Developers Plan Face Lift for Torrance Landmark

The old Pacific Electric Railway depot, once the ornate gateway to this city’s industrial beginnings and now a deteriorating reminder of its past, may soon be bustling with activity again.

Private developers have reached an agreement with Southern Pacific Transportation Co., owner of the dilapidated 3,500-square-foot building to restore as commercial and office space the depot on nearly an acre at Torrance Boulevard and Cabrillo Avenue.

In addition, the developers, Jones & Capellino Co., a joint partnership of the John Jones Co. and Capellino & Associates, hope to build a two-story structure adjacent to the depot for additional office space and a restaurant. The total project is expected to cost about $2.5 million, Jones said.

Jones said he plans to restore the depot--including a glass version of a solid dome--to its original appearance and he will design the adjacent building in a similar architectural style.

Original Style

“It will look like the kind of thing Irving Gill would have done,” Jones said, referring to the prominent California architect who designed the original depot in 1912.

Escrow is to close on Dec. 15, but developer Jones said he may seek an extension because he would like city approval of his plans and the issuance of city permits to coincide with the escrow closing. Jones said his purchase of the structure and land is contingent on city approval of the plans.

Jones said that if approval is granted before the end of the year, the project could be completed next September or October.

Mike Bihn of the city’s redevelopment agency staff said approval could be granted by the end of the year if the project is given priority consideration. Only preliminary plans have been presented, Bihn said.

Historic Value

Mayor Jim Armstrong said he thinks the project deserves priority consideration because of the historic value and because of the city’s own efforts to restore the depot.

“I’m excited,” he said. “This is a longtime goal of mine. The people who are involved are committed to the restoration in the spirit of history. This is important to the history of the town. It is one of the oldest structures still standing.”

But city approval of the project will not be routine because it involves the city vacating part of a public street.

But Bihn said the project could resolve a longstanding planning problem in that area for the city Engineering Department.

Several streets along Cabrillo Avenue near 213th Street meet in an awkward intersection. One of those streets would be eliminated by the project.

Last January, the city sought a $300,000 grant from the state Department of Parks and Recreation’s Office of Historic Preservation to preserve the depot, but it was denied. The state agency said the depot was too deteriorated to be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, a requirement for the grant.

If the grant had been awarded, the city would have had to provide matching funds and use the structure for nonprofit purposes. The city had not determined a use, but it had been suggested as a new home for the Torrance Historical Society, now in the old Post Avenue library.

The city then asked the railroad company to dedicate the structure and the land to the city. The railroad company said no.

Bob Stacy, a spokesman for Southern Pacific, said the company is pleased that the depot will be restored, but said the sale is strictly business.

“We tried to develop it by leasing it, but not too many people wanted the site, especially with rail tracks behind it,” he said. “It’s been a difficult piece of property to deal for us. In a way it was a problem we are glad to get rid of.”

Neither Jones nor Southern Pacific would disclose the sale price. A 1982 appraisal put the value of the land and building at $588,000.

In 1912, a Pacific Electric spur line from the main San Pedro-to-Los Angeles line was established at the request of the Union Tool Co., an oil-drilling parts manufacturer that wanted a full-service, standard-gauge link to the nation’s rail network. The depot, built that same year, served the spur line.

Gill was also the architect for many other buildings in the city. The single-story depot was built of hollow tile and brick with a surface layer of concrete. It featured a Spanish Mission-style gable with parapets and a dome which is now gone. Four highly stylized columns graced the depot’s entrance. A mosaic clock--also long gone--adorned the facade of the parapets.

Thousands of workers came into the city on the train to work in the early factories that established Torrance as a major industrial town. Workers lived in Los Angeles because Torrance had few houses at the time.

In time, houses were built and the city changed from an industrial town into a commercial and financial center. The railroad stopped using the depot in the 1950s and converted the structure into office space, which was used until about 1981.

Since then, the building has been vacant. Windows are boarded or broken, its walls are covered with graffiti and the paint is faded and peeling.

A faded letter posted on a front wall remains: “Effective 3:59 p.m. Nov. 15, 1981, this office will be permanently closed.”

The developers hope to change that.