60th Anniversary
 On behalf of the 60th Anniversary of the City of Torrance’s articles of incorporation an honor should also be paid to Alan M. Schwartz and his formidable lineage. He is one of the city’s most recognizable sons and his family is accountable for the city’s conception. Without him, and more appropriately, him and his family (Schwartz and Levy), Torrance would not be the industrial and communal stalwart it is today. Conclusively and without reservation, the family could be said to be instrumental in the development and maturation of the South Bay’s founding city. A recent interview with Mr. Alan M. Schwartz proved to be both educational and inspirational and helped me recount the ethos by which we should all live, honor and hard work. The hour and a half we spent talking seemed like a brief moment and the result was as clear to me as a spiritual cleansing. Before his passing in 1965, the first President of the Torrance Chamber of Commerce, Sam Levy (Grandfather of Alan Schwartz), was pivotal in developing a strategic plan for the grown of what is now Downtown Torrance. Being the first official |
Meet Alan M. Schwartz: Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, Businessman of the Year by Ryan Beachkofski merchant in the area in 1917, owning a dry cleaning business and selling socks, Sam Levy was an instrumental player in the soon-to-be community. Ultimately7, his efforts provided direction for the foundation of the first settled in the west. The design of Downtown Torrance is not a functional grid for a reason. I, and I’m sure many other residents of the area, have fixated on the fork in the road at Torrance and Cabrillo Boulevards as if to say, “Robert Frost was here.” Actually, the design is as such to let the daily Pacific on-shore breeze cleanse the air, especially during the drab summer months and in accordance with the billowing toxins from the steel mill. The industrial belt was to lie adjacent to the commercial belt while allowing for close proximity to the residential area, all the while having palatable air to breathe. And to this day, the air in the South Bay is the cleanest in the entire Los Angeles basin. Sam Levy was not only a contributing force in the prosperity of an industrial Torrance and a healthy environment, but was aware of the value of the small businessman or businesswoman. |