Santa Catalina Island

USA / California / Avalon /
 island, draw only border
Santa Catalina Island, often called Catalina Island, or just Catalina, is a rocky island off the coast of the U.S. state of California. The island is 22 miles long and eight miles across at its greatest width. The island is located about 22 miles south-southwest of Los Angeles, California.

In 1602 explorer Sebastian Viscaino once again claimed the Island for the King of Spain. Having sighted it on the eve of Saint Catherine's Feast Day, he named the island Santa Catalina in her honor. The Portola expedition also claimed the island for Spain in 1769. The Spanish began to step up their efforts to colonize California by establishing a chain of missions up and down California. Trading with foreigners was prohibited by law and Catalina Island proved a safe place for smugglers.

In 1913, Avalon became an incorporated city. In November of 1915, a devastating fire burned out of control for three days, destroying about a third of the town, including the Hotel Metropole. The Banning brothers built the elegant Hotel Saint Catherine to replace it, but were unable to recover their financial losses. In 1919, they sold the Island to an enthusiastic entrepreneur named William Wrigley Jr. and a new chapter began in the Island's history.

William Wrigley Jr. bought the island sight unseen but as soon as he and his wife Ada saw it, they fell in love with its beauty and Wrigley quickly bought out his partners. He was already a successful businessman, having made a fortune with Wrigley chewing gum. Now he turned the same energy to improving the island.

When William Wrigley Jr. passed away in 1932, his son Philip K. Wrigley continued as president of the Santa Catalina Island Company, a role he had assumed in 1925. He enlisted the help of artists Otis and Dorothy Shepard to give an early California ambiance to Avalon.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Catalina_Island,_California
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   33°23'19"N   118°27'16"W

Comments

  • I love Catalina Island. When I win the Lottery I'm going to live on this Beautiful Island. :D
  • Theme song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cx2Ylqmt3Cg