medical Center is a private hospital located in Torrance, California. Torrance Memorial was the first hospital in the South Bay region and is currently one of the three burn centers in Los Angeles County. History Torrance Mem ...

and Little Company of Mary Hospital. A third hospital,

Los Angeles County Department of Health Services Health Services Los Angeles County, officially the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, operates the public hospitals and clinics in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County and is the United States' second largest municip ...

Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, lies just outside the city limits (in unincorporated

West Carson West Carson is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California. The population was 22,870 at the 2020 United States census, ...

).West Carson CDP, California
"

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

. Retrieved on May 18, 2019. Compare to th
Zoning map of
an
Land use map of
(which indicates hospitals) Torrance, California. Harbor-UCLA is not in the Torrance city limits. The

operates the Torrance Health Center in

Fire

* Torrance Fire Department staffs seven Engine Companies, five Paramedic Rescue Squads, and two Truck Companies. The department operates out of six Fire Stations providing Fire and EMS coverage for the City and Mutual Aid to the surrounding communities. Torrance Memorial Medical Center, Little Company of Mary Hospital, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Kaiser Hospital-South Bay, and Memorial Hospital of Gardena are receiving hospitals for residents in Torrance who call 911 for medical assistance. The department is a Class 1 rated Fire Department, the Fire Chief is Martin Serna. Ambulance transportation is provided through McCormick Ambulance.

Police

Torrance Police Department The Torrance Police Department is the police department serving Torrance, California. The department employs 227 sworn officers and 124 civilians. The department is the largest law enforcement agency in South Bay, and is one of the largest poli ...

provides 24-hour law enforcement coverage to the city. The department is broken down into four major divisions, each with its own subdivisions. The department has one main station located at the Civic Center near City Hall. It houses the administrative offices, the city jail, and the public safety dispatch center. The department works closely with other local law enforcement agencies for training and SWAT operations. The police chief is Jeremiah Hart. * Torrance operates its own 911 dispatch center located at the police station, and is responsible for all 911 calls originating in Torrance. The communications center answers emergency and non-emergency calls and requests for assistance in addition to dispatching for both the Fire and Police Departments.

Public library

The City of Torrance operates a main library facility (named after former mayor Katy Geissert) in the city Civic Center, plus five branches at locations throughout the city.

Transportation

Zamperini Field (

IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is an airline trade association founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff conferences tha ...

: TOA

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...

: KTOA) is a general aviation airport. Commercial airlines service is within 15 minutes at

and

Long Beach Airport Long Beach Airport is a public airport northeast of downtown Long Beach, California, Long Beach, in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is also called Daugherty Field, named after local aviator Earl Daugherty. The airport was an ...

. Highways and freeways in the region include I-110, I-405, SR 91, SR 107, and SR 1. The city is served by

Torrance Transit Torrance Transit is a transit agency primarily serving the South Bay, Los Angeles, South Bay region of Los Angeles County. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . History Torrance Transit inaugurated service on Januar ...

LACMTA The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA), branded as Metro, is the county agency that plans, operates, and coordinates funding for most of the public transportation system in Los Angeles County, California, the m ...

Metro bus, and

LADOT The Los Angeles Department of Transportation, commonly referred to as LADOT, is a municipal agency that oversees transportation planning, design, construction, maintenance and operations within the city of Los Angeles. LADOT was created by city o ...

services.

Rail

Union Pacific currently operates what is left of the

Pacific Electric The Pacific Electric Railway Company, nicknamed the Red Cars, was a privately owned Public transport, mass transit system in Southern California consisting of electrically powered streetcars, interurban cars, and buses and was the largest electr ...

's San Pedro via Gardena Line and Torrance Loop Line both built in 1911 (passenger service was provided until 1940, afterwards only the Torrance shop train was operated for employees). The Pacific Electric Torrance Shops were completed in 1918 and closed in 1955 two years after all passenger service was taken over by

Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority The Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority (sometimes referred to as LAMTA or MTA I) was a public agency formed in 1951. Originally tasked with planning for rapid transit in Los Angeles, California, the agency would come to operate the vesti ...

. Freight operations were taken over by PE's parent company,

Southern Pacific The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the names ...

, in 1965. SP was merged into UP in 1996. The

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA), branded as Metro, is the county agency that plans, operates, and coordinates funding for most of the Transportation in Los Angeles, public transportation system in Los Ang ...

(LA Metro) plans to complete the C Line Extension of their Metro Rail system from

sometime between 2030 and 2033, though there are plans to accelerate the project as part of the Twenty-eight by '28 initiative so it can be done by the 2028 Olympics. Freight to Torrance is served by

BNSF BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that provide ...

and

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...

. BNSF operates on the former

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Railroad classes, Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight tra ...

Harbor Subdivision line originally built in the 1920s. AT&SF was merged with

Burlington Northern The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States–based railroad company formed from a merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1995. Its historical lineage begins in the earliest days of railroad ...

in 1996 to form BNSF.

Proposed metro expansion

There have been proposals to expand the

LA Metro The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA), branded as Metro, is the county agency that plans, operates, and coordinates funding for most of the public transportation system in Los Angeles County, California, the mo ...

to Torrance, but these proposals have faced opposition by Torrance politicians. In 2023, members of the Torrance City Council, Aurelio Mattucci and Jon Kaji, sought to block the expansion, arguing that the Metro would bring crime and homelessness to Torrance.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

Torrance Unified School District Torrance Unified School District (TUSD) is a school district in Los Angeles County, California, with its headquarters in Torrance. The district board of education has a president, a vice president, a clerk, and two members. As of 2021, the D ...

(TUSD) was established in 1947 and unified in 1948. The district comprises the City of Torrance, bordered by the Palos Verdes Peninsula on the south, the cities of Redondo Beach and Gardena on the north, the City of Los Angeles (Harbor Gateway) on the east and the Pacific Ocean on the west. The district's jurisdiction covers approximately , and it operates 17 elementary schools, eight middle schools, five high schools (one of which is a continuation school), three adult education centers, and a child development center. The Torrance Unified School District's five

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

s are: *

Torrance High School Torrance High School is a high school located in Torrance, California. Founded in 1917, it is one of the oldest high schools in continuous use in California and is the oldest of the five high schools in the Torrance Unified School District. Four ...

North High School North High School may refer to: * North High School (Phoenix, Arizona) * North Pulaski High School, Jacksonville, Arkansas * North High School (Bakersfield, California) * John W. North High School, Riverside, California * North High School (Torran ...

* South High School * West High School * Kurt Shery High School (continuation) The Torrance Unified School District's eight

middle school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

s are: * Calle Mayor Middle School * Casimir Middle School * Bert Lynn Middle School * J.H. Hull Middle School * Jefferson Middle School * Madrona Middle School * Philip Magruder Middle School * Richardson Middle School The Torrance Unified School District's 17

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

s are: * Hickory Elementary School * John Adams Elementary School * Torrance Elementary School * Howard Wood Elementary School * Anza Elementary School * Arlington Elementary School * Arnold Elementary School * Carr Elementary School * Yukon Elementary School * Walteria Elementary School * Riviera Elementary School * Towers Elementary School * Fern Elementary School * Edison Elementary School * Lincoln Elementary School * Seaside Elementary School * Victor Elementary School Area districts have created the Southern California Regional Occupational Center (SCROC) to teach technical classes to their students and to local adults. TUSD is a participant feeder district of the California Academy of Mathematics and Science or CAMS, a mathematics and science magnet high school, administered by the

Long Beach Unified School District The Long Beach Unified School District is a school district headquartered in Long Beach, California, United States. Established in 1885, Long Beach Unified School District educates 64,000 students in 84 public schools in the cities of Long ...

Private schools

Torrance also has several private schools. Catholic schools under the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles The Archdiocese of Los Angeles (, ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the southern coastal portion of the U.S. state of California. The archdiocese's cathedra is in Los Angeles, and the arc ...

include

Bishop Montgomery High School Bishop Montgomery High School (commonly referred to as "BMHS" or simply "Bishop" by students) is a Catholic high school serving twenty-five parishes in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. BMHS was founded in 1957, and staffed by the Sisters of St. ...

, Nativity Catholic School, St James Catholic School and St Catherine Laboure Catholic School. Protestant private schools include Ascension Lutheran School and First Lutheran School. In 1980 the

Lycée Français de Los Angeles Le Lycée Français de Los Angeles (''French School of Los Angeles'') is a private bilingual education school founded in 1964. School , the school had more than 1,075 students, about 50%–60% of them being French citizens and the remainder Ame ...

bought the former Parkway School property, located in the Hollywood Riviera section of Torrance, from TUSD. This property became the Lycee's Torrance campus, and as of February 1990 the campus had 100 students. In November 1989 the Lycee sold the property for $2.65 million to Manhattan Holding Co. and scheduled to transfer the students to its West Los Angeles campuses. As of February 1990 neighbors of the campus site were asking the City of Torrance to not modify the zoning of this property. The Lycee stated that the campus closed due to low enrollment. At one time, Coast Christian Schools (now

Valor Christian Academy Valor Christian Academy is a private transitional kindergarten through middle grades Christian school in Redondo Beach, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was previously known as Coast Christian School but received its current n ...

) maintained a high school campus in Torrance.Where Are We Located?
Coast Christian Schools. November 9, 1999. Retrieved on July 9, 2016. "4010 Pacific Coast Highway, Torrance, CA 90505"

Colleges and universities

Torrance is in the El Camino Community College District. The campus

El Camino College El Camino College (Elco or ECC) is a public community college in Los Angeles County, California. Most of it is in Alondra Park,Alondra Park, while a portion is in the Torrance City limits. El Camino College was founded in 1947, and the campus covers . As of 2011, the college enrolls over 25,000 students each semester.

Miscellaneous education

In 1980,

Asahi Gakuen Asahi Gakuen, or the Los Angeles Japanese School, is a part-time Japanese school in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.Rainey, James.Children of Japanese Executives Flock to Special Classrooms" ''Los Angeles Times''. December 31, 1987. Retrieved ...

, a weekend Japanese-language education institution, began renting space in South Torrance High School.Rainey, James.
Children of Japanese Executives Flock to Special Classrooms
" ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

''. December 31, 1987. Retrieved on March 6, 2014. The weekend school continues to use the high school for its Torrance Campus (トーランス校 ''Tōransu-kō''). Asahi Gakuen has its administrative offices in Harbor Gateway, near Torrance. - Compare the administrative office location t
the Map of Harbor Gateway from the City of Los Angeles
Despite the Torrance address, the administrative office is not i
the City of Torrance

Media

The ''

'' is the metropolitan area's newspaper. The ''

Daily Breeze The ''Daily Breeze'' is a 57,000-circulation daily newspaper published in Hermosa Beach, California, United States. It serves the South Bay cities of Los Angeles County. Its slogan is "LAX to LA Harbor". Early history The paper was found ...

'', a 70,000-circulation daily newspaper, is published in Torrance. It serves the South Bay cities of

. Its slogan is "LAX to LA Harbor". Herald Publications, media group started the ''Torrance Tribune'', a community newspaper, which was started November 2010, it has a distribution of 15,000 newspapers to single-family homes and businesses in the City of Torrance. Torrance CitiCABLE, shown on KNET 25.2, Spectrum 3, Frontier FiOS 31 is the government access channel. Programming includes news, sports, entertainment, information, public affairs, and city council meetings.

Notable people

* Jason "Wee-Man" Acuña, TV host and actor * Memo Arzate, soccer player *

Bela Bajaria Bela Bajaria (born 1970 in the London Borough of Brent) is a British-American businesswoman and media executive. She joined Netflix in 2016 to oversee unscripted and scripted series. Bajaria has been the chief content officer since January 2024. ...

, Netflix Chief Content Officer, Time 100 Most Influential People (2022); attended Torrance High * Danny Barber, serial killer executed in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

in 1999 *

Brian Bonsall Brian Eric Bonsall (born December 3, 1981) is an American rock musician, singer, guitarist and former child actor. Bonsall is the guitarist for punk rock band The Ataris. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Andrew "Andy" Keaton, the youn ...

, actor in ''Blank Check'' (1994 Disney film) *

Jonathan Bornstein Jonathan Rey Bornstein (born November 7, 1984) is an American former professional soccer player who plays as a left-back. He has captained and made 38 appearances for the United States national team. In addition to also playing for Chivas USA i ...

, soccer player *

John Butler John Butler may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John "Picayune" Butler (died 1864), American banjo performer; may have been used by a number of performers * John Butler (artist) (1890–1976), American artist * John Butler (author) (born 1937), ...

, leader of the

John Butler Trio The John Butler Trio were an Australian Folk music, roots-Rock music, rock band led by guitarist and vocalist John Butler (musician), John Butler, an Australasian Performing Right Association, APRA and ARIA-award-winning musician. They formed in ...

Brandon Call Brandon Spencer Lee Call (born November 17, 1976) is an American former television and film actor. He played Hobie Buchannon in the first year of ''Baywatch'' and J.T. Lambert on ''Step by Step''. Career While still a child, Brandon Call bega ...

, actor on ''Step by Step'' *

Larry Carlton Larry Eugene Carlton (born March 2, 1948) is an American guitarist who built his career as a studio musician in the 1970s and 1980s for acts including Steely Dan and Joni Mitchell. One of the most sought after guitarists of his era, Carlton has ...

, guitarist * John Chiang, California State Controller *

Kraig Chiles Kraig Chiles (born May 14, 1984) is an American soccer player who plays for the San Diego Sockers of the Major Arena Soccer League. Career Youth and college Chiles played high school soccer for Poway High School in Poway, California, and rema ...

, soccer player * Roger Clinton, half-brother of President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

Chuck Codd Chuck Codd (born in Torrance, California) is a former U.S. soccer defender who played one season in the Western Soccer Alliance, six in the National Professional Soccer League, two in the USISL and two in the USL PDL. He is currently the assis ...

, soccer player and coach * Chase d'Arnaud, former Major League Baseball player *

Peter Daut Peter Daut (born September 18, 1983) is an American journalist who has been an anchor and investigative reporter at KESQ-TV in Palm Springs, California, since February 2020. He was born in Torrance, California, grew up in Placentia and graduat ...

, news anchor,

KCBS-TV KCBS-TV (channel 2), branded CBS Los Angeles, is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast of the United States, West Coast flagship station of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the n ...

Rosemary Decamp Rosemary Shirley DeCamp (November 14, 1910 – February 20, 2001) was an American radio, film, and television actress. Life and career Early life Rosemary Shirley DeCamp was born in Prescott, Yavapai County, Arizona on November 14, 1910 to W ...

, actress * Chris Demaria, former MLB pitcher for the Royals and Brewers *

Bo Derek Bo Derek (born Mary Cathleen Collins; November 20, 1956) is an American actress and model. She began her career as a child model before deciding to pursue acting on the advice of a talent agent she met through actress Ann-Margret, who was acqua ...

, actress *

Michael Dudikoff Michael Joseph Stephen Dudikoff Jr., (; born October 8, 1954) is an American actor, model and martial artist. Born in New York City, his family later moved to Los Angeles. Dudikoff did different jobs to pay for his education, during this time he b ...

, actor * Bobby East,

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

driver *

Ryan Ellis Ryan James Ellis (born January 3, 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman currently under contract for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Ellis was drafted eleventh overall by the Nashville Predators in ...

, NASCAR driver *

Whitney Engen Whitney Elizabeth Engen (born November 28, 1987) is an American former soccer player and FIFA Women's World Cup champion. She played as a defender for the United States women's national soccer team as well as the Boston Breakers of the Nationa ...

, player for the

United States women's national soccer team The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's soccer. The team is governed by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF (the Confederation of North, Central Ameri ...

Carla Esparza Carla Kristen Esparza (born October 10, 1987) is an American former professional mixed martial artist and wrestler who most recently competed in the women's Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in which she is the fo ...

, mixed martial artist; former

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

strawweight champion *

Stephanie Hsu Stephanie Ann Hsu ( : born November 25, 1990) is an American actress. She received critical acclaim for her dual role as Joy Wang and Jobu Tupaki in the film ''Everything Everywhere All at Once'' (2022), which earned her a nomination for the Aca ...

, actress * Albert Isen, first directly elected mayor *

Kellen Goff Kellen Alexander Goff (born February 3, 1995) is an American voice actor. He is most well known for his work in the video game franchise ''Five Nights at Freddy's'', alongside his roles in ''My Hero Academia'', '' JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Gold ...

, voice actor *

Ben Going Ben Going (born June 15, 1985), is an American YouTuber who was prominent during 2006 and 2007. He was based in Torrance, California, and is one of the site's earliest YouTube Partners. Most of Going's videos are shot in black-and-white. He has ...

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

celebrity *

Tony Gonzalez Anthony David Gonzalez (born February 27, 1976) is an American former professional football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. Regarded as one of the greatest tight ends of all time, he is the NFL's all ...

, retired

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

; 11-time

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

selection *

Rorion Gracie Rorion Gracie (; born January 10, 1952) is a Brazilian-born Gracie jiu-jitsu Grand Master, a prominent member of the Gracie family, writer, publisher, producer, lecturer, lawyer and the co-founder of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is th ...

Royce Gracie Royce Gracie (; born 12 December 1966) is a Brazilian retired professional mixed martial artist. Gracie gained fame for his success in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a member of the Gracie jiu-jitsu family, a UFC Hall of Famer ...

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

practitioners and

fighters *

Bart Johnson Barton Robert Johnson (born December 13, 1970) is an American actor, best known for his role as Coach Jack Bolton in the ''High School Musical'' film series. He was exposed to the TV and film industry at a young age and began his career in the ...

, retired

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

pitcher *

Parnelli Jones Rufus Parnell "Parnelli" Jones (August 12, 1933 – June 4, 2024) was an American professional racing driver and racing team owner. He is notable for his accomplishments while competing in the Indianapolis 500 and the Baja 1000 desert race, and ...

, USAC driver and his son, P. J. Jones,

IRL IRL may refer to: Arts and media * ''IRL'' (2013 film), a Swedish drama film about a high school student tormented by peers * IRL (2019 film), an American drama film about "the ups and downs of online dating and modern dating" * ''IRL'' (album), ...

driver *

Spike Jonze Adam Spiegel (born October 22, 1969), known professionally as Spike Jonze (), is an American Filmmaking, filmmaker, actor, musician, and photographer. His work includes films, commercials, music videos, skateboard videos and television. Jonze ...

, director, producer, screenwriter and actor; part owner of skateboard company

Girl Skateboards Crailtap is a skateboarding distribution company based in Torrance, California, United States. The distribution company is home to Girl Skateboards, Chocolate Skateboards, Royal Skateboard Trucks, and Fourstar Clothing. Girl Skateboards Histor ...

* Fred Kendall, former MLB catcher and manager * Jason Kendall, former MLB catcher * Dave Kerman, drummer * Chloe Kim, professional snowboarder, 2018 Winter Olympics gold medalist * Kevin Kim, professional tennis player * Harajuku Girls#Jennifer Kita, Jennifer Kita, Angel/Lil Angel of the Harajuku Girls * Alix Klineman (born 1989), volleyball player"Alix Klineman; Beach Volleyball,"
Team USA. * Scott Kolden, actor * Michelle Kwan, 5-time world champion figure skater and List of ambassadors of the United States to Belize, United States ambassador to Belize since 2022 * Dave LaRoche, former MLB pitcher; father of MLB players Adam LaRoche and Andy LaRoche * Tokimonsta, Jennifer Lee (TOKiMONSTA), electronic music producer and DJ * Ted Lieu, Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, U.S. Representative for California's 33rd congressional district * Ted Lilly, retired MLB starting pitcher * Jeremy Lin, professional basketball player * Nancy Lopez, Hall of Fame professional golfer * Joyce Manor, emo/punk band * Brandon Manumaleuna, NFL tight end for the Chicago Bears * Rami Malek, actor * Antonio Margarito, Mexican-American professional boxer * Francisco Mendoza (footballer), Francisco Mendoza, Major League Soccer, MLS player * Alyson Michalka, Alyson and Amanda Michalka (78violet, Aly & AJ), singers and actresses * Justin Miller (baseball, born 1977), Justin Miller, MLB pitcher * Ethan Moreau, former Los Angeles Kings hockey player * Ivory (wrestler), Lisa Moretti, World Wrestling Entertainment, WWE's "Ivory" * Chad Morton, National Football League, NFL player * Johnnie Morton, former NFL player * Paul Moyer, television news broadcaster * George Nakano, California politician * Don Newcombe, former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher; first winner of MLB Rookie of the Year award, Rookie of the Year, MLB Most Valuable Player award, MVP, and Cy Young Award, Cy Young awards * Steve Nguyen, director, producer, and screenwriter * Chuck Norris, karate expert and actor; raised in Torrance; opened his first dojo in Torrance * Amy Okuda, actress * Brian Ortega, mixed martial artist * the Pedregon family, professional drag racers Frank Sr., Cruz Pedregon, Cruz, Frank Jr., and Tony Pedregon, Tony * Greg Popovich, founder and owner of Castle Rock Winery * Jolene Purdy, actress, best known for role in Under the Dome (TV series), ''Under the Dome'' as Dodee * Daryl Sabara & Evan Sabara, actors (''Spy Kids (film), Spy Kids'' and ''Keeping Up with the Steins'') * Adán Sánchez, Mexican-American corrido singer * Steve Sarkisian, Current head football coach at the University of Texas at Austin * Sigi Schmid, LA Galaxy head coach * Skip Schumaker, MLB outfielder * Justin Shenkarow, actor * Bud Smith, retired MLB player; threw no-hitter in his rookie season (2001) * Snoop Dogg, rapper, actor; owns mansion in Hollywood Riviera neighborhood * Joe Stevenson,

practitioner and

fighter * Jack Stewart (soccer), Jack Stewart, soccer player, Carolina RailHawks in USL First Division, USL-1 * Royle Stillman, MLB outfielder * William Suff, serial killer * Quentin Tarantino, filmmaker * Tiny Ron Taylor, Ron Taylor, film and television actor, pro basketball player (ABA and Austrian League) * Tyrone Taylor, center fielder for the New York Mets * Deon Thompson, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina Tar Heels basketball player * Connor Tingley, artist * Billy Traber, Major League Baseball pitcher * Tiffany van Soest, kickboxer * Janeene Vickers, 1992 Barcelona Olympics medalist * Chauncey Washington, former NFL running back * Glen Walker, NFL player * J. Warner Wallace, homicide detective and Christian apologist * David Wells, former MLB pitcher * Paul Westphal, NBA player and former head coach * Ryan Wheeler, MLB third baseman * Denzel Whitaker, actor * John White (running back, born 1991), John White, Canadian Football League, CFL player * Steven Wright (baseball), Steven Wright, starting pitcher for Boston Red Sox *

, 1936 Olympic track star, World War II veteran, author, speaker; subject of ''Unbroken (book), Unbroken'' * Latrice Royale, drag queen; best known for competing on the RuPaul's Drag Race (season 4), fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race and the RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (season 4), fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars

Sister cities

In 1973, Torrance established a sister-city relationship with Kashiwa, Chiba,

, 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. North High School (Torrance), North High is the official sister high school of Kashiwa Municipal High. Torrance has also had a sister-city relationship with Konya, Turkey, Türkiye since 1958.

References

External links

*
Discover Torrance the Official Visitors Bureau for Torrance, California

{{authority control Torrance, California, 1912 establishments in California 1921 establishments in California Cities in Los Angeles County, California Incorporated cities and towns in California Populated coastal places in California Populated places established in 1912 Populated places established in 1921 South Bay, Los Angeles Surfing locations in California

History

Pre-colonial era

Spanish and Mexican eras

Modern Era

Historic Olmstead District

Geography

Climate

Demographics

2020 census

2010

2000

Japanese Americans

Korean Americans

Homelessness

Economy

Operations of foreign companies

Arts and culture

Historic landmarks

Parks and recreation

City parks

Government

Local government

State and federal representation

Postal service

Healthcare

Fire

Police

Public library

Transportation

Rail

Proposed metro expansion

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

Private schools

Colleges and universities

Miscellaneous education

Media

Notable people

Sister cities

See also

References

External links