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Before we go to the old pictures of what Lomita was like in 1927, Let's take a few minutes and read a description of what was written to attract new home owners and businesses to the city of LOMITA.
LOMITA - THE CITY OF HOMES
Today Lomita stands at the very threshold of a great residential and industrial development. At no period in her history has she shown with so marked determination and purpose to progressive advancement and improvement as has taken place in the past - three short years. Situated at the foot of the green Palos Verdes Hills in the Los Angeles County Harbor District, Lomita is twenty miles south from Los Angeles City, ten miles west of Long Beach, six miles northwest of San Pedro and seven miles east of Redondo Beach. Hundreds of fine new homes and dozens of business buildings and industrial plants have sprung up almost overnight to testify to the rapid growth that is taking place. On the front cover of this folder is shown the beautiful Spanish designed home of William D. Haworth, it is a model home throughout. The population has kept pace with other rapidly growing Southern California towns and has increased from less than 1500 seven years ago to nearly 6,000, or 400 per cent. It can be truly said that here is "A City of Homes." A most desirable, attractive and economical spot for the home seeker and his family who wish to escape the heat of summer and the cold in the winter.
Climate and The Home
People as a rule do not care to live in a noisy factory neighborhood or in the region, of a harbor or near a smelly refinery. The best place for a home is where the family is happiest. There is no other element that lends more to that contented frame of mind than a city's climate and sanitary conditions. Lomita has an ideal climate. The warm sunshine of summer is fanned by the cool - ocean breeze and every day is made pleasant. In the winter a glorious sun casts its warmth over Lomita and produces a delightful and invigorating climate. Cheap electric power and gas, fine paved roads everywhere, telephones, a plentiful supply of good water, a short distance from metropolitan centers and excellent schools and churches have made Lomita a place of opportunity. Industries have located here are thriving. Four miles east their manufactured products are loaded on steamships that circle the globe. One mile north to the Santa Fe and two miles north to the Southern Pacific railway for freight transportation and up-to-the-minute passenger busses operate on regular schedule through the center of town.
Churches and Lodges
The religious and social life of Lomita is well represented by her splendid churches and fraternal organizations. They are as follows: The Community Presbyterian Church, Four Square Gospel Tabernacle, the Lomita Berachah Church, the Catholic Church completed in 1928; the Lomita Masonic Lodge F. & A. M. No. 644, Triple City I. 0. 0. F. Lodge No. 333, Modem Woodsmen of America, the Trio Rebekah Lodge No. 240, Court of Amaranths No. 61 and Lomita Royal Neighbors No. 10137.
Chamber of Commerce
The Lomita Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors is representative and public-spirited businessmen. Under their direction and authority this literature was prepared and published. The office of the secretary is at 1162 Narbonne Avenue, and post office box No. 41, telephone 310. Any information desired in regard to this community would receive prompt attention. After you have read this pamphlet carefully, pass it on to your friends. It is our wish that thousands of good people know about Lomita, her climate, her soil and her home advantages. Mentioned of the record made in Lomita's growth and improvement under their direction during the past three years, and extend a cordial welcome to all to come and investigate, AND, IF YOU LIKE IT-MAKE LOMITA YOUR HOME.
Fruit and Vegetables
Oranges, lemons, grapefruit and tangerines are to be found the year around in the back or front yards of hundreds of homes in Lomita. If an orange or grapefruit is wanted for breakfast, or a lemon for a pie, just step out of doors a moment and pick a choice specimen to fill the order. Figs, grapefruit, oranges, lemons, tangerines and strawberries of large, excellent quality are easily cultivated here and bear bountifully. Large luscious oranges can be found on the breakfast table, picked from the trees of hundreds of homes, any day the year around. A large fine quality peach ripens in August and is as fine as the best. The local markets in this district are supplied with figs raised in Lomita, these are delicious quality. The soil is fertile and easily cultivated. Vegetable raising is one of the principal crops in the Lomita district. Grapes, lettuce, celery, beets, carrots, strawberries, cauliflower, beans, tomatoes potatoes, cabbage, onions, sweet potatoes and sugar beets being the most profitable varieties of garden produce. Lettuce and celery is shipped from Lomita to eastern cities for the Christmas dinner table. The whole area for vegetable raising can be irrigated from the water wells in Lomita at reasonable water rates.
Amusements
The Lomita Theatre, located at 1063 Narbonne Avenue, is a popular amusement center. The management is progressive and has the best interests of Lomita at heart in selecting pictures. The very latest productions are selected for local viewing soon after the are released. The I.O.O.F. Hall is equipped for serving large banquets of a civic nature as well as fraternal and has a splendid dance floor. The large, commodious auditorium at the Narbonne High School serves as a community center for school entertainment's and general welfare meetings.
Points Of Interest
A pleasant days journey to Catalina Island, Southern California's playground, a fifty mile ride there and return on a large, modern ocean steamer, fishing, boating and pleasure trips.
A half hour ride by bus or auto to the home of the Pacific Fleet of the United States Navy at San Pedro, where the great battleships may be visited. For recreation in swimming only a few miles ride to the famous Redondo Beach natatorium, the largest of its kind in the world.
Also here is provided amusement facilities of every description. A scenic drive unexcelled in Southern California is south over Narbonne Avenue into Western Avenue and along the coast highway, as shown on the accompanying map from Lomita, around the Palos Verdes Hills to Redondo Beach. The harbor of the Greater Pacific Southwest lies four and a half miles southeast of Lomita as is indicated on the map. The tremendous growth of the port's shipping business in the past four or five year's, has brought about a decided change in the popularity of the local harbor. A few years prior to 1923 the Los Angeles Harbor was scarcely given consideration as a competitive shipping point by other important ports of entry. The figures for the commercial steamship business for 1927 show that the local harbor is the third largest in the world. Among these cargoes going out to sea, this district furnishes oil, oil tools and machinery, fruit, canned vegetable's, glass, steel and rubber products. Hundreds of men live in Lomita and have steady employment at the harbor.
Lomita's Streets and Avenues
The map shown on the right is an outline of the principal Streets and Avenues in Lomita. Our city covers 1600 acres and has room for tens of thousands of people. Narbonne Avenue is in the center of town. It runs north and south, and connects with Western Avenue at the south end of town where it traverses the Palos Verdes Hills to San Pedro and on the north with Arlington Avenue, which leads through Torrance to connect with Western Avenue, then straight to Los Angeles and Hollywood. Weston Street is the center street running east and west. Driving east this road connects with Main Street a short distance east of Harbor City. West of Narbonne Avenue, Weston Street passes the Doheny Stone Drill Company factory and joins up with Hawthorne Boulevard. In the south end of town Redondo Boulevard, now changed to one hundred feet wide, leads east from Narbonne Avenue to San Pedro, Long Beach and Los Angeles and west to Redondo Beach and Santa Monica.
OUR SCHOOLS ARE THE BEST
Lomita schools are among the best in the State of California and are a part of the Los Angeles City School District.
GRADE SCHOOLS
The Lomita Grande School and the Orange Street Grammar School are both fine, modern school building, equipped with every necessity and convenience for the classroom.
THE HIGH SCHOOL
The new high school buildings together with grounds and equipment represent an investment of over half a million dollars. The main building is three stories high and houses a spacious auditorium which provides a seating capacity for 1200 people; a large gymnasium with shower baths and lockers, located on the ground floor, is convenient to the track field.
In addition to an up-to-date chemical laboratory, a complete commercial department, a school printing plant, and a splendid library located in the main building, domestic science and manual training departments are to be found in the left and right wing.
The grounds about the building have been well laid out by landscape gardeners and are community beauty spots.
Athletics are given a prominent place in the school curriculum and con- struction has been completed for a well-equipped track field, two cement tennis courts, basketball field, baseball diamond and a football field. The regular high school instructors conduct a night school for adults. It costs nothing to enroll in these night classes, except for material used. Sewing, bookkeeping, typewriting, cooking, languages, radio and public speaking courses of study are available to all that care to attend night school after the day spent at the regular vocation.
INFORMATION
Information concerning Lomita's opportunities in the business and industrial fields will be cheerfully furnished to interest and responsible persons. Address all communications to the Chamber of Commerce, Lomita, California.
The Oil Industry
Among the advantages nature has endowed Lomita, not mentioned elsewhere, is the flow of liquid gold from the earth. Hundreds of oil wells produce millions of dollars of wealth when refined into gasoline. These wells are far enough away from the residential section of Lomita that no annoyance whatsoever is experience by reason of noise or odors. The panorama view at the bottom of this page on the reverse side shows the Lomita oil fields in the background. At the present time the oil wells are producing from the - first sand at an average depth of 3800 feet. It is thought by reliable geologists that oil would be found in generous quantities here at a greater depth, commonly -called the lower or deeper sands. That, however, remains to be proven as no test has been made up to this time
Passenger Transportation
The Sunset Stages, owned and operated by the Motor Coach Company, traverse the city in all directions, with frequent schedules day and night. On the map in this pamphlet the main boulevards over which these large, commodious buses pass are Narbonne Avenue from Lomita to Torrance, Redondo Beach, Venice and Santa Monica; Redondo Boulevard southeast to the Harbor and San Pedro; Redondo-Wilmington Boulev4z east to Wilmington and Long Beach.
Business and Industry
Rapid strides have been made in Lomita during the past three years towards balance prosperity. While as yet our residential activities lead those of a strictly industrial type, much gain has been made in the latter direction. The Happiness and contentment of a people is assures through their ability to find profitable employment near their homes. The new $2,000,000.00 factory of the Doheny Stone Drill Company is the latest and most important industrial activity to come into our midst. Oil well drilling machinery is manufactured at this plant. The men employed there are experienced machinists of the highest order and receive a high wage scale. Lomita has profited by the high standards of citizenry brought to the city through the location-here of the Doheny Stone Drill Company. One of the newest industries to choose Lomita for the location of their factory is the Southern Door and Millwork, Inc., a woodworking plant for budding material. W. D. Lockhart, tile work specialists and contractors are widely known throughout Southern California. The Home Lumber Company and Lomita Lumber and Supply Company maintain. modern lumberyards for which Lomita is particularly fortunate in being able to secure building materials of all kinds at a moments notice.
The sand and gravel business of Edward Sidebottom & Son is strictly a Lomita organization and one of the largest of its kind in point of production, operating in the Harbor District. The D. & M. Machine Works, manufacturers of pistons for oil well pumps, ship their product, not alone to the domestic markets, but to every port of countries where there are oil wells. Each and every business firm illustrated on this page,-- plays an important part in the development and prosperity of Lomita.
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(c) Copyright 2008 City of Lomita. All Rights Reserved.