Torrance High School
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Torrance High School in Torrance, California is one of the oldest high schools in continuous use in California and a popular location for television and motion picture production. Torrance High School's colors are maroon and gray. The school's mascots are the "Tartars", a Mongolian warrior.
School history
The school first opened as the area's first Los Angeles School District school on September 11, 1917 as a combination high school and elementary school to accommodate the area's rapid post-war growth brought on by its petroleum industry and iron works as well as the Pacific Electric Railway. Its first commencement ceremony took place June 18, 1918 during which two students received their diplomas.
Torrance High School became part of the Redondo Union High School District in 1947. On July 1, 1948, voters in Torrance voted to begin the Torrance Unified School District of which the school remains a part of to this day.
The main building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is Torrance's first such listing. It received a major facelift and indoor modernization in the late 1970s and is the building most often seen on film.
Filming history
Torrance High's unique architecture and relative proximity to Hollywood make it a perfect location for major television programs and motion pictures. Among its credits:
- In TV, Torrance High served as the facade of fictitious West Beverly High School in the Fox Network series, Beverly Hills 90210; as Sunnydale High School, the alma mater of Buffy Summers in the WB Network series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer; and as a location for the short-lived Fox Network series Skin.
- The movies saw Torrance High used as the high school setting for the Freddie Prinze, Jr. movie She's All That. Torrance High also played a prominent role in The Wild Life, Not Another Teen Movie, Bring It On, Whatever It Takes, and Cursed.
Other historical facts
A scenic Spanish Revival fountain and patio added behind the main building in the 1920s and which was frequently seen in Beverly Hills 90210 has been known for decades as the "Senior Patio." As the patio is traditionally off-limits to underclassmen, those caught in the Senior Patio face the threat of winding up in the fountain.
The Long Beach earthquake of 1933 left its mark on the campus as well. The quake destroyed the upper part of the original auditorium and caused the ground near it to sink several feet. The replacement auditorium was built as a WPA project before the end of the decade while elevated administrative offices were added in the 1960s. The area is nicknamed the "Sunken Garden."
Track star and World War II hero Louis Zamperini, for whom Torrance's general aviation airport is named, was a Torrance High graduate and still makes frequent speaking appearances at the school. Torrance High School's football stadium is named for Zamperini.
- Please note that said football stadium is not attatched to the school campus
External links
- [Torrance High School official website]
- [Torrance High School Alumni Association website]
- [Torrance High Cross Country website]
- [Torrance High Band, Drumline and Colorguard website]
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