by Garrison Frost

What is a place known for? For some places, the answers are easy. When one thinks of Paris, immediately one calls to mind the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre. But then some history also comes in. One thinks of the French Revolution, the Nazi occupation. Cultural items also come to mind, such as the Impressionist movement, fine dining and fashion. Moreover, this works in reverse. People will identify the Eiffel Tower with Paris, as they will Impressionists, high fashion and the French Open tennis tournament.

Some cities are known for only one thing. Three Mile Island is not a big place, however it is very well known for the nuclear accident that happened there. Likewise, when one thinks of nuclear accidents, one immediately thinks of Three Mile Island.

But what of an area like the South Bay of Los Angeles County? I hesitate to call it just the South Bay because there are lots of South Bays around the country and while people might know of a South Bay, they might not necessarily be thinking of our South Bay. If people come across city names like Hermosa Beach or Rancho Palos Verdes or Torrance, will anything in particular come to mind? Moreover, is there any cultural or historical event or thing that people will identify with cities in the South Bay?

Facing this question, my first instinct was to think that, no, there is nothing so significant about the South Bay that anyone elsewhere in the country or world would have heard about it. Furthermore, there didn't seem to be any products, physical or cultural, that can be particularly identified with this area. For instance, the South Bay has generally good schools and nice houses. But then, lots of places do. Manhattan Beach is now home to a prominent movie studio, but the city is a long way from taking Hollywood's mantle as the center of that industry. Surf culture is a major export of the South Bay, but many places produce surf culture in larger doses and few would place the South Bay at the top of the list. In such manner, it would seem that the South Bay has no unique legacy to the outside world.

But upon further consideration, I have revised that opinion and come up with the following list of things and events that people might connect with the South Bay, things that might be considered a legacy. They are listed in no particular order:

The McMartin Preschool trial: In 1983, a Manhattan Beach parent contacted police and touched off what was then the longest and most expensive criminal trial in the history of the United States. By the time it was all through in the early 1990s, the entire country had heard of it and could probably even place Manhattan Beach on a map, or at least offer an opinion on the state of preschool education in the city. In 1995, HBO made a movie about the events of the trial starring James Woods. No news story out of the South Bay ever got more publicity or notoriety than this one. Except perhaps ...

The Falcon and the Snowman: Made into a very successful movie starring Sean Penn and Timothy Hutton, the story of how two young kids from Palos Verdes – Chistopher Boyce and Andrew Lee – sold secrets from TRW to the Soviet Union until their arrest in 1977 was a major identifier for the South Bay. Which leads us to ...

The South Bay aerospace industry: While this isn't something that your typical housewife in Ohio would know much about, in certain circles the South Bay is very well known as a hotbed of military and private aerospace technology. For decades, companies such as TRW, Hughes, Computer Sciences and a host of others developed the core of this country's spy satellite, rocket delivery and space exploration history.

West Coast Jazz: Referring to a lighter, cooler and more accessible form of the music, West Coast Jazz came into its own in the late 1940s. Hermosa Beach's Lighthouse Café became a focal point for this new movement when bassist Howard Rumsey began holding jam sessions and drawing some of Los Angeles' best musicians. Some of the musicians who participated included Bud Shank, Art Cooper, Miles Davis and Chet Baker – folks who became mighty famous later on.

Punk rock: Although punk rock really got its start in England and New York, the American movement got a jolt of energy from the South Bay. Black Flag, one of the seminal groups of the late 1970s and early 1980s formed in Hermosa Beach, and dozens of classic punk bands emerged from this scene. SST Records, a major label advancing the music, was located right where Java Man Coffeehouse now sits. This movement continues with modern groups such as Pennywise. Raymond Pettibon, perhaps the most successful artist to ever emerge from the South Bay, emerged from this punk rock scene in the early 1980s.

The Beach Boys: Everyone has heard of the Beach Boys. The contribution to American culture has been profound. It's particularly interesting to note that the band is a product of the South Bay, Hawthorne in particular.

Beach volleyball: Although two-person beach volleyball as it played today has its origins in Santa Monica, the sustained popularity of the sport on the South Bay beaches over the last several decades qualifies it as a product of this area as much as any other place. Although lots of other places can claim a connection to beach volleyball, national television coverage, several high profile professional tournaments and a Hermosa Beach Olympic champion further link the sport to this area.

West Coast Rap: While the origins of West Coast Rap definitely were in Comptom and South Central Los Angeles, the South Bay certain played a role in its creation and growth. Many of the first recordings by the seminal group DWA were made at Audio Achievements in Torrance and distributed to a hungry audience at the Roadium swap meet in that same city.

Suggestions for additions to this list should be forwarded here.

(Sept. 25, 2003)

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