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Catalina Island is about 32 kilometers off the coast of Southern
California. The linguists’ best guess is that the Tongva (Gabrielino)
Indians originally called it Pemú’nga. Juan Rodriguez
Cabrillo first “discovered” it in 1542, and named it San Salvador.
Sebastian Vizcaíno renamed it Santa Catalina (for Saint Catherine
of Alexandria) in 1602, following his pious practice of naming
geographical features after the Catholic saints on whose feast day he
“discovered” them. But everyone now just calls it Catalina. A private
conservancy owns about 85% of the island, and keeps it undeveloped for
the enjoyment of hikers, campers, boaters, and ecologists.
The town of Avalon, which occupies about three of Catalina’s 194 square
kilometers, is the only developed part of the island. Over the last
century it has become a popular seaside resort, promoted as “the island
of romance.” The promoters must have forgotten that Catalina was named
for a martyred virgin who became the patron saint of spinsters! Avalon
is accessible by a one-hour boat ride from several ports in Southern
California, or by a short helicopter flight if you’re in a hurry. From
June through August it is jam-packed with visitors, as Catalina is one
of Southern California’s “must-see” tourist attractions. Summer,
particularly on weekends, is to Avalon what Christmas is to retailers.
On a nice Saturday in August— or on the days throughout the year
when a cruise ship calls at Avalon on its way to Ensenada, Mexico—
Avalon can indeed resemble a shopping mall in December.
But in the off season, particularly in the spring and autumn, Avalon is
delightfully tranquil, and shows its abundance of picturesque charm. The
town is built around a natural harbor. With very limited flat land near
the beach, it’s built up onto the hills that surround the bay. Unlike
the beach cities on the Southern California mainland, with their clotted
traffic and perpetual parking woes, Avalon is ideal for leisurely
exploring on foot. There are very few cars on the island—
residents have to wait up to ten years for a permit to “import” one. So
locals make their “long distance” trips around town on golf carts, which
affluent visitors can rent by the hour for an astronomical price. The
steep hills provide stunning vistas along with cardiovascular challenge.
As you might expect, boating, fishing, and diving are major
attractions on Catalina. Just outside of Avalon is Catalina Underwater
Park, with areas for scuba and snorkel diving. In the center of Avalon
Bay is the bright green Pleasure Pier, where fishing gear, diving
equipment, and boats of various kinds can be rented.
The Casino is Catalina’s most famous and prominent landmark. Completed
in 1929, the building has never housed any of the dice games, roulette
wheels, or slot machines usually associated with casinos. Except on
Indian reservations, casino gambling is strictly illegal in California.
The Casino’s name actually refers to an older sense of the word, a
building used for social gathering or entertainment.
The ground floor of the Casino contains an opulent movie theatre. It was
one of the first cinemas designed for sound films, the hottest new
entertainment technology when the Casino was built. It also houses
an impressive Page organ, originally intended to provide musical
accompaniment for silent films. After years of disuse, the organ has
been restored for public concerts.
The upper floor is the Casino Ballroom, where the likes of Glen Miller
and Benny Goodman performed (and broadcast) in the years before World
War II. With the Big Band era long gone, the Ballroom is now a venue
for weddings, banquets, conferences, and other “upscale” private events.
Crescent Avenue is Avalon’s main tourist magnet. It’s a cobblestoned
pedestrian-only mall lined with palm trees, along a small sandy beach at
the center of town. It has the expected array of restaurants and shops
selling beachwear, postcards, and assorted souvenirs. But the views of
the harbor and the Casino don’t cost anything. The walkway narrows as it
continues toward the Casino. But Avalon’s real charm and best views are
in the streets that lead off Crescent Avenue into the hills above the
harbor.
Avalon boasts some distinctive architecture. One example is Holly Hill
House, a Queen Anne style “tower house” with a distinctive conical
cupola. It’s on the west side of Avalon Bay near the “Mole,” the pier
where boats from the mainland arrive and depart. Peter Gano built it
single-handedly in 1890, assisted only by his horse that hauled the wood
from the dock. He intended to live there with his fiancée, but
she left him after deciding that the isolation of Catalina wasn’t for
her. Gano also designed Avalon’s first fresh-water plumbing system. The
semi-arid climate of Southern California has made water a perennial
problem on the island, one addressed more recently by a desalination
plant that now supplies one third of Avalon’s drinking water.
Wandering the little streets of Avalon reveals some quirky details as
well as architecture. Because most of the town is built into the
hillside and land is at a premium, multi-story townhomes and duplexes
are common, with long staircases leading to the steep street. The
outsides of some houses are decorated with odd little tchotchkes that
perhaps reflect their owners’ personalities. There are also many small
gardens and planters filled with colorful flowers.
Zane Grey, author of numerous Western novels, lived on Catalina and
built a house modeled after a Hopi Indian pueblo. (You can see
examples of genuine Indian pueblos on the
Indian Country page.) The Zane Grey home has been converted into a hotel with a great view of Avalon Bay.
The Wrigley Memorial is in a canyon about 3 kilometers inland from the
harbor. It honors William Wrigley, Jr. (of Wrigley’s chewing gum fame),
the last of the individual owners of Catalina. Wrigley devoted much
effort and money to developing Catalina in its present form,
particularly the conservancy that keeps most of the island undeveloped.
The Memorial is built mostly from materials found on Catalina, including
painted tiles from a long-abandoned local factory.
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