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Lomita is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 20,256 at the 2010 census, up from 20,046 at the 2000 census. The word “lomita” is Spanish for “little knoll”.
The Spanish Empire had expanded into this area when the Viceroy of New Spain commissioned Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo to explore the Pacific Ocean in 1542–1543. In 1767, the area became part of the Province of the Californias (Spanish: Provincia de las Californias).
In 1784, the Spanish Crown deeded Rancho San Pedro, a tract of over 75,000 acres (300 km2), to soldier Juan José Domínguez. The rancho changed in size over the years, as Domínguez’s descendants partitioned the land amongst family members, sold parcels to newly arriving settlers, or relinquished some when validating their legal claim with the Mexican government in 1828, and with the United States government in 1858. The Domínguez family name is still applied throughout the area, including the Dominguez Rancho Adobe historical landmark, in the unincorporated community of Rancho Dominguez, located northeast of Lomita.
Lomita was incorporated as a city on June 30, 1964, to prevent further annexation by neighboring cities and in an attempt to curtail the development of high-rise apartment buildings.
Lomita established a sister city relationship with Takaishi, Osaka, Japan, in October 1981.
Fire protection in Lomita is provided by the Los Angeles County Fire Department with ambulance transport by McCormick Ambulance.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) operates the Lomita Station in Lomita.
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services operates the Torrance Health Center in Harbor Gateway, Los Angeles, near Torrance and serving Lomita.
The United States Postal Service Lomita Post Office is located at 25131 Narbonne Avenue.
Lomita Railroad Museum, opened in 1966 by Irene Lewis, is a small museum in Lomita devoted to the steam-engine period of railroading. Mrs. Lewis, along with her husband Martin, operated “Little Engines of Lomita”, which sold kits for live steam-engine locomotives. Her engines also appeared in movies, including “The Greatest Show on Earth” (1952) and “Von Ryans Express” (1965). This operation inspired Mrs. Lewis to earn a mechanical engineering degree late in life and to build the museum as a showplace for her products. When built, the museum was the first of its kind West of Denver. The museum was designed to replicate the Boston & Maine’s Greenwood Station in Wakefield, Massachusetts. The Museum was donated by Mrs. Lewis to the City of Lomita in honor of her late husband, Martin Lewis, in 1967. On display are a 1902 Baldwin Locomotive, a Southern Pacific tender, a 1910 Union Pacific caboose, and a Santa Fe caboose. The Museum also houses a full-size replica of a 1920s water tower that was constructed in 2000. The museum also incorporates a small public park, which accommodates a Union Pacific boxcar and a Union Oil tank car. The Museum is open Thursday through Sunday. Mrs. Lewis’s little engines were featured on a Lawrence Welk show saluting senior citizens. Mary Lou Metzger operated the train, and a song about railroading.
5 Star Comics, Comic store owned by professional wrestler Rob Van Dam. He moved the store from Lakewood to Lomita. (Now closed)
Lomita residents are within the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). The area is within Board District 7. As of 2008 Dr. Richard Vladovic represents the district.
Elementary schools that serve Lomita include:
- Eshelman Avenue Elementary School
- Lomita Math/Science Magnet (Kindergarten zoned only – 1-5 is magnet only)
- President Avenue Elementary School (1-5) (in Los Angeles)
For a two-year period prior to 1991 Lomita attempted to secede from the LAUSD, but by that year abandoned its efforts.
Nishiyamato Academy of California, a Japanese elementary and junior high school, is located in Lomita. The school opened in April 1993; at the time it was located in Rolling Hills Estates. It was founded by Ryotaro Tanose, a former Japanese Diet member, as a sister school of the Nishiyamato Gakuen Junior and Senior High School (Nishiyamato Academy) in Kawai, Nara Prefecture, Japan.
