| I was a bit skeptical when an emailer suggested touring Torrance as a way to appreciate this South Bay hidden gem. As a San Gabriel Valley product, I've enjoyed excursions to the iconic Rose Bowl or the historic San Gabriel Mission. |
| But Torrance? Really? |
| I'm a fan of the divine paradise cakes baked at two King's Hawaiian locations in Torrance and am aware that Compton-based hip hop group N.W.A recorded "F— tha Police" in a city music studio. |
| Yes, that's all fine and notable, but is this city of 140,000 actually tour worthy? |
| Debbie Hays, a resident and Torrance Historical Society docent, was up to the challenge of proving it certainly was when we met for a tour this week. |
History meets Hollywood |
| We started at the Torrance Historical Society. Inside, visitors receive a quick lesson about the city's creation, from a Spanish land grant to its founding by financial broker Jared Sidney Thomas in 1912. |
| A good portion of the talk centers on one of the city's heroes, Louis Zamperini, known as the "Torrance Tornado." |
| The Olympic and USC star, who competed in the famed 1936 Games, was a larger-than-life pillar captured in book and film, the latter the 2014 movie "Unbroken." |
| "Louis was a bit of a misfit in his early days and his story is one of redemption and finding his purpose," Hays said. "It started with track and of course he's most known about his role in the war." |
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| "No other place in the world has more information and pieces of history tied to Louis than we do," Hays says. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) |
| Zamperini was a U.S. Army Air Force bombardier in 1943 when his B-24 Liberator went down in the Pacific on May 27 with 10 additional crew members. |
| Zamperini floated on a life raft for 47 days, battling sharks and hunger before being picked up by a Japanese patrol boat. |
| He was tortured for two years before he was finally freed. |
| Hays showed off heirlooms, trophies and files donated by the Zamperini family, including more than 60 pounds of notes and awards, used in production of the movie. |
| "No other place in the world has more information and pieces of history tied to Louis than we do," Hays said. |
The 'Ramen Capital of Southern California' |
| One of the more surprising details about Hays' tour was the number of excursions the city offers. |
| You can take one of several self-guided tours of the city's dozen or so microbreweries and craft beer tasting sites that highlight a burgeoning craft industry. |
| The most delectable tour, however, may be shown on the city's Ramen Trail map, which declares Torrance the "Ramen Capital of Southern California." |
| The town boasts a population of roughly 15,000 people of Japanese descent, so I'm sure they know something about good ramen. |
| As for locales, the film and television map tour denotes more than 200 locations where movies like "Scarface," "Boogie Nights" and "Horrible Bosses" and television sitcoms like "Beverly Hills 90210" and "Barry" were filmed. |
| "We aren't Hollywood, but we have many spots worth visiting," Hays said. "All they're all relatively close together." |
The Buffy home |
| One of her most popular excursions is the Fall Tour of Old Torrance, held annually in October. |
| Hays offers architectural and historic showings of Tudor, Mission and Spanish Colonial revival homes often butting up against each other. Most homes are over 100 years old. |
| "It's a very eclectic tour that you don't see every day in every town," Hays said. "We're not a cookie-cutter neighborhood." |
| Yet, it's the No. 4 spot on that tour, a 1914 Craftsman-style home at 1313 Cota Ave., that draws a pilgrimage year round. |
| The 2,296-square-foot home is forever known as "the Buffy home," where the popular television show "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" was filmed. |
| The four bedroom, two bathroom home served as the home of main character Buffy Summers, played by actress Sarah Michelle Gellar. |
| "I've led private tours to the home, with sometimes as many as 80 people," Hays said. "Fans come to the house, they cry, they take pictures, they hug the tree. They love it." |
| Paradise cakes, ramen noodles, craft beer and Zamperini memorabilia. You don't have to love Buffy to appreciate Torrance. |
The week's biggest stories |
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A pedestrian braves the rain in Venice Beach. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) |
SoCal's stormy weather |
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Olympic updates |
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Crime in L.A. County |
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UCLA vs. the Rose Bowl |
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Homeless services in L.A. |
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What else is going on |
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Must reads |
| | | The owner of the Witch's House, L.A.'s finest example of Storybook architecture, has purchased an equally fantastical property: the Hobbit Houses. | | | |
Other meaty reads |
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| Keep up with California | Your support helps us deliver the news that matters most. Subscribe to the Los Angeles Times. | | | | | |
For your downtime |
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| Cynthia Erivo, left, and Ariana Grande in the movie "Wicked: For Good." (Giles Keyte / Universal Pictures) |
Going out |
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Staying in |
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L.A. Timeless |
| A selection of the very best reads from The Times' 143-year archive. |
| | | They renovated their Los Angeles yard with climate change in mind. Then they got derailed by a Nextdoor complaint and a city notice. | | | |
Have a great day, from the Essential California team |
| Jim Rainey, staff reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
June Hsu, editorial fellow
Andrew Campa, weekend reporter
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters |
| How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com. Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com. |
