In 1953 the city purchased its first accounting machine. Previously ledger posting and water billing had been done by hand. In 1956 a more improved machine was necessary to handle the increased amount of city business consisting of payrolls, warrants, and various billings. Water and refuse collections bills, from 1949 to 1960, increased from 5000 to 10,000.

In December 1944 after impressive dedication ceremonies spearheaded by the Chamber of Commerce, the Hawthorne Police Department moved into a new home at 180 West 126th Street. The facility was hailed as one of the most advanced stations of its kind for a city of our size. The building contained 6,273 square feet of working space including a three-place pistol range, a civil defense control center, and a jail. At that time the force consisted of eleven full-time officers and a few motorcycles and cars. Today there are 69 full time personnel, a 40-man reserve corps and a score of cars and cycles, including a court bus.

In 1955 a new municipal code was adopted and a full-time building superintendent was employed. That year retail sales reached an all-time high of $39 million; in 1964 the total was $79 million and the estimate for 1972 was $165 million.

During the 1950's the state highway commission (Hawthorne Boulevard was a state highway at that time) formulated plans to redesign Hawthorne Boulevard into an expressway. The City asked the Chamber of Commerce to spearhead a drive to defeat this proposal. After two years of meetings, hearings and petitions, the commission abandoned the plan.

The city "took back" the boulevard from the state in 1968 and is presently considering plans for improvement of this major north-south artery as a part of the program for commercial improvement, which is referred to later in this history.

In 1956 a sewer cleaning program was instituted with the purchase of a sophisticated rodding machine to clear stoppages, plus the replacement of small sewers with pipe of much larger diameter. In previous years all rodding had been done by hand and the new machine eliminated many difficulties encountered by the early system of sewers, laid during the first fifteen years of incorporation. When the city was incorporated in 1922 most homes had cesspools, and the Saturday night bath, in a tub in the kitchen, was quite common.

The year 1956 also heralded a large tree planting project by the city. Most were planted in the middle strip of Hawthorne Boulevard. Another feature of that year was a record high of $8 million of building permits issued during the first six months. This was due to the plans being made for Hawthorne's first shopping center on the west side of Hawthorne Boulevard from 118th Street south. A large number of houses and buildings were being demolished or moved to provide space for the necessary parking and the new store buildings to be erected. One of the major permits issued was to the National Cash Register Company, who opened a new building on El Segundo Boulevard.