The History

Founded in 1901 Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is one of the nations’s highest ranked children’s hospitals and is acknowledged worldwide for its leadership in pediatric and adolescent health. It is a premier teaching hospital affiliated with the Keck School of Medicine of USC since 1932. Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is the one of only 10 children’s hospitals in the nation and the only one on the west coast to be named to the prestigious U.S. News & World Report honor roll for 2014-15. Each year more than 104,000 sick children come to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for care. An outpatient center opened in 2013 to expand Children’s Hospital Los Angeles access in the South Bay at 3340 Torrance Blvd., Torrance.

These were humble beginnings with only four beds and a volunteer physician in 1901. The needs in the early days were great but their scope and scale were quite different from those of today. Women in the South Bay realized the need for support and formed the Hermosa Beach Auxiliary in 1914 and by 1925 raised enough money for a convalescent home at 445 Monterey in Hermosa Beach. The Thrift Shop, operated entirely by volunteers, opened in 1930 to support the home. The home no longer exists but the Thrift Shop continues in the same location for 40 years at 1418 Aviation Blvd., Redondo Beach