California Fool’s Gold — Exploring Torrance

I finally explored Torrance. I say “finally” because it occupied the top spot, based on reader votes, for the longest time — maybe since 2019. Then the COVID-19 pandemic happened… and Torrance are sort of far from me and not that easy to get to. So, in the meantime, when I explored, I stuck to closer, more walkable places like Larchmont Village and Miracle Mile, despite them having fewer votes. When my friend, Matt, offered to join me in exploring Torrance last Friday, I had to jump on the opportunity. It was, I believe, Matt’s first time in joining on an exploration in ten years. Back in 2013, he and I explored El Monte. Before that, he and his partner, Cheryl, joined me in exploring Gardena, way back in 2010.

TORRANCE AND ME

Torrance and I go pretty far back — although I can’t remember when I first became aware of it. Recently, I went there with my friend, Mike, to visit Madrona Marsh for a night hike but it was cancelled due to rain. The wetlands, it seems, can be too wet. We went to Thai Rama, instead, which — although only founded in 1983 — is one of Torrance’s oldest restaurants. I have several friends who live in or have other connections to the communities — all of whom have accompanied me on previous explorations. Shouts-out to Ichiro, Jeanie, and Machiko. More than a decade ago, I had a stay at the Del Amo Behavioral Health Hospital. I doubt/hope that any of the staff there remember me — but shouts-out to them, too.

I’m almost certain I’d never heard of Torrance prior to visiting Southern California for the first time in 1998. It doesn’t strike me as the sort of place with widespread recognition in the mainstream. The Japanese are an exception. I recall the mention of “トーランス” several times on the television series, テラスハウス (Terrace House). And when it was mentioned, explanation was never needed.

On that first trip, we did pay a visit to neighboring El Segundo, where my friend, Seth’s, dad lived and which I had heard of, thanks to Tribe Called Quest‘s 1990 single, “I Left My Wallet in El Segundo.” By 2000, I had some sense of it — because it was on a night that year that Seth abandoned our friend, Pete, and me in Hollywood and assured us that we’d “figure out” how to get home. Luckily, our rescuer was a dancer named Jennifer, who I remember had a cassette copy of Pulp‘s His ’n’ Hers in the back seat of her car, and who said that she lived in Torrance. When she said that, I remember thinking that that was a very long drive and that it must’ve somewhere down near San Pedro. And finally, I definitely knew something of Torrance when and episode of Visting… with Huell Howser aired in which our hero visited Torrance’s purveyors of fine, plastic foods — Images of America (although they’ve since relocated to Gardena).

Photos of plastic food in Torrance, snapped in 2013

THE CHARACTER OF TORRANCE

Although the oldest buildings in Torrance date back to its beginnings in the 1910s, most of it the suburb was built out in the 1950s and ’60s in the sprawling style typical of post-Second World War suburbia. At roughly 50 square kilometers in sieze, Torrance is the largest community in the South Bay by some measure. Torrance is also by far the most populous community in the South Bay — and the eighth-most populous in Los Angeles County. Its motto, “A Balanced City,” was coined by the Torrance Chamber of Commerce in 1949. They then published a brochure depicting churches, civic buildings, homes, industries, parks, and schools — namely, the sorts of things one expects to see in balanced cities and never finds in unbalanced ones like, presumably, Industry or Vernon. Torrance, from 1982 until 1997, was noteworthily home to the nation’s largest shopping mall, Del Amo Fashion Center.

There’s no common demonym for people from Torrance although “Torrancite,” “Torrie,” and “Torrancer” have all been employed here and there. Perhaps the best known Torrancer is figure skater and two-time Olympic medalist, Michelle Kwan, who was born in Torrance to two immigrants from Hong Kong. She is currently the United States Ambassador to Belize.

Since 1960, Torrance has hosted the Torrance Armed Forces Day Parade every Armed Forces Day. Judging from the decorations, though, I’d wager that Christmas and Halloweeen are the two biggest cultural observances. The Torrance Cultural Arts Center opened in 1991 and is home to the James Armstrong Theatre, the George Nakano Theatre, and a Japanese garden — 松風園 (Pine Wind Garden). The Torrance Cultural Arts Foundation was founded in 1998. The Torrance Performing Arts Consortium is comprised of the Aerospace Players, Torrance Art Museum, Los Cancioneros Master Chorale, South Bay Ballet, South Bay Conservatory, and the Torrance Symphony. The City of Torrance also operates a main library facility (named after former mayor Katy Geissert) in the Civic Center, plus five branches at locations elsewhere in the city.

GETTING TO AND AROUND TORRANCE

Torrance was developed as a streetcar suburb but the Pacific Electric Railway (PE) ended service to Torrance in 1940. To fill the transit void, Torrance Transit was launched on 15 January 1940. Still in operation today, it serves not just Torrance but much of the South Bay, Harbor Area, South Los Angeles, and Downtown Los Angeles. Base fare is $1 for local lines and $2 for L.A. Express. Various discounts are available. In my experience with the system, it’s decent, with its main shortcomings being those that plague most of Metro Los Angeles: long headways, primitive bus stops, and a complete lack of dedicated bus-only lanes which results in slower speeds.

Metro‘s Green Line — now the C Line — began operation on 12 August 1995. The last station on the line, Redondo Beach Station (formerly Redondo/Marine Station) appeared in the 1995 film, Heat. Director Michael Mann returned o the station in 2005 for his film, Collateral. A study for the C Line Extension to Torrance was completed in 2011 but, 28 years after its debut, the project remains truncated where it was when it opened.

It’s probably not of much use to many visitors but Torrance is also home to a private airport, Zamperini Field. The airport is home to the Western Museum of Flight, which might be interesting, although I haven’t visited.

Getting around Torrance today isn’t always easy. The website Walkscore assigns the city a walk score of 67 out of 100, a bike score of 54, and a transit score of 37. Were there a “car score,” it would presumably be 100 as Torrance’s politicians remain completely unable to envision a world beyond car dependency. Even meager attempts to free people from cars can’t overcome the near compete lack of political will. Recently, Torrance’s regressive City Council rejected Metro’s offer to pay to upgrade Torrance’s bicycle infrastructure in the face of “significant opposition from the public.” That opposition amounted to 78 emails and 28 speakers at a Traffic Commission hearing. Presumably, there’s some overlap between the NIMBY emailers and speakers but assuming there was not, this opposition amounted to a grand total of 106 people — or approximately .07% of the city’s population. In other words, 99.93% of Torrance residents weren’t bothered enough by a bike lane to fire off an all-caps email. If .07% is “significant,” at what percentage does opposition become insignificant?

For 73 years now, Torrance has been unserved by rail transit. Torrance, in fact, the most populous city in Los Angeles County without an inch of rail (unless one counts Southern California Live Steamers). In fact, of Los Angeles County’s 88 cities, only two in the twenty-most populous have no rail, Torrance and Whittier. Both may get service in the future. There’s an empty and abandoned rail right-of-way in Torrance that just begs for a train that could extend the C Line to the A Line in Long Beach. In the meantime, the closest you can get. to Torrance via rail or bus rapid transit is the J Line, which stops two kilometers east of Torrance at the Harbor Gateway Transit Center, which is where I met Matt, who drove there from the San Gabriel Valley.

EXPLORING TORRANCE

To get to the Silver Line, I took to 92 to the Civic Center after I finished breakfast. It is impossible to ride the J Line and not be reminded of the film, Speed, because it doesn’t just drive down a dedicated busway, it hurtles along it. My stomach felt like it was in my throat as we flew past cars. There were three Metro ambassadors on the bus and we chatted a bit about the program and I thanked them for being so courteous and helpful.

I only had time to listen to about two songs before we pulled into the Harbor Gateway Transit Plaza. I recognized Matt’s car because of the LAFC sticker in its rear window. We then headed over the heart of Torrance, Old Torrance — or, as its sometimes known, Old Town Torrance. It is occasionally even spelled “Olde Torrance,” which is going a bit far, I think, for a place that came into existence after my paternal grandpa. However, while most of Old Town’s its buildings were constructed in the 1920s, the human history of the area goes back considerably further.

EARLY HISTORY OF TORRANCE

The first human inhabitants of what’s now Torrance were almost certainly the Chumash. Their ancestors arrived in Southern California at least 13,000 years ago. Their territory, at its greatest expanse, extended all the way from Morro Bay in the north to the Bolsa Chica Wetlands in the south — and from the Channel Islands of the Pacific all the way inland to at least the La Brea Tar Pits. Archaeological evidence indictes that the Chumash lived in what’s now Torrance least 7,100 years ago, at the very least.

Roughly 3,500 ago — the Tongva arrived from their homeland in the Sonoran Desert far to the east. Following years of drought, much of the Los Angeles Basin formerly inhabited by the Chumash had by then been depopulated. Taking advantage of the fruitful wetlands at the base of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, the Tongva established several villages nearby, including Maasavngna and ‘Ongoova’ngna.

Mexico declared independence from Spain in 1810 and eleven years of revolutionary war followed. Mexico’s independence was recognized in 1822 and the newly independent country regranted the land to Dominguez in 1822. Cristobal died in 1825 and the rancho passed to his son, Manuel.

Around 1810, José Dolores Sepúlveda was granted permission to herd livestock on the edge of the ranch. He built an adobe ranch there, in what’s now southern Torrance, in 1818. A land dispute arose and
José Dolores travelled to Monterey in 1824 to settle it. On his way home, we was killed by a Chumash. The adobe fell into disrepair but was was designated California Historic Landmark №383 on 3 January 1944. The private residence there was built in 1975.

The US invaded Mexico in 1846, however, and in 1850, made California its 31st state. The terms of the Treaty of Guadalupe included a provision that existing land grants remain recognized and the US patented Domínguez’s rancho in 1858. Domínguez died on 11 October 1882. The land remained in the hands of the Domínguez family for another three decades.

THE BEGINNINGS OF TORRANCE

There’s something amusing to me about a community named after a person whose name is forgotten except by historians and trivialists. Dave Burbank. George Hancock. John Downey. Torrance is one such town, named after a man named Jared. A bust and plaque in Old Torrance informed us that Jared was known as “Sidney” to his friends — Sidney being his middle name. Jared Sidney Torrance was born in Gowanda, New York in 1853. He moved to Southern California around 1887, during Los Angeles’s first population boom, which was fueled by a fare war between the rival Southern Pacific and Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railways.

Torrance had interest in rail, too. He was an investor in and boardmember of the aforementioned Pacific Electric Railway. In anticipation of the opening of a new rail transit line — the San Pedro via Torrance Line — Torrance and a group of investors formed the Dominguez Land Company, which purchased 3,500 acres (1416 hectares) of land from the Dominguez Family in 1911. They hired landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. and architect Irving Gill to design the look and layout of their tiny rail town, which was originally bounded by Carson Street, Crenshaw Boulevard, Del Amo Boulevard, Plaza del Amo, and Western Avenue. The new rail line opened on 19 March 1912. Torrance was officially founded on 24 October 1912.

After Matt parked, he entered Clutch and Coffee to order a drink. I waited outside, having brought a thermos from home,. As Matt waited for his order, I poked my head around a few corners here and there. Old Torrance has considerable charm. It was platted before the Car Craze, back when the automobile was still usually regarded as a tool for farmers and Iowa was the car capital. There are lots of quiet alleys and tree-lined streets. A few pedestrian plazas and promenades would no doubt do wonders for economic development and mental well-being. But there weren’t many cars (except for the empty ones stored everywhere) or people out an about on this workday, before most businesses had opened their doors. Only one pair of elderly Japanese, in fact, who appeared to be retired and out for a morning stroll.

THE 48th PREFECTURE

Torrance is well-known for its Japanese population. It’s sometimes jokingly referred to as Japan’s 48th prefecture or “Torrance Prefecture.” Prior to the passage of anti-Asian legislation in the 1920s, Metro Los Angeles was actually home to the largest Japanese community outside of Japan. Since then, however, that distinction has belonged to São Paulo. Torrance, continues to be neck-and-neck with Gardena to occupy the second place spot in the US, after Honolulu. Although still a minority within Torrance, Japanese is the most-common ethnicity there followed by German. And of the roughly one-third foreign born Torrancers, Japan is the second most common foreign place of birth.

The City of Los Angeles’s anti-Japanese racism is part of the reason so many Japanese-Angelenos live outside of it, in the independent municipalities of the South Bay. The 1923 Alien Land Law was revised to ban all agricultural contracts with Japanese farmers and nursery employees in the City of Los Angeles. As a result, many Japanese farmers and nursery employees left. Nowhere was safe during the Second World War, however, and most Japanese Americans were interred in concentration camps from 1942 until 1946. When their freedom was restored, many found that their homes had been demolished to allow the construction of intra-community interstate freeways. The South Bay wasn’t spared the destructive force of freeways, but at least its communities weren’t redlined.

As the Japanese took root in Torrance, Japanese amenities were established. The well-known Japanese grocery chain, Mitsuwa Marketplace (ミツワマーケットプレイス) was founded in Torrance in 1972. In 1977, Robert Taira’s King’s Hawaiian, expanded to Torrance and relocated its headquarters there. In 1980, Asahi Gakuen, a weekend Japanese-language education institution, began renting space in South Torrance High School. Another well-known Japanese market chain, Nijiya Market ( ニジヤ マーケット) was founded in Torrance in 1986. Torrance is also the birthplace of several notable local Japanese Americans, including Jennifer “Angel” Kita of Gwen Stefani‘s Harajuku Girls, Visionaries rapper and co-founder of Up Above Records, Kikuo “KeyKool” Nishi, and actress Amy Okuda.

EASTGATE PLAZA AND MISTUWA

With such a high profile Japanese population, it wasn’t long before Torrance developed a Japanese shopping district. Eastgate Plaza Shopping Center opened in 1991. While it may lack the kitschy architectural charms of other theme park-like shopping centers such as Alpine Village, Old World Village, and the tragically-demolished Ports O’ Call Village; Eastgate Plaza, I assured Matt, is more vibrant than most other cities’ entire Japantowns.

Imagine my surprise, then, when we rounded the Sunrider International headquarters, and arrived at a half empty plaza. It appeared to be undergoing some sort of renovation, though, and the mostly-empty buildings’ many cracks were glaringly filled with white plaster. “Pay no attention to the Spanish Colonial Stripmall architecture,” I cheerfully assured Matt, “the real star of the show is the Mitsuwa, under the gleaming sanshu-titled roof of which one can find not just said grocery store but a host of charming shops (including one where I got my Shiba Inu house key cover) and a really charming food court!”

I must’ve looked like Pee-Wee Herman when he went to retrieve his bicycle and found only a few broken links of chain and a maniacally cackling clown. The market and all that was in were gone. In its place is a crater filled with broken cinder blocks and twisted rebar. In its place will be a Rexford Industrial warehouse, the construction of which was approved, unanimously, by Torrance’s City Council. Although, it turns out, there was opposition to the demolition of Torrance’s Japanese shopping district, it must not have reached city council’s established threshold of significance. And with that, I have sadly removed it from my “Best of Los Angeles” map.

MIYAKO HYBRID HOTEL

Just north of the former Mitsuwa is the Miyako Hybrid Hotel, which opened in December 2009. I’m not sure what the “hybrid” refers to but I’ve always thought it would probably be a nice place to stay when visiting Torrance — although probably less so with a noisy warehouse instead of Japantown as a neighbor. Anyway,. 都ホテルズ&リゾーツ (Miyako Hotels & Resorts) began in 1900, when Nihei Nishimura opened the first Miyako Hotel in Kyōto. In 1998, Marion released a single, “Miyako Hideaway,” which is also very ’90s and better than the photo I took as I tried to overcome the horror next door.

EL PRADO BRIDGE

Bleak business park chic

Matt walked on through some appealing bleak office parks, the quiet landscapes of which invariably strike me as both banal and eery. We then arrived at the elegant El Prado Bridge, built in 1913 by PE and designed by Irving Gill. Someone had cut the fencing on top of the bridge so I stepped through the whole to snap some pictures. It was designed to convey workers to and from the Llewellyn Iron Works, which opened in 1916, and became the Columbia Steel Company plant in 1923. Beneath the bridge ran PE’s Torrance Local line, another of the long abanodend railways that made the existence of Torrance possible. El Prado Bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places on 13 July 1989. In 2015, it one a Conservancy Preservation Award from the Los Angeles Conservancy.

OIL & INDUSTRY — TORRANCE IN THE 1920s

Llewellyn Iron Works (of which Jared Torrance was a major stockholder) and Union Tool Company (on which Torrance sat in the Board of Directors) were two of the earliest companies to relocate to Torrance. Jared Torrance, who never lived in the community which bore his name, died on 29 March 1921. A few months later, on 12 May, the city of Torrance was incorporated. The Jared Sidney Torrance Memorial Hospital (now Torrance Memorial Medical Center) opened in 1925. Oil was discovered in 1921 and iI 1929, the Torrance Refinery began operation. For many years, Torrance was dominated by the extraction of fossil fuels. The Del Amo Oil Field alone had 1,492 wells. Not surprisingly, oil extraction poses all sorts of risks, both ongoing and dramatic, such as a large explosion that took place at ExxonMobil in 2015. But what can be done? If there’s no oil, how will people continue to drive everywhere?

HONDA

The Columbia Steel Company plant was demolished and replaced with the national headquarters of American Honda Motor Company. The history of Japanese car companies in the South Bay began in in 1960, when Datsun (now Nissan) opened its headquarters in Gardena. Honda moved its American headquarters from Country Club Park to Gardena in 1963. In 1982, Toyota moved its American headquarters from Hollywood to Torrance. Honda followed suit in 1990.
In more recent years, Nissan and Toyota left the South Bay. Nissan moved to Tennessee in 2006. In 2014, Toyota moved to Texas. Honda remains, however, and is the city’s top employer. We walked around the campus but couldn’t see much. Looking at aerial imagery, though, one can see a jogging loop, basketball courts, a baseball diamond, tennis courts, and a private recreation center. I’ve never worked at a large factory but all of that impresses me.

EL PUEBLO & MEXICAN TORRANCE

From Honda, Matt and I walked over to Pueblo. Pueblo is a tiny equestrian neighborhood situated in the shadow of the ExxonMobil refinery. Torrance’’s ” balanced city” concept, at its inception, referred to its division into five “balanced” categories: business, industrial, residential, unclassified, and “special quarters for foreigners.” Pueblo was the special quarter set aside for Mexicans — and presumably Mexican Americans — most of whom worked at the nearby steel plant where Honda is now. In past visits, I’ve seen horses whilst exploring here. Not this time.

Most of Southern California is heavily Latino. In fact, there are so many Latinos that their presence often goes unremarked — which, in turn, ends up some how rendering the region’s plurality quasi-invisible. Much, naturally, has been written and said about Torrance’s Japanese population, of course. But — at 16% — Torrance’s Latino minority is hardly insignificant. One of the city’s oldest restaurants, La Capilla, has been in business there since 1983. Torrance’s most famous Latino son, perhaps, was Adán Sánchez. He was born in Torrance in 1984 and was the son to the famous the son of Chalino Sánchez. His debut, released when he was ten, was matter-of-factly titled, Soy El Hijo De Chalino. He died in a car crash when he was just nineteen years old. More than 10,000 mourners came to his funeral.

KOREAN TORRANCE

Koreans in Torrance are also overshadowed by the more highly visible Japanese community. The population began to grow following the establishment of the Sixth Republic in 1987, which introduced freedoms including the freedom to leave South Korea. Between From 1980 until 1990, the Korean population of Torrance increased by 256% and since at least 2000, Koreans have comprised the largest percentage of Torrance’s foreign-born population. Torrance is the birthplace of retired tennis player, Kevin Kim, and electronic music producer and DJ, TOKiMONSTA (née Jennifer Lee), and pop/EDM beat-maker, Korean Neff (né Eric Han).

Korean food is fairly well represented too, with restaurants including (at the time of research) BCD Tofu House, Bibigo Fresh Korean Kitchen, Cho Dang Tofu, Da Maat, Hak San, Gen Korean BBQ House, Hannam Chain Market World, Hansel Noodle & Korean Food, Heung Nam Myun OK, Hmart, Jin Kook Korean Restaurant, Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong, Hansol Noodle & Korean Food, Kimbap Paradise, Ko Ryo Jung Restaurant, New Pagoda Catering, Okrumong, On + On Kitchen, Palsaik Korean BBQ, Rice Heaven, Riviera Restaurant, Sokuri Kitchen, Seikoen, 3355 Asian Grill, Western Soondae, Wok & Pan, and Yellow Fever.

TAIWANESE TORRANCE

I don’t know what the Taiwanese demographics of Torrance are. Not that the presence of Taiwanese restaurants and cafes is necessarily strongly correlated to the presence of a Taiwanese community but it’s something. Torrrance is home to Taiwanese restaurants like Din Tai Fung, Gengis Khan, Golden Camel Mongolian BBQ, Ju Ju Shine, Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot, Mindi’s Kitchen, Mongol King, Yi Fang, and Yummy Hero.

Unfortunately, the census only counts Taiwanese people as Taiwanese when they write themselves in as “Taiwanese” at the “other” otion. To print “Taiwanese” on the census form would offend the delicate sensibilities of CCP officials, you see. Anyway, basketball player Jeremy Lin is from Torrance, and Torrance has been home to Taiwanese American politicians like John Chiang and Ted Lieu. George K. Chen, the current mayor of Torrance, was born in Taiwan and somehow is the city’s first ever Asian mayor. Torrance is also home to the Chen Art Gallery, a non-profit collection of Chinese art owned by located inside the aforementioned Sunrider International building. Its owners are Oi-Lin and Chiayi-born Tei-Fu Chen. The gallery is open by appointment only.

BLACK TORRANCE

Civil Rights activists (left) and Nazis (right) in Torrance, 1963 (Images: Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection)

Although Americans of Mexican and Japanese ancestry found Torrance fairly welcoming, as far as coastal suburbs go, black would-be homeowners by and large had a harder time. Although racist housing covenants were declared unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court in 1948, until the passage of The Fair Housing Act in 1968, there was little to prevent developers from discriminating against would-be homeowners. Don Wilson Sr.’s Don Wilson Builders developed several subdivisions, including Southwood Riviera Royale, in Torrance but in 1963 were picketed for not selling to black Angelenos. Marlon Brando used his celebrity to bring attention to the cause. There were counterprotests that included in Nazis in their ranks. Today, 2% of Torrance residents are black.

TORRANCE TRANSIT CENTER

Matt subtly hinted he was tired of walking by asking, more than once, “how much more area we going to walk?!” After we left El Pueblo, we started heading south. on Crenshaw Boulevard to retrieve his car. As we walked south, we arrived at the new Torrance Transit Center. There were traffic officers and a line of cars filling the center’s parking lot. A large screen broadcast footage of mostly well-dressed people shuffling toward rows of empty seats arranged in rows in front of a podium. I searched it up on my phone and read that the transit center was opening the next day. I assumed that this, then, was some sort of sneak preview made available to journalists, politicians, and community leaders.

Disappointingly — if not surprisingly — 100% of attendees appeared to arrive to the opening in private automobiles, a line. of which slowly crawled past a Torrance Transit stop for the 5, 6, and 10 lines into a large parking lot. But this stretch of Crenshaw lacks the walkable charm for which it’s rightly celebrated further north; where. the Metro K Line passes through Baldwin Hills, Hyde Park, Leimert Park, View Park, and other neighborhoods.of South Los Angeles’s Westside. Here, though, its 25 meter width is surrendered to seven lanes for cars and not one dedicated for either bicycles or buses. But the people who cut giant ribbons or pose with rolled-up sleeves and golden shovels are almost never the ones who actually use mass or active transit. I hope that the C Line arrives at the transit center sooner than later.

Besides Matt and myself, there was not one other soul in site. As we approached, someone pulled open the gates and we were waved inside — wrongly assumed, I suppose, to be some sort of visiting dignitaries. Matt used the facilities and, as I waited, I wondered wether or not we should schmooze. It was about a quarter till 11:00, though, and from the looks of things seemed like a 12:00 start time was likely. Besides, we were getting hungry, and so we were contemplating lunch after one more stop.

BOOGIE MARU SOUNDS

After retrieving Matt’s car, he drove us over to Boogie Maru Sounds, in Northeast Torrance. It’s a vinyl record store with a good selection of music but a decidedly Japanese focus, including sections for City Pop, Enka, J-Folk, Kayōkyoku, &c. Matt bought a copy of Kogun, the 1974 debut from the Los Angeles-based Toshiko Akiyoshi — Lew Tabackin Big Band. I asked Matt if he was going to the Anri show on the 15th (tonight!) but he said he wasn’t familiar with her. I asked the clerk the same question and they nodded affirmatively. I didn’t buy any music, though, but I’d like to once I get my record player back in working order. It should be mentioned that there are also record players, cassette players, &c for sale.

OJIYA & JAPANESE RESTAURANTS

Matt had suggested a few places for lunch in advance but I warned him that few, probably, would have much in the way of plant-based food for me. He dismissed Curryfornia, expressing a preference for something more “traditional.” Introduced during the Meiji Era, my empty stomach wondered what could be more traditional that Japanese Curry. We went to I-naba, which is highly regarded. I inquired of the mētoru doteru about non-animal-based options. She said there was one — a cucumber roll. I am not a kappa, though, so I next suggested All Indian Sweets & Snacks. I love Indian Food — which I supposed was sufficiently “traditional” — and which is famously veggie friendly. Matt insisted that one doesn’t eat non-Japanese food when exploring Torrance and so we remained deadlocked for the time being.

Not everyone in Torrance subsists solely on Japanese food — or even Indian or the aforementioned Korean, Mexican, Taiwanese, or Thai options. I won’t bother to name them all here but, suffice to say, for those in the mood for something other than Japanese, there are also American, Brazilian, Cajun, Chinese, Cuban, Hawaiian, Italian, Mediterranean, Persian, Peruvian, Salvadoran, and Vietnamese restaurants in Torrance. Eat the World Los Angeles has reviewed many of them — which you should check out here. And because I harbor a soft spot, veggie-friendly or not, for old restaurants — shouts-out to Torrance’s oldest: Spires (founded in 1976) and the San Franciscan (founded in 1963).

Before our hanger led us to choose violence, we arrived at a Niigata-style izakaya called Ojiya, which managed to check all of our boxes. I ordered a surprisingly large tofu and seaweed salad, vegetable croquettes, and Sapporo. Matt, presumably, ordered the most traditional makizushi he could find as well as nattō roll, which he’d never had before and surprisingly didn’t hate since it famously has what is often described as “an acquired taste.” The addition of watercress was a nice touch and probably countered the funk and stringy slime a bit.

Japanese cuisine is, almost certainly, the most represented cuisine in Torrance. I researched my own a while ago — so this list might be out-of-date… but I’m too lazy to go through it one name at a time. So here they were — at the time of research: Astro Kitchen, Benihana, Bistro Beaux, Choo Choo Train Udon, Curry House CoCo Ichibanya, Delish by Sushi Furuya, Fusion Sushi, Ginza Grill, Go Squared Takoyaki & Taiyaki, Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ, Ichimi-an, Ichimi Ann Bamboo Garden, Iccho Restaurant, Irifune, Ise-Shima, Izakaya Hachi, Hakata Ikkousha Ramen, Hamada-Ya, Hanada Sushi, Hannosuke, Hasu Kitchen of Japan, Hayashi Japanese Restaurant, Hobi’s Sushi & Teriyaki Grill, Hokkaido Ramen Santouka, Izakaya & Beer Bar by Ryozanpaku, Kagura, Kai Sushi, Kantaro Sushi, Kappo Komatsu, Kikuyoshi Butadon, King Shabu Shabu, Kiraku Japanese Ramen & Sushi, Kizo, Koshiji, Ko-Ryu Ramen Grill, Kozan Japanese Restaurant, Kuma Sushi Seafood Buffet, Kura Revolving Sushi Bar, Kurisaki, Let’s Eat Curry, Maeda Honpo, Manpuku Yakiniku Dining, Marutomo Company, Maruhide Uni Club, Matsui, Mifune, Mikuni Seafood Buffet, Miyabi-Tei, Miyabi Uni, Miyako, Mo-Mo-Paradise, Mutsumiya, Nozomi, Ojiya, Poké Bar, RA Sushi Bar Restaurant, Ramen Izakaya Ajido, Ramen Restaurant Ko-Ryu, Ramen Spott, Ramen Yamadaya, Rascals Teriyaki Grill, Red Rock, Restaurant Fukamoto, Shin-Sen-Gumi Yakitori, Sokuri Kitchen, Sushi Anza, Sushi Boy, Sushi Gone Wild, Sushi Ken, Sushi N Go, Sushi Yoshi, Sushimon, Sutadonya, Teri’s Place, Teriyaki Inn, Torihei, Toyo Sushi, WA Dining — Sake and Steak House, Ty’s Sushi-Deli Umenoya, Wadatsumi, Yamaya Japanese Wagyu & Grill, Yogi’s Teriyaki House, Yomo Mata Yomo, Yoshinoya, and Zabon Ramen.

HOLLYWOOD RIVIERA BEACH

After lunch, we headed over to the beach. Torrance is mostly landlocked — and was completely landlocked until 1927, when the Meadow Park Annexation added a little beachfront property to the suburb. Clifford F. Reid’s Hollywood Riviera opened there the following March. Tiny Torrance Beach is only 1.2 kilometers long, giving the mostly landlocked community a shape not entirely unlike that of Syria, which is mostly landlocked except for the Latakia and Tartus regions. My nickname, “the Syria of the South Bay,” however, shows no signs of catching on.

I think the last time I visited Torrance Beach was with Mike and we rode bikes from there to Will Rogers Beach and back on the Marvin Braude Bike Trail. The journey up and down is 70 kilometers long but pretty easy as its paved and flat — and being next to the ocean is energizing. As I stared out to sea, a tangle of sea veg washed ashore. As a vegetarian seafood enthusiast and an amateur phycologist, I recently picked up a copy of John Bothwell’s Seaweeds of the World: A Guide to Every Order from Skylight Books. Even armed with my new knowledge, I couldn’t make heads or blades of it. I wished I’d brought swimming trunks. Even though the water in Southern California is typically very cold, it’s hard not to resist jumping in it whenever I’m near it.

MADRONA MARSH & TORRANCE PARKS

One of our last stops was Madrona Marsh. I love it there but I take back my observation about wanting to plunge in any and all water. Despite not beckoning anyone to take a dip, the water there is alluring in its own way. Although, at its edges, the nearby automobile traffic is annoyingly loud, the further one ventures into the wetlands, the more peaceful it become. We spied butterflies, loads of lizards, and various water fowl. On a visit in 2014, sharp-eyed Matt spied a California King Snake. In some places, the water is almost completely covered with a green carpet vegetation. In other areas, dark pools beckon you to get closer and closer until you can make out shapes underneath the surface.

Located below the Palos Verdes Peninsula, and with gravity and rain doing what they do, Torrance was historically full of such marshlands. As it was developed, though, most were drained and turned into suburbia — although sumps in some of them serve as a reminder of Torrance’s soggier past. This year having been soggier than most, there was still quite a bit of water in the marsh, which normally dries up completely in the dry season and then refills again in the wet.

The Madrona Marsh was never developed for commercial or residential purposes but a portion was used for oil production from 1924 until 2003. Fenced off, it was used by the local Audubon Society, beginning in 1967, when birdwatchers would peer through the barrier at birds inside. The land was deeded to the city in 1987. The aforementioned Huell Howser also visited Madrona Marsh. With characteristic straightforwardness, the 2003 episode of California’s Golden Parks was titled “Madrona Marsh.”

OTHER PARKS & GREEN PROGRAMS

Torrance has at least 30 city parks. The city’s largest park, I believe, is 18-hectare Charles H. Wilson Park. It includes a gymnasium, skate park, and roller-hockey rink. It also hosts the Torrance Farmers’ Market. It’s also home to the aforementioned

Torrance has at least 30 city parks. The city’s largest park, I believe, is 18-hectare Charles H. Wilson Park. It includes a gymnasium, skate park, and roller-hockey rink. It also hosts the Torrance Farmers’ Market. It’s also home to the aforementioned which offers free miniature train rides on the first Sunday and third Saturday of each month as well as the 4th of July. It was founded in Lomita by Olie Johnston, Ward Kimball, Walt Disney, and others in 1946. It moved to Torrance in 1986 and the former location is now the Lomita Railroad Museum.

Another significant park is Columbia Park, which has a sakura grove, a community garden, picnic areas, field sports facilities, jogging trails, a running course, and walking paths. It also hosts the Home Garden Learning Center and is a backyard composting demonstration center operated by Los Angeles County. The city also has The Torrance Parks Living Dedication Tree Program, which allows groups, families, and individuals to sponsor the planting of new park trees to memorialize people with something more useful than that standard granite boulder with copper plaque.

BREWERIES

Back in 2018, KPCC and LAist embarked on a mission to boldly go where I and others have gone before– on a mission to visit and explore Los Angeles County’s cities. With their vast bounty of resources, they managed to visit eight (out of 88) before quietly giving up. Not that anyone but me likely noticed. Their accounts were little more than listicles that could’ve been written, as far as I know, by AI. One notable exception was their advertorial about Torrance’s enviable concentration of breweries — because I hadn’t known known until then about them — and because both Matt and I love beer.

When I looked up Torrance breweries, I saw Absolution Brewing Company, BuzzRock Brewing Co, Cosmic Brewery & Taproom, The Dudes’ Brewing Co., HopSaint Brewing Company, King Harbor Brewing Company, Monkish Brewing Co., Project Barley Square, Red Car, Scholb Premium Ales, Smog City Brewery & Taproom, Strand Brewing Co, and Yorkshire Square Brewery & Pub. It’s also home to Hakutsuru Sake Brewing Co Ltd, Sapporo Beer Manufacturers, and Takara Sake USA Inc. — although I’m pretty sure none of them have tap or tasting rooms.

I’d be remiss to not shout out the city’s bars, here, too. The oldest bar that I found is Branch Office, which opened in 1960. Hale Hawaii Lounge opened in 1974. Other bars, lounges, gastropubs, &c (at the time of research) include Bistro Beaux, The Bounty Room, BRIO Club Cha Cha, Coastal Bar and Kitchen, The Crest Sports Bar & Grill, Dave & Buster’s, Elephant Bar Restaurant, Hey 19 Public House, Hi & Dry Cocktails, Izakaya & Beer Bar by Ryozanpaku, Jack’s Place, Keegan’s Sports lounge and grill, Local Kitchen, Primo Italia, Restoration Kitchen & Wine, Roadhouse Bar & Grill, Roma Court, Southland Bar, Sports Harbour, 21 Square Bar + Kitchen, Texas Loosey’s, Torrance Tavern, Tortilla Cantina, Truxton’s American Bistro, Vintage Lounge, and Zebra Room.

And since they should be mentioned somewhere, other nightlife options in Torrance including KTV joints Astro Karaoke and Max Karaoke Studio; a pool hall called Mr Lucky’s Billiards; and a bowling alley, Palos Verdes Bowl.

But Matt drove us to Project Barley Square, a brewery and pub with cask pulled beer, which is something that means a lot to Matt and of which I have a cursory understanding. I tried a cider that was a bit sweet for me and went with something else. I wish I could remember what because I’d like.to recommend it.

I comfortably settled into my pint like a parishioner into a pew. Matt, though, grew agitated, having spied some LA Galaxy paraphernalia on the wall. Ever the eager LAFC supporter, Matt was wearing a shell suit jacket emblazoned with the team logo. Matt scanned the room and gleaned from his sixth sense that it was only a matter of time before we found ourselves a full-fledged football riot. I looked around the same room. Aside from the televisions, which I did my best to ignore, the scene before me seemed the very picture of peace. But I am a former Boy Scout and it’s my duty, therefore, to always be prepared. Like Jason Bourne, I clocked a man fixated on his phone, a couple entertaining their toddler, an an octogenarian drinking in silence. I suppose the phone man might’ve been texting the others, “Kill the LAFC fan when I give the sign.” Matt would then kick a table, Jackie Chan style, toward the old man. I would used the phone man’s own flannel to restrain him and then grab the couple’s stroller which I would use to deflect flying pint glasses coming from behind the bar. Even with my plan, the possibility remained that they would overcome us and so Matt was left only one reasonable choice — head to another brewery.

Luckily, Matt already had another brewery in mind — Smog City. There were quite a few more people gathered there. I searched Matt’s face for clues as he silently assessed the likelihood of a brawl. He seemed calm. This time it was my turn for agitation for there was something I fear far more than a fight with professional spectators — a line. I reached inside myself and found the strength to hold it together long enough to order a pint. He then grabbed a table. I like my beer — albeit a bit less than the one in enemy territory. A text came through from Jeanie saying that she and Ichi were at Hale Hawaii. I’m not much of a cocktail man yet I’m always game for a tiki bar. That said, Matt wanted to go home, which was probably a better idea than getting drinks at a fourth location. The ride home on the J and 92 lines flew buy and as soon as I got home I took a long nap.

NEXT TIME

NEXT TIME

If you want to stay in the loops — on Monday, I’m riding on the Los Angeles Grand Tour. After that, I’m exploring a neighborhood with one of my friend, Cindi‘s kids. After that, I’ll most likely explore have Brea, Elysian Heights, and Historic West Adams — all of which have the same number of reader votes. Until then!

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Eric Brightwell is an adventurer, essayist, rambler, explorer, cartographer, and guerrilla gardener who is always seeking paid writing, speaking, traveling, and art opportunities. He is not interested in generating advertorials, cranking out clickbait, or laboring away in a listicle mill “for exposure.” Brightwell has written for Angels Walk LA, Amoeblog, Boom: A Journal of California, diaCRITICS, Hey Freelancer!, Hidden Los Angeles, and KCET Departures. His art has been featured by the American Institute of Architects, the Architecture & Design Museum, the Craft Contemporary, Form Follows Function, the Los Angeles County Store, Sidewalking: Coming to Terms With Los Angeles, Skid Row Housing Trust, and the 1650 Gallery. Brightwell has been featured as subject and/or guest in The Los Angeles Times, VICE, Huffington Post, Los Angeles Magazine, LAist, CurbedLA, Office Hours Live, Spectrum News, Eastsider LA, Boing Boing, Los Angeles, I’m Yours, Notebook on Cities and Culture, the Silver Lake History Collective, KCRW‘s Which Way, LA?, at Emerson College, and the University of Southern California. Brightwell is currently writing a book about Los Angeles.

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