^{Throughout the 1930s, the affects of the Great Depression could be seen in the region as industrial plants closed or reduced production. Torrance was somewhat better positioned due to continued oil production. It is estimated that as many as 1,000 oil wells were still active.} 

The decade of the 1930s saw a significant slowdown in growth for the Los Angeles area. The census shows a growth in county population of only 500,000 from 2.2 million in 1930 to just over 2.7 million in 1940.

Farm income dropped 50 percent from what it had been in the late 1920s. Unemployment reached 28 percent by 1932, and by 1937, 20 percent of Californians were on public relief.

Industry and manufacturing were both impacted by the effects of the Great Depression.

There were many industrial plant closures, and those that didn’t close significantly reduced production. There also were a series of bank failures with their impact on investors and individual bank accounts.

During this time, there was a continuous migration of individuals displaced by the dust bowl in the Midwest and of individuals facing unemployment with industrial shutdown throughout the country. In 1932, more than 12,000 Mexican farm workers were deported.

The concern of Californians with the large number of arriving individuals who were unemployed and had no employment opportunities led to Los Angeles City sending police officers to the California-Arizona border to turn back arriving unemployed immigrants. The state went so far as to adopt a bill which would pay travel expenses for Filipino immigrants if they would return to the Philippines.

By mid-decade, federal programs were beginning to have an impact on the unemployment rate and pumping funds into the economy.

The WPA was involved in a whole series of public works projects including highways, parks and public buildings throughout the Los Angeles area.

Also the region itself became involved in the Colorado Water project, with the construction of the Hoover Dam creating jobs and orders for materials for the project, which affected industrial production.

It was an investment that would pay off in needed electricity and water in the region’s future.

The strength of the movie industry continued to employ many in the various studios in the region, and the X Summer Olympics were held in 1932, showing the weather and people of the Los Angeles area to the world.

The region began to swing with the Big Band sounds of Benny Goodman and Glen Miller among many other groups. They began playing in the various large dance pavilions, which were part of the beach scene in the region in the mid-1930s.

There were also the many nightclubs which dotted the area and provided an active night life that reflected an optimism of times to come.

The end of the decade saw the beginning revival of the economy as farm products and items produced in local factories began to respond to the demand from both Europe and Asia created by the growing war footing worldwide. Combined with the U.S. government’s own reinvestment in military hardware, the region began to shift to a post-depression economy.

Torrance was not exempt from the impacts of this major economic crisis. Torrance industry saw diminished production, reduced employment and diminished payrolls. This particularly affected the retail businesses in the downtown. Torrance was fortunate however in the diverse nature of it economics.

The substantial oil production activity continued, and as the decade passed there were perhaps as many as 1,000 wells requiring service and maintenance.

Each new well had a construction cost of approximately $50,000 and took about 60 days from starting construction until approval by the state. There were no controls as to spacing of the wells. As they came online, each well would produce about 250 barrels a day.

But as time passed, individual well production would dramatically fall off because of the overdevelopment of the oil field. While this diminished the profitability of individual wells, it still was seen as worth the risk.

Oil-related workers were some of the highest paid workers in the region. A rough neck could make $2.50 per day with a potential $4.50 per day if the well came in. A driller made the same per day, but could be eligible for a potential $10 per day with bonuses. This was very good pay during the Depression, and because of the size and activity of the Torrance field it involved a large number of workers.

The General Petroleum refinery reduced production but still brought employees into the area to maintain and operate the refinery. The Pacific Electric shops also continued to service the system’s Red Cars and bus fleet at its facilities in Torrance.

The agricultural base continued to produce a variety of crops. There were reduced market prices for crops produced, but still it provided continued income to workers and farm owners.

The other significant stimulus to the local economy was related to a series of large public works construction efforts. Torrance industry received orders for components used in the Hoover Dam and Colorado River Water Project and other public works projects in Southern California.

 The citizens of Torrance passed three bond issues to meet the local funding requirement of three federal grant projects: a new City Hall, a City Library and a community Auditorium. The City also built several other smaller civic buildings in the downtown area at this same time. The federal government added to this construction effort with its decision to move ahead with a central post office in downtown Torrance.

The City received funds and subsidized employment help for the construction of a municipal park – Torrance Park – east of Arlington at Santa Fe Avenue.

In this same time frame the Los Angeles Unified School District allocated funds to rebuild the Torrance High Auditorium which had been demolished after the 1933 Long Beach earthquake badly damaged it.

All of these construction projects resulted in construction workers with wages to buy meals and shop for merchandise in the downtown retail area.

As the decade closed, the steel production industries and oil companies saw major increases related to international demands and expanding defense industry production. Torrance was poised for a period of rapid growth and economic strength, and new defense-related industries also began to locate in Torrance.

One of the first of these was Doak Industries, which moved into empty industrial buildings on Border Avenue. Doak was involved in the manufacturing of structural parts for the B-17 and many other military aircraft. It had more than 1,500 employees.

Torrance still remained primarily a commuter city with the residential population remaining reasonably stable.

This would change with the transition of the area to a war production economy.

Torrance had weathered the Depression through the vision and commitment of its citizens, the capital investment of the federal government and by the underlying strength of a balanced community.