Best Local History Museum Torrance Near Me

4worldlovers: There are four memorials in Los Cerritos Park. For three of them, there is no marked designation of who they are for so they are somewhat invisible to the park user. Unfortunately, our city no longer allow plaques or signage associated with the newer memorials. I wanted to document these memorials so as time passes, this important part of our neighborhood history will not be lost. First a bit of history about how Los Cerritos Park came to be and then a description of the four memorials I am aware of. If anyone knows of any others please post a comment.

The Los Cerritos Park is located along County Club Drive from San Antonio Blvd., down to Country Club Park Place. The first park parcel was 1.9 acres and was donated by Amelia Bixby to the County of Los Angeles in May 1907. It was annexed to the City of Long Beach in 1924. This park adjoined the Pacific Electric Los Cerritos station on its west side. A number of additions were made to the park to increase its size to the current 7.24 acres.

Charles R. Rowett came to California from Kentucky in 1895. He settled first in Wilmington but moved to Long Beach in the early 1900s. He was in the real estate business and became one of the first developers in Los Cerritos. Rowett opposed the drilling of oil wells in the neighborhood and worked to assure restoration of the neighborhood once oil wells were banned. He lived at 3813 Chestnut so he would have experienced firsthand the oil fires, smoke and oil pools that dotted the neighborhood south of Bixby Road. He was the first president of Los Cerritos Improvement Association and affectionately known as the “Mayor of Los Cerritos.” According to the Long Beach Parks, Recreation and Marine website, an additional parcel of 2.28 acres was acquired in July 1940 and named for Rowett. But according to Rowett’s obituary published in the Press-Telegram on July 27, 1943, a parcel of land, “soon to be named for him,” would be dedicated on land given by the Bixby’s adjacent to the school. Whether the land was purchased by the city or donated to the City, the land area across from Los Cerritos School, north of Bixby Avenue, was originally called Rowett Park, in honor of Charles R. Rowett.

In 1985, a Memorial Grove was dedicated in the northwest section of the park in memory of local resident and race car driver Gary Gabelich. Gabelich won many drag racing championships and set world speed records on both land and sea. He also was associated with several local charitable causes including the California Pool for the Handicapped, Special Olympics and March of Dimes. In 2008, Gabelich was inducted into the Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame on Pine Avenue. His widow, Rae Gabelich would represent our neighborhood as city councilman from 2004 to 2012.


Unfortunately the plaque was stolen from the park in the summer of 2018. The city will not replace it but there is hope that the family will be able to do that. The grove dedicated to Gabelich still exists near the corner of Del Mar Avenue and San Antonio Drive. The memorial stone is still there, without its plaque, encircled by hedges and with benches, a welcome respite for a weary park user or for a moment of reflection.


In September in 2014, a jacaranda tree was planted near Country Club Drive, just north of the restroom building. There is no better memorial to remember Los Cerritos resident, Lillian Kawasaki, one of Southern California’s environmental leaders. Lillian Kawasaki was the first chief of the Environmental Affairs Department created by Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley. She would go on to other leadership positions for the City of Los Angeles, including General Manager of the Community Development Department and Assistant General Manager at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Kawasaki was the co-founder of the Friends of Manzanar, an organization that supports the preservation and restoration of the Japanese internment camp, once home for some of her own family members. She was elected to the Water Replenishment District in 2008 and ran an unsuccessful campaign for Long Beach City Council in 2012. Since its planting, her friends and family decorate the tree every Christmas and sing Christmas Carols.


Like Gabelich, Kawasaki has another memorial- the Water Replenishment District of Southern California at 4040 Paramount Blvd., Lakewood, renamed their Eco-Garden and the Eco-Gardener Program after her. The program teaches homeowners how to have a beautiful garden while saving water.

4worldlovers:
THE HISTORICAL MUSEUM IS CURRENTLY CLOSED. WE WILL POST OPENING DATES AND TIMES ON THIS PAGE.


Welcome to the Redondo Beach Historical Museum. The Museum is located in the 1904 Queen Anne House. The Historical Museum houses an extensive collection of Redondo Beach artifacts, memorabilia, photographs, school annuals and historic documents and receives thousands of annual visitors and school groups.

The Museum Gift Shop features the Postcard History Series book for just $20.00. All gift shop sales and donations support the ongoing mission of the Museum to preserve the heritage of Redondo Beach. Privately scheduled group tours are available by request.

(Located at Dominguez Park on Flagler Lane Between 190th Street and Beryl Street in Redondo Beach)

Heritage Court is a Victorian style courtyard containing a rose garden, fountain, arbor & two historical Redondo Beach houses. The "Queen Anne House" is used as the City's Historical Museum. The "Morell House" is undergoing rehabilitation & will be used as an adjunct Museum.