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Torrance was originally part of the 1784 Rancho San Pedro Spanish land grant, issued to Juan Jose Dominguez, signed by King Carlos III of the Spanish Empire.

In the early 1900s, real estate developer Jared Sidney Torrance and other investors saw the value of creating a mixed industrial-residential community south of Los Angeles. They purchased part of an old Spanish land grant and hired landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. to design a new planned community. The resulting town was founded in October 1912 and named after Torrance; the city of Torrance was formally incorporated in May 1921.

Del Amo Fashion Center, at 2.5 million square feet (232,000 m²), is one of the largest malls in the United States. Estimates vary between the second largest (after the Mall of America) and the fourth largest, depending on the measurements used. The current mall was created when Del Amo Center, built in 1958, merged with Del Amo Fashion Square, built in 1970. Once located on opposite sides of Carson Street, a gigantic expansion of the mall spanning Carson Street joined the two centers by 1982, making it the longest mall in the world at the time. Del Amo Fashion Center has been used as a location for several motion pictures, including Jackie Brown and Bad Santa. In 2005, the east end of the original mall north of Carson Street was demolished to make way for a new open-air shopping center, opened in mid-September, 2006. The new center features upscale clothiers Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters as well as the restaurant PF Chang’s. The housewares retail giant Crate & Barrel opened in Spring 2007. Torrance also borders the South Bay Galleria, which resides in Redondo Beach.

One of the country’s few urban wetlands can be found in Torrance. Madrona Marsh is a nature preserve on undeveloped land once set aside for oil production. Torrance was also a filming location for the movie Volcano in 1997.

Torrance Beach lies between Redondo Beach and Malaga Cove. The region shared by Torrance and Redondo Beaches are often called “Rat Beach” (short for “Right After Torrance” Beach or “Redondo and Torrance Beach”).

The Armed Forces Day Parade in Torrance, which was first produced in 1960, is the longest running military parade sponsored by a city. It is held annually on Armed Forces Day, and runs down Torrance Boulevard. The parade features military vehicles, school bands, and prominent community members.

The city has been subject of a number of cultural references. Mark Wahlberg is involved in two, in Boogie Nights his character Eddie Adams/Dirk Diggler is from Torrance, and in Three Kings his character Sfc. Troy Barlow in the epilogue is revealed to go on to manage a carpet store in Torrance California. Coincidently Three Kings co-star Spike Jonze directed a mocumentary chronicling the fictional Torrance Community Dance Group (from Fatboy Slim’s “Praise You” video, also directed by Jonze) on their road to the MTV Video Music Awards. Torrance is also mentioned in the South Park episode Freak Strike.

Alpine Village, although not within the city boundaries but having a Torrance mailing address, is a European-themed restaurant, market and shop complex that hosts a locally popular version of the Oktoberfest celebrations every weekend during September and October for 35 years, featuring a beer brewed on site.

A scene in the movie Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle was filmed at the Foster’s Freeze Drive-thru located in downtown Torrance.