Beneath its suburban bustle, there’s a layer of small-town, IYKYK pride in Torrance, a sprawling South Bay city that spans from the 405 Freeway to the Pacific Ocean.
For some who grew up in the area, it swells during a rewatch of the iconic coming-of-age TV series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “90210,” both of which use Torrance High School as a backdrop for their fictional campuses — Sunnydale High and West Beverly High, respectively.
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For others, it comes up when there’s talk about Del Amo mall, which once reigned as the largest indoor shopping center in the United States before the Mall of America took the title. (The mall was the place to be for teens and tweens, who spent their days after school playing pinball at Aladdin’s Castle arcade, filling blue-striped cellophane bags of assorted candy at Sweet Factory or perusing gag gifts at Aahs.)
And still for a set of longtime residents, it arises when one points to the airport named after Torrance-bred legend Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner turned World War II bomber pilot who endured brutal treatment from the Japanese navy — and became the subject of Laura Hillenbrand’s bestselling biography “Unbroken” and the subsequent movie adaptation directed by Angelina Jolie.
Torrance has long since grown from the utopia that industrialist Jared Sidney Torrance envisioned in 1910. His idea was to build a “workingman’s paradise,” a model industrial town halfway between Los Angeles and the San Pedro Harbor. To design the community, Torrance’s team brought on the Olmsted brothers, whose father designed Central Park in New York City.
It now stretches across 21 square miles, which include the 1.5 miles of coastline shared by Torrance and Redondo Beach, lovingly referred to as RAT Beach (short for “Right after Torrance”). Torrance has a thriving Japanese American community, a presence that endures with the many Japanese shops, markets and restaurants around town and in nearby Gardena. It’s the birthplace of the American Youth Soccer Organization, a nonprofit famously started out of a garage in 1964 with only nine teams. The city even has its own designated nature preserve — Madrona Marsh — that sits right in the middle of a cluster of homes, condominiums and Del Amo.
Yet what many locals appreciate most about Torrance is how it’s held onto its small-town tradition of simply getting together with your neighbors.
Every December, residents in the city’s 6th District get together for a holiday stroll around the neighborhood, putting up rows of lighted arches for families to walk through. In the spring, thousands cheer on battle tanks that rumble down the streets during the annual Armed Forces Day Parade. When the cherry blossom trees in Columbia Park flourish with soft pastel pink petals, the community comes together for the annual Torrance Cherry Blossom Cultural Festival.
It’s the simple comforts that make Torrance worth a visit — and why locals light up whenever anyone talks about the place they call home.
What’s included in this guide
Anyone who’s lived in a major metropolis can tell you that neighborhoods are a tricky thing. They’re eternally malleable and evoke sociological questions around how we place our homes, our neighbors and our communities within a wider tapestry. In the name of neighborly generosity, we may include gems that linger outside of technical parameters. Instead of leaning into stark definitions, we hope to celebrate all of the places that make us love where we live.
Our journalists independently visited every spot recommended in this guide. We do not accept free meals or experiences. What L.A. neighborhood should we check out next? Send ideas to guides@latimes.com.
