The Last Little Wherehouse In Torrance

The last Wherehouse,- ever, is closing down on April 25.

The Militant, in his younger days as Lil'Mil and The Mili-Teen, loved to go to the record store to buy records and tapes, and later CDs, from his favorite unspecified artists. Even as a Lil'Mil, he'd try to get his parents to stop by the local Wherehouse on the way back to the Family Compound while driving through town. This became more common as soon as Ma and Pa Militant would go there more frequently to rent movies on Beta and VHS videotape.

The Wherehouse started out in 1972 and was a small regional chain around the West, along with other stores like Music Plus, Musicland (later Sam Goody), Licorice Pizza, and the revered Tower Records. The Militant knows all of this historical stuff totally dates him, but hey, what can you do.

The last surviving Wherehouse store is on 17542 Hawthorne Blvd in Torrance, at the corner of Artesia Blvd, and it is closing its doors for good on Friday, April 25.

So that must mean...CLOSING SALE!

Stuff was cheap but horribly disorganized. But if you're down for the hunt, go for it!

Yes, there's a sale, everything must go. New CDs are 50% off, used are from 60-90% off, also half off of DVDs.

The Militant was there this past Saturday for Record Store Day, and what better way to bid adios to a local institution than to get a bunch of stuff for cheap.

Well, it wasn't as easy as that. The CD racks were generally disorganized, with genre, much less alphabetical order, adhered to. And it was kind of slim pickins. It was a little frustrating to see CDs The Militant already owned there in the racks. Worst of all, the store was blasting a Ke$ha album, which made staying inside the store an extremely arduous experience. Still, he made off with three unspecified CDs, the total cost of which cost less than a new one bought elsewhere. Score!

If you have the time, and not much money, head on down there to Torrance to help clean out the store. It's the best way to bid farewell not only to an old institution, but an era.