BlockBefore
Photograph of Fern Elementary School
Photograph by Bobak Ha'Eri, CC BY 3.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Fern Avenue School

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. 15 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1896.

From the record

“Fern Elementary School, previously known as Fern Avenue School, is a public elementary school that is in Torrance, California, and a part of the Torrance Unified School District (TUSD). It is on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) as #92000067 on February 20, 1992.”

Wikipedia article Fern Elementary School (California), CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 616 National Register listings published here for Los Angeles County · listed in 1992 · category: Building.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. 1314 Fern Ave., Torrance, 90503
  • When was it listed? February 1992
  • Category. building
  • Census division. Torrance
  • National Register reference number. 92000067 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Then and now

1896 to 1901

The ground this property stands on, surveyed 5 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet covering Fern Avenue School, surveyed 1901
Topographic sheet covering Fern Avenue School, surveyed 1896

Fires near this property

215 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 215 fires within 5 miles of Fern Avenue School between 2005 and 2020, burning about 182 acres in total. None started naturally. 14 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined124
Smoking30
Equipment and vehicle use20
Arson/incendiarism14
Misuse of fire by a minor12
Debris and open burning10
Power generation/transmission/distribution3
Recreation and ceremony2

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
8 September 2008Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
8 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
6 September 2020Power generation/transmission/distribution1.0 acresLos Angeles County Fire Departmentnot named
5 September 2011Smokingunder an acreLos Angeles County Fire Departmentnot named
4 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
24 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
22 September 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
20 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreLos Angeles County Fire Departmentnot named

Every fire recorded in Los Angeles County

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 23 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 23 workings within 5 miles of Fern Avenue School: 18 past producers, 2 occurrences, 2 producers, 1 plant. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Clay, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Silica, Titanium, Metal. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Burdick Minerals Corp.Titanium, LeadPast Producer
Unnamed QuarryLead, Silver, ZincPast Producer
Diatomaceous Earth DepositDiatomiteOccurrence
DicaliteDiatomiteOccurrence
CliftonTitanium, MetalProducer
Clifton-Redondo PlacerTitanium, MetalProducerIlmenite
Torrance B Plant TiTitanium, MetalPlant
Caswell & Co.SilicaPast Producer
Lawrence I. Liston Co.-Madrona AveSilicaPast Producer
Miller Bros. Truck Co.- Vollmer PitSilicaPast Producer

Every working recorded in Los Angeles County

Maps showing this location

15 surveys

United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Home Economics Building0.6 miles1983
Main Building0.7 miles1983
Auditorium0.7 miles1983
Torrance School0.9 miles1983
Pacific Electric Railroad Bridge1.2 miles1989
Mirlo Gate Lodge Tower2.8 miles2019

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 92000067 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Los Angeles CountyAll 616 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.