Culture

Wilderness Park

wilderness parkNestled in a few acres and not generally visible unless you’re in it, lies Redondo Beach’s Wilderness Park. A repose from the bustling city suburbs just a few yards away, this peaceful and idyllic park is the calm within the storm.

Within the park, you can feel isolated, yet walking up the path to the park’s east boundary, you can get panoramic views of the south bay skyline. There is a pond there too – today there were several ducks by the pond and one timid snowy egret that swooshed up to the top of a sycamore tree when we showed up. A screech owl flew out of it’s roost loudly vocalizing as it went along.

Hopkins Wilderness Park was developed in 1977 as a center for camping, nature study and conservation. The 11-acre site includes a Visitor Center used for nature-related classes and meetings; four ecological habitats: forest, meadows, streams, and ponds; amphitheater with firepit (150 capacity); three overnight campgrounds: Gumwood Camp, Pine Camp, and Sycamore Camp (30 person capacity each); Day Camp picnic site (30 person capacity); and public restrooms and support facilities.

No entrance fee is required for individuals or families who wish to visit the park.

The pond is shown below. As usual, you can click on most of our thumbnail pictures to see a larger view.

pond

Old Downtown Torrance

From the on-line book description of “Old Torrance Olmsted Districts:”

craftsmanThe City of Torrance anchors Los Angeles County’s South Bay area and is known widely as a ‘headquarters city’ for corporate giants Exxon Mobil, Nissan, Honda, and others. Yet the city’s unique history often gets glossed over.

‘Downtown Torrance,’ also known as ‘Old Torrance’ and the ‘Olmsted Districts,’ was laid out in 1912 by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., the influential urban-designer son of the ‘Father of Landscape Architecture,’ F. L. Olmsted Sr.

The town founder and patriarch, Jared Sidney Torrance, gave Olmsted Jr. the imperative to create a unique industrial city. The results are in the streets, buildings, and parks between Western Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard, north of today’s Plaza Del Amo and south of Dominguez Way. Some structures in this district were designed by renowned architect Irving Gill, including the Southern Pacific Railroad Bridge and the Pacific Electric Railway depot.

Image above: Verna took this photo of a beautiful Craftsman Home in the Olmstead district. This is one of the many beautiful homes in the district. Click on the image to enlarge.

Pink Flamingo Christmas Tree

Finishing up a little pre-Christmas shopping, we were in the old downtown district for some last-minute shopping. At one point, we went into an antique shop where this interesting Christmas tree was on display. Pink tree with pink flamingo light string and pink flamingo ornaments.

pink flamingo

Candy Canes

Nobody here really consumes these, they are for decoration and accent purposes – and for taking pictures like this.

sweets