Perhaps Torrance is not the first city you think of when
visiting Los Angeles - but when digging into the city's history and
unique attractions you quickly find that this is a city worth exploring.
While flight was invented by the Wright Brothers near Kitty Hawk, North
Carolina - it is in Torrance that flight was developed as a commercial
entity.
A number of company headquarters are located here - it is ground zero for
International auto companies - Nissan was here until a few years ago and
today Torrance is home to both Toyota and Honda's United States
headquarters.
Torrance has one of the largest community of Japanese Americans in California.
Japanese immigrants were originally drawn to the area for its temperate
climate and farming in the 1920's. Today Torrance has an excellent selection of Japanese restaurants
and markets.
Torrance's neighbors get all the publicity regarding their beaches but
Torrance has long wide sandy beaches. One of the few urban wetlands in the country is also located
here - the Madrona Marsh. For more information visit:
www.discovertorrance.org
Attractions
Chen Art Gallery
- you know you've hit all the major museums in Los
Angeles when you start visiting museums that recommend appointments such
as this one. For art lovers, this is one museum you do not want to miss.
The 12 room gallery contains the private collection of Dr. Tei Fu Chen -
a world renowned herbalist and founder of Sunrider International. The
museum is located at 1625 Abalone Ave in Torrance at Sunrider's world
headquarters.
Over the past 20+ years Dr. Tei Fu Chen has amassed a world class
collection of Chinese antiquities - mostly through International auction
houses. The gallery is organized into five sections - Chinese furniture,
Jade, Bronze, Porcelain/Pottery and a beautiful unique collection of
ornate Snuff bottles. Highlights of the gallery include very detailed
jade carvings, colorful ceramics and pottery dating back several
thousand years. A number of pieces clearly show International artistic
influences (European, Indian and Middle Eastern).
Admission to the museum is free and tours typically take about an hour
and are always private for your party. The guides are extremely
knowledgeable about Chinese antiquities and enjoying sharing the
highlights of this rare collection.
Tours are available in English and Chinese with select other languages
offered by prior arrangement. For more information please visit:
www.chenartgallery.org
Mitsuwa
Marketplace is located right off of Western Ave
(21515 S. Western Avenue) next to the Miyako Hotel. Today Mitsuwa
operates eight markets - mostly centered in Southern California - this
location, however is their flagship location. The market specializes in a
wide variety of Japanese food products. For visitors it's easy to get
"lost" in the aisles viewing all the products that you never see in a
"western" style supermarket. The market also has a good selection of
fish.
In addition to the main market a number of specialty shops are located
here - all focusing on Japanese products. Highlights include a dessert
shop, Japanese bookstore and certainly the "Restaurant Row" which
features authentic small Japanese restaurants serving Sushi, Ramen,
Tonkatsu and more. Photos or displays of each dish helps with making
your food choices.
Toyota Car Museum
is located at 19600 Van Ness Ave; this is only one of two Toyota Car
Museum's in the world - the other being in Toyota City, Japan. The
museum opened in 2000 but then moved to its current much larger facility
in 2010. Toyota first introduced itself to the American consumers in
1957 when it opened its first dealership in the country in Hollywood.
Toyota opened its USA headquarters in Torrance in 1967.
The museum is large (33,000 square foot) - it has to be to contain the
significant number of historic and milestone vehicles in this collection
(100+ vehicles). Toyota traces its roots to a weaving loom invented in
Japan in 1924. Proceeds from the sale of the patent for this loom by the
inventor Sakichi Toyoda were given to his son with the instructions to
start an automobile company. That was in the mid 1930's. The first
Toyota vehicle ever released was in 1938 - the model AA and a replica is
shown on site.
The first Toyota sold in the USA was the Crown Model in
1958 and an original is on display.
Some of their most historic vehicles are the land cruisers - this is the
only model continuously sold in the USA since the first model was
released in 1961. Its origins resulted from a contract Toyota fulfilled
to the U.S. Army in 1950 during the Korean conflict. Toyota was
experiencing bad financial problems and a threat of bankruptcy at the
time; as a result this order came at the perfect time.
Other notable vehicles on display include the 10 millionth vehicle
manufactured in the United States,
three very rare Toyota 2000 GTs — only 337
were produced, a great collection of championship winning racing cars,
a 1986 Corolla, the first Toyota built in
the U.S.
and other 1st release vehicles (note the
special VIN numbers).
Western Museum of Flight
is located at "Zamperini Field" - Torrance's small airport. First a
brief history about the person behind the airport's name. It is not
often you are still living and have an airport named after you but such
is the case of Louis Zamperini (currently 95 years old). His life reads
like an adventure novel - he moved to Torrance in the 1920's, went to
USC on scholarship after winning a race at the state championship.
Ultimately he earned a spot on the 1936 U.S. Olympic team (youngest US
qualifier).
During WWII the plane he was on crashed into the Pacific after having
mechanical problems (8 of the 11 on the plane died right away) but Louis
survived for 47 days at sea including an attack on his raft by a
Japanese fighter pilot. He became a prisoner of war for more than 2
years after landing on the Marshall Islands and eventually was declared
"killed in action". His story is told in great depth by Laura
Hillenbrand in "Unbroken" - Laura is also the author of "Seabiscuit".
This small museum is mostly contained in a hangar not far from the
actual runway. It explores the aircraft history and flight memorabilia
from Southern California's rich aviation history. This airport is home
to the Robinson helicopter company and Northrop Grumman still has a
plant in nearby Hawthorne - and some of their manufactured planes are on
display. A number of war planes and war related aviation items are on
display including the powerful Northrop YF-23A "Black Widow II" which is
only one of two in the entire US on display (max speed of 1,650+ mph). A
much slower and more colorful plane is the Boeing Stearman once owned by
actor Steve McQueen and there is a photo of him and the plane taken in
1979 not long before his death.
A very unique plane on display is the world's smallest jet! Its small -
a single person can barely fit inside. The museum also has a small
library relating to aviation. Prominent guest lecturers from the
aviation industry speak as part of their "Celebrity Lecture Series".
Open 7 days a week. Visit:
www.wmof.com
Main Museum
Steve McQueen's Plane
Lodging:
Miyako Hybrid Hotel -
this Japanese style eco-friendly boutique hotel is located next to the
Mitsuwa Marketplace at 21381 S. Western Avenue. The hotel incorporates a
number of sustainable building materials, implements specific methods
for minimizing waste and runs solar power from its roof top mounted
cells. There are even car pool only parking spots close to the lobby.
Del Amo Fashion Center is located at 3525 Carson
Street. This is one of the larger malls in the entire USA - it is 2
levels and offers both an indoor and outdoor shopping experience. It is
not the largest mall in the southland however - that honor falls to
Central Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa. The original Del Amo mall opened in
1961 with more added on in the early 1970's. The outdoor shops are much
newer. A huge open air parking lot surrounds the mall and there is also
a multi level parking garage. Like the South Bay Galleria a few miles
away, Del Amo also has an AMC Theatres complex (18 screens). Sears and
Macy's anchor this huge mall. Visit:
www.delamofashioncenter.com
South Bay Galleria is located at 1815 Hawthorn
Blvd just minutes south of LAX airport (with reasonable traffic) off of
the 405 Freeway. There is plenty of parking - with a garage on the west
side of the Galleria as well as a number of open air spots surrounding
the mall. It is Los Angeles - valet parking is also available. This
shopping complex is anchored by both Macy's with its faux brick exterior
and Nordstrom. There is a AMC movie theatre complex on site. Free Wifi
is available in the food court with some coverage on the 1st and 2nd
floors. Visit:
www.southbaygalleria.com
About
Dave's Pick