Seaside Heroes Park is situated on 1.2 acres at 22851 Anza Avenue and Lomita Blvd in Southwest Torrance. This “corridor” parcel has been owned by the City since July 16, 1953. It was acquired from the Sepulveda Building Company, Inc.. The park was officially named by the City Council on August 10, 2010 with significant community input. The name is in reference to its geographic area and in honor of three fallen soldiers who served in the Army. The name is intended to honor these local military personnel: Cpl. Joseph Anzack Jr., Cap. Matthew Ferrara, and Cpl Micah Gifford. These young men died while serving in Iraq (Joseph and Micah) and Afghanistan (Matthew) within an eleven month period (Dec 2006-Nov 2007). The men grew up in the South Torrance neighborhood where the park is located. All three attended South High School. The park’s special feature is a veterans memorial wall honoring these three men. The official dedication was led by: Assemblywoman Betsy Butler, Congresswoman Jane Harman and Acting Secretary for the California Department of Veteran Affairs Rocky Chavez on January 22, 2011.
This park was developed with State Proposition 40 (Per Capita and RobertiZ’Berg-Harris) Grant Funds, the City’s General Fund and Open Space Funds. It has a beautiful arch entrance at the Kathryn Street park entrance that is decorated with two bronze plaques and colorful ceramic tiles that were hand-painted by the Torrance Community as part of the “Art in Public Places” element. It was brought forward by the Cultural Services Division of the Community Services Department in an effort to incorporate art throughout the City. The park includes a tot lot with rock climbing wall and rubberized surface, a walkway decorated with mission-style lighting, and grass areas where 30 cherry trees were planted. Soka Gakkai International/USA (Los Angeles Beach Cities
Region) planted these trees in an effort that began in 2001. Additionally, 110 of these cherry trees are planted at Columbia Park and 10 trees at De Portola Park.
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