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Santa Catalina Island, California
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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 (35 km) long and eight miles (13 km) across at its greatest width. The island is located about 22 miles (35 km) south-southwest of Los Angeles, California. The highest point on the island is Mt. Orizaba (648 m), at .
Part of the Channel Islands of California archipelago, Catalina falls under the jurisdiction of Los Angeles County.
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Encyclopedia
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 (35 km) long and eight miles (13 km) across at its greatest width. The island is located about 22 miles (35 km) south-southwest of Los Angeles, California. The highest point on the island is Mt. Orizaba (648 m), at .
Part of the Channel Islands of California archipelago, Catalina falls under the jurisdiction of Los Angeles County. Most of the island is owned by the Catalina Island Conservancy.
The total population as of the 2000 census was 3,696 persons, with almost 85 percent living in its only city of Avalon (pop. 3,127, with another 195 south of the city outside of the city limits). The second center of population is the unincorporated town of Two Harbors, in the north, with a population of 298. Development occurs also at the smaller settlements Rancho Escondido and Middle Ranch. The remaining population is scattered over the island between the two population centers. The island has an overall population density of 49.29/mi² (19.03/km²).
History
Prior to the modern era, the island was inhabited by people of the Gabrielino/Tongva tribe, who, having had villages near present day San Pedro and Playa del Rey, regularly traveled back and forth to Catalina for trade. The Tongva called the island Pimu or Pimungna and referred to themselves as the Pimugnans. Archeological evidence shows Tongva settlement beginning in 7000 bce. Chief Torqua was probably the last chief of the people of Santa Catalina for whom "Torqua Springs" is named after. These Pimugnans had settlements all over the island at one time or another, with their biggest villages, most likely, being at the Isthmus, and current day Avalon and Emerald Bay. The Gabrielino/Tongva are renowned for their mining, working and trade of soapstone which was found in great quantities and varieties on the island. This material was in great demand and was traded along the California coast and as far south as Baja California.
The first European to set foot on the island was Portuguese explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, sailing for Spain. On October 7, 1542, he claimed the island for Spain and christened it San Salvador after his ship (Catalina has also been selected as one of the many possible burial sites for Cabrillo). Over half a century later, another Spanish explorer, Sebastian Vizcaino, rediscovered the island on the eve of Saint Catherine's day (November 24) in 1602. He renamed it Santa Catalina to honor the feast day of St. Catherine of Alexandria.
During the next 300 years, the island served as home or base of operation for many visitors, including Russian otter hunters, Yankee smugglers and itinerant fishermen. Among these visitors, the Aleuts of Russian Alaska probably had the largest effect on the island and its people. These otter-hunters from the Aleutian Islands set up camps on Santa Catalina, and the surrounding Channel Islands, trading with the native peoples in exchange for permission to hunt otters and seals around the island for their pelts. The Aleuts brought diseases to the natives of Santa Catalina Island, for which they had no immunity. This, ultimately, led to the demise of the Pimugnan people. Although these hunters had been known to lead attacks on the native people of surrounding islands, such as the massacre that took place on San Nicolas Island, there is no evidence on this happening on Santa Catalina. (See Nicoleno). Sea otters are now extinct on Santa Catalina Island and surrounding waters due to the effect the Aleut hunts had on Santa Catalina's otter population. These brutal hunts took place for months, with the slaughtering of close to one hundred otters in one night. Today, the only substantial population of the sea otter is off of the northern Channel Islands. Smuggling also took place on the island for a long period of time. Pirates found that the abundance of hidden coves all over the island, in addition to its short distance to the mainland and scarce population, made it a perfect place for smuggling goods. Once used by smugglers of illegal Chinese, China Point, located on the south western end of Catalina, still bears its namesake.
Franciscan monks considered building a mission there, but abandoned the idea due to the lack of fresh water on the island. By the 1830s, the entire island's native population were either dead, or had migrated to the mainland to work in the missions or as ranch hands for the many private land owners.
The island experienced a brief gold rush in 1860s, but very little gold was actually found. In 1864, the federal government, fearing attempts to outfit privateers by Confederate sympathizers in the American Civil War, put an end to the mining by ordering everyone off the island. A small garrison of Union troops were stationed at the Isthmus on the island's west end for about nine months. Their barracks stand as the oldest structure on the island and is currently the home of the Isthmus Yacht Club.
By the end of 19th century, the island was almost uninhabited except for a few cattle herders. At that time, its location just from Los Angeles—the city that had reached the population of 50,000 in 1890 and was undergoing the period of enormous growth—was a major factor that contributed to the development of the island into a vacation destination.
The first owner to try to develop Avalon into a resort destination was George Shatto, a real estate speculator from Grand Rapids, Michigan, who purchased the island for $200,000 at the height of the real estate boom in Southern California in 1887. Shatto created the settlement that would become Avalon, and can be credited with building the town's first hotel, the original Hotel Metropole, and pier. His sister-in-law Etta Whitney came up with the name Avalon, which was pulled as a reference from Lord Alfred Tennyson's poem "Idylls of the King," which was about the legend of King Arthur. He laid out Avalon's streets, and introduced it as a vacation destination to the general public. He did this by hosting a real estate auction in Avalon in 1887, and purchasing a steamer ship for daily access to the island. In the summer of 1888, the small pioneer village kicked off its opening season as a booming little resort town. Despite Shatto's efforts, in a few years he had to default on his loan and the island went back to the Lick estate.
The sons of Phineas Banning bought the island in 1891 from the estate of James Lick and established the Santa Catalina Island Company to develop it as a resort. The Banning brothers fulfilled Shatto's dream of making Avalon a resort community. They built a dance pavilion in the center of town, made additions to the Hotel Metropole and steamer-wharf, built an aquarium, created the Pilgrim Club (a gambling club for men only), improved the standard of Avalon's beach by erecting a sea-wall and adding "spoonholders" or covered benches, building a bath house, adding new steamships to the run, and setting up close to one hundred tents throughout Avalon's canyon (often called "tent cities"). These tents were created so that, if the expense of a hotel was too much, you could rent out a tent for as little as $7.50 per week, which was quite a bargain at the time. To this day, many homes in Avalon are still in possession of the same tents that stood in that spot over a century ago. Although the Banning's main focus was in Avalon, they also showed great interest in the rest of the island and wanted to introduce other parts of Catalina to the general public. They did this by paving the first dirt roads into the island's interior where they built hunting lodges and lead stagecoach tours, and by making Avalon's surrounding areas (Lovers Cove, Sugarloaf Point and Descanso Beach) accessible to tourists. They built two homes, one in Descanso Canyon, and the other in, what is now, Two Harbors, and it is now that village's only hotel. Just as the Bannings were anticipating the construction of a new, Hotel Saint Catherine, their efforts were set back on November 29, 1915, when a fire burned half of Avalon's buildings, including six hotels and several clubs. The Bannings refused to sell the island in hopes of rebuilding the town, starting with the Hotel Saint Catherine. The hotel would be located on Sugarloaf Point, the unique, picturesque, cliff bound peninsula at the north end of Avalon's harbor. It was blasted away to begin the construction of the hotel with its annex being in Descanso Canyon. These plans failed due to lack of funding and, in the end, the entire hotel was built in Descanso Canyon. The Bannings were in huge debt from the fire of 1915 and World War I also hampered tourism. The Banning brothers were forced to sell the island in 1919 in shares.
One share holder was chewing gum magnate William Wrigley, Jr. He was convinced to invest in Santa Catalina Island and, before his purchase, he traveled to Catalina with his wife, Ada, and son, Philip, and immediately fell in love with the island. He bought out every last share-holder until he owned all of Santa Catalina Island.
From 1927 through 1937, pottery and tile were made on the island at the Catalina Clay Products Company, and these items are now highly sought-after collectibles. The Chicago Cubs, also owned by Wrigley, used the island for the team's spring training from ca. 1921-1951, absent the war years of 1942-45.
During World War II, the island was closed to tourists and used for military training facilities. Catalina's steamships were expropriated for use as troop transports, the U.S. Maritime Service set up a training facility in Avalon, the Coast Guard had training at Two Harbors, the Army Signal Corp maintained a radar station in the interior, and the Office of Strategic Services (a precursor to the CIA) did training at Toyon Bay. Emerald Bay, on the Island's west end was used by the Navy.
Catalina's airport, the "Airport in the Sky" (AVX), was completed in 1946. The 3,250-foot (990 m) runway sits on a mountaintop, 1,602 feet (488 m) above sea level. Until the time of the airport's construction, the only air service to the island was provided by seaplanes.
In September 1972, 26 members of the Brown Berets, a group of Chicano activists, travelled to Catalina and planted a Mexican flag, claiming the island for all Chicanos. They asserted that the Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty between Mexico and the USA did not specifically mention the Channel Islands. The group camped outside of Avalon and were viewed as a new tourist attraction. Local Mexican-Americans provided them with food after they used up their own supplies. After 24 days a municipal judge visited the camp to ask them to leave. They departed peaceably on the tourist boat, just as they had arrived.
In 1975, Philip Wrigley deeded the Wrigley shares in the Santa Catalina Island Company to the Catalina Island Conservancy that he had helped create. The Conservancy now stewards 88 percent of the island. The mission of the Catalina Island Conservancy is to be a responsible steward of its lands through a balance of conservation, education and recreation. So far, the successes include the opening of California's first permanent desalination plant in 1991.
The Wrigleys and the casino
When William Wrigley Jr. bought controlling interest in the Santa Catalina Island Company in 1919, he devoted himself to preserving and promoting it, investing millions in needed infrastructure and attractions.
When the island was bought, two ships, the Hermosa II and the S.S. Cabrillo were the only steamships that provided access to the island. Wrigley understood that transportation to and from the island was vital to Catalina's growth. He envisioned great steamers, some of the greatest the world had ever seen. He purchased the S.S. Virginia, and with some adjustments, it was renamed the S.S. Avalon. He foresaw the design of another steamship, the S.S. Catalina which was launched on the morning of may 3rd, 1924. These steamships would deliver passengers to Catalina for many years.
In the 1920s, in an effort to generate tourism on Catalina, Wrigley tried to convince Gertrude Ederle, who had just become famous as first woman to swim across the English Channel, to swim from Catalina to the mainland. She declined, so he launched the 1927 Wrigley Ocean Marathon: offering $25,000 to the first person to cross the channel, with $15,000 for the first finisher of "the fair sex." Out of a field of 102, only one man completed the swim, Canadian swimmer George Young, who finished 15 hours and 44 minutes after the start. The two women who came the closest were awarded $2,500 each.
Tourism was encouraged by the construction of an Art Deco dance hall, called the Casino, in 1929. Surrounded by sea on three sides, the circular structure is the equivalent of 12 stories tall.
Wrigley built a home in Avalon to oversee his plans. One of Wrigley's first priorities was to create a new and improved dance pavilion for the island's tourists. Before the Banning brothers sold the island, Sugarloaf Point was blasted away to start the construction of the Hotel St. Catherine. In the end, the hotel was built in Descanso Canyon. However, Wrigley used this cleared spot to build the dance hall which he named Sugarloaf Casino. It served as a ballroom and Avalon's first high-school. Its time as a casino was short, however, for it proved too small for Catalina's growing population. In 1928, the Casino was razed to make room for a newer Casino. Sugarloaf Rock was blasted away to enhance the Casino's ocean-view.
The Avalon Theater, on the first level, shows first-run movies nightly, and the theater's original Page Organ still plays before the show. The circular domed ceiling has remarkable acoustics studied by experts. The upper level houses the world's largest circular ballroom with a diameter dance floor. French doors encircle the room, and balcony views are spectacular.
Wrigley put in ramps instead of stairs, an idea taken from his Chicago Cubs stadium. The ramps allowed the large numbers of people using the ballroom to quickly move to and from their destinations.
The upstairs dance floor has a capacity of over 6,000 dancers, and sits above the glamorous Avalon Theater, which seats 1,150 and is the first ever designed specifically for sound movies. The upstairs dance floor was briefly used by the local high school basketball team.
The theater is so well-insulated that theater patrons cannot hear the band playing or the 6,000+ dancers on the floor above, yet the acoustics are so good that a speaker on the theater stage can speak in a normal voice without a microphone and be heard clearly by all in attendance.
While the theater shows movies almost exclusively, it has the capabilities to host theatrical productions as well. The Casino's name derives from a more traditional Italian definition of casino, meaning social gathering place; the building has never served as a gambling establishment, and for many years did not serve alcoholic beverages.
The steel structure of the old Sugarloaf Casino can still be found in Avalon's abandoned bird park. The bird park was conceived by Mrs. Wrigley, and, at the time, was one of the largest aviaries in the world. The bird-park now serves as a daycare for the local residents of Avalon.
In September 2008, a historic event occured for the Casino: it played host to the first live full production of a musical on its stage. The Santa Catalina Island Company produced Grease! starring Fernando Acevedo as Danny Zuko, Emily Melton as Sandy Dumbrowski, Katie Horwitch as Rizzo, and A.J. Gutierrez as Kenickie. Also featuring: Dahni Piro, Laura Hartley, Kathryn Greene, Katar Intacachote, Reggie De Leon, Mirna Carbajal, Tony Mc Conville, Shafik Wahhab, and Dayna Price. With only a two-night, sold-out run, Catalina Island residents are hoping for this to be the beginning of a tradition of arts in the Casino.
2007 fire
On May 10, 2007, fire broke out in the hills north and west of the city of Avalon. At least three structures burned, and more than 4000 acres (16 km²) were consumed by flames. Avalon City Councilman Scott Nelson said: "We've lost five or six small businesses in Falls Canyon and a construction company building in Birdpark Canyon." He also said that evacuees who took refuge in the casino, which is without power, have been moved to another location.
Nelson said about 100 firefighters were battling the blaze and that another 200 new recruits, arriving by hovercraft and Marine helicopters, were bedding down at the airport to work the day shift in the morning. Catalina Express was also running extra boats through the night to take people off the island. 700 evacuees were reportedly at the César E. Chávez center in Long Beach.
The eCatalina.com newsletter reported on June 1, 2007, about the fire, "Fortunately, the fire that captured the attention of the nation did not cause any damage to the charm of the City of Avalon, the community of Two Harbors or the activities, shopping, tours, restaurants and accommodations our visitors enjoy. of interior chaparral burned sparing most wildlife, including the Catalina Island Fox, bald eagles and bison."
- See also: Avalon 2007 fire
Geology
According to Sunset magazine, "Catalina...is a geographic anomaly. Unlike California's other seven Channel Islands, it didn't break away from the mainland, but was formed by the upward heave of tectonic plates."
The island is very rich in quartz, to the point that some beaches on the seaward side have silvery-grey sand.
Catalina is primarily composed of two distinct rock units, Catalina Schist from the Cretaceous and volcanic and intrusive igneous rocks from the Tertiary period.
Wildlife
Among thousands of species of plants and animals, Catalina is home to 15 taxa found nowhere else.
Flora
About 400 species of native plants grow on the island. Six species, subspecies or varieties are endemic and can be found only on Catalina Island. These plants are: Catalina manzanita (Arctostaphylos catalinae); Catalina mahogany (Cercocarpus traskiae); Catalina dudleya (Dudleya hassei); St. Catherine’s lace (Eriogonum giganteum var. giganteum); Santa Catalina bedstraw (Galium catalinense ssp. catalinense); and Santa Catalina Island ironwood (Lyonothamnus floribundus ssp. floribundus). A disjunctive population of Toyon var. macrocarpa is also a Santa Catalina endemic.
These plants may be seen at the island's Wrigley Memorial & Botanical Gardens.
Fauna
The island is home to five native land mammals: the Island Fox, the Spermophilus beecheyi nesioticus subspecies of California Ground Squirrel, the Santa Catalina Island Harvest Mouse (Reithrodontomys megalotis catalinae), the Santa Catalina Island Deer Mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus catalinae), and the Ornate Shrew (Sorex ornatus). Only one Ornate Shrew was ever found, from a now-developed spring area above Avalon. Shrews are difficult to capture and may survive in wetter areas of the island.
The Conservancy is also working to restore bald eagles to the island, with several chicks hatching in 2007. These would edge out an invasive golden eagle population that threatens the native Island Fox. DDT, which was used before as a pesticide, softened the shell of the egg, which made it harder for the egg to reach its hatching.
In the waters surrounding the island, there are schools of fish like garibaldi, Yellowtail, Kelp Bass, White seabass, Giant sea bass, Leopard sharks, blacksmiths, opaleyes and many more.
The Catalina Orangetip butterfly is a notable insect of the island.
Bison
A herd of American Bison roam, supposedly first imported in 1924 for the silent film version of Zane Grey's Western tale, The Vanishing American. Over the decades, the bison herd grew to as many as 600 individuals. Bison were routinely removed and sent to the mainland to auction. Recently however, another solution was implemented. The Conservancy initiated a scientific study that determined that a herd of between 150 and 200 would be good for the bison, and ecologically sound for the island.
In 2004, the Conservancy partnered with the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, the Tongva (thought to be Catalina's original inhabitants some 7,000 years ago), and the Lakota tribe on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. A hundred bison were relocated "home" to the Great Plains. The Conservancy plans to pursue a similar plan when the bison population exceeds 200 individuals. Although the bison are not native to the island, they comprise an important role in the cultural fabric of Catalina. Therefore, the Conservancy has no plans to remove all the animals from the island.
In 2007, biologists found that the American Bison of Santa Catalina Island are not pure bred; 45 percent have a domesticated cow as an ancestor.
Foxes
The Island Fox is an endangered endemic species. In 1999, all but 100 out of 1,300 foxes on Catalina Island were wiped out due to a virulent strain of canine distemper. Following a successful recovery program which included captive breeding, distemper vaccinations and population monitoring, the Catalina fox community has been restored to more than 400 individuals—a number deemed by the Conservancy scientists to be a self-sufficient population. However, mysterious, usually fatal ear tumors continue to plague the Catalina fox. Three Catalina Island Conservancy wildlife biologists continue to monitor the population through pit tagging, trapping and inspection.
Tourism and attractions
About a million tourists visit the island every year; Catalina is serviced by ferries and the "Airport in the Sky." Ferries depart from Orange County in Newport Beach and Dana Point, while they depart from Los Angeles County in Long Beach, San Pedro, and Marina del Rey. The trip takes approximately an hour and costs approx $65 round trip. Helicopter service is also available from Long Beach or San Pedro.
Most of the island is controlled by the Catalina Island Conservancy, a private nonprofit organization. The mission of the Catalina Island Conservancy is to be a responsible steward of its lands through a balance of conservation, education and recreation. Through its ongoing efforts, the Conservancy protects the magnificent natural and cultural heritage of Santa Catalina Island, stewarding approximately 42,000 acres (170 km²) of land (88 percent of the island), 50 miles (80 km) of rugged shoreline, an airport, and more than of roads.
Under an agreement with Los Angeles County, the Conservancy has granted an easement to allow day hiking and mountain biking, but visitors must first obtain a permit at the Conservancy's office (on which they declare the parts of the island they intend to visit). Hiking permits are free, whereas bicycle permits are available for a fee (as of 2006, $60 per person annual, $20 per person good for 2 consecutive days, helmets and mountain bikes with knobby tires required).
The use of motor vehicles on the island is restricted; there is limit on the number of registered cars, which translates into a 10-year-long wait list to bring a car to the island. Most residents move around via golf cart. Tourists can hire a taxi from Catalina Transportation Services. Bicycles are also a popular mode of transportation. There are a number of bicycle and golf cart rental agencies on the island. Only the city of Avalon is open to the public without restrictions.
The only major road into the back country is Stage Road.
Glass bottom boats tour the reefs and shipwrecks of the area, and scuba diving and snorkeling are popular in the clear water. Lover's Cove, to the east of town, and Descanso Beach, to the west of the Casino, are popular places to dive. The area is famous for the schools of flyingfish and the bright orange Garibaldi which teem in local waters. Bus tours are given of the interior.
While tourists rarely have an opportunity to surf, two beaches on the "backside" of Catalina offer good waves: Shark Harbor and Ben Weston Beach.
Two Harbors is the second, and much smaller, resort village on the island. Located at the isthmus of the island, north of Avalon, it is the primary landing spot for those who wish to tour the western half of the island. It is accessible by boat from San Pedro and by bus or boat from Avalon.
Art Good, host of the Jazztrax Showcase of the Absolute Newest, holds the Catalina Island Jazztrax Festival there each year.
The Catalina Island Museum, located in the historic Casino Building, is also an attraction as it is the keeper of the island's cultural heritage with collections numbering over 100,000 items and including over 7,000 years of Native American history, over 10,000 photographs and images, a large collection of Catalina-made pottery and tile, ship models, and much more. The museum features dynamic exhibits on this history and also a unique gift store. Programs include walking tours of Avalon, classes for students, gallery docents, lectures, an annual silent film benefit and more.
Shipwrecks
Known shipwrecks in the waters off the island include the Diosa del Mar , which was sunk July 30, 1990 near Ship Rock. The yacht Valiant burned and sunk a couple hundred yards out from Descanso Beach. It had about $75,000 worth of jewelry on board which has never been recovered. Dives are by harbormaster's permit only. Many wrecks can be found just off of Casino point, including the famous Su-Jac. The oldest shipwreck known on Santa Catalina Island is that of a Chinese smuggling ship off Ballast Point on the west side of the island.
Camps
Public camps
The Santa Catalina Island Company has campgrounds at Two Harbors, Parson's Landing, Black Jack, Little Harbor, and Hermit Gulch inland from Avalon. All campgrounds require a reservation and permit. There are also nine primitive boat-in only campgrounds.
Private camps
Two Boy Scouts of America councils in Los Angeles County have camps north of Two Harbors: Camp Cherry Valley, operated by the San Gabriel Valley Council, located two coves north of Two Harbors at Cherry Cove; and Camp Emerald Bay, operated by the Western Los Angeles County Council, further up the coast.
The island contains another camp named Camp Fox, formerly operated by the YMCA of Glendale, which holds several summer coed youth camps, a summer girl's camp, as well as a Christian leadership conference in spring. As of 2007 Camp Fox also known as Fox Landing is currently owned by the Catalina Island Marine Institute. There is also Campus by the Sea, a camp operated by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, located at Gallagher's Cove.
There is also a coeducational camp at Howland's Landing named Catalina Island Camps, which has been there since the 1920s. Catalina Island Camps is home to many camps including Camp del Corazone, a camp for kids and counslers with heart disease or defects.
Guided Discoveries (Catalina Island Marine Institute) also runs several camps (Toyon Bay, Fox Landing, and Cherry Cove) on Catalina Island providing hands on opportunities to learn marine science (at Toyon Bay) and environmental studies to school groups and community groups during school year and sea camps during the summer.
Moonstone is another private cove operated by the Newport Harbor Yacht Club of Newport Beach, CA
Just west of Moonstone Cove is Whites Landing. Whites Landing is home to two yacht club camps, Balboa Yacht Club to the west, and San Diego Yacht Club to the east. In the center of the large cove on a 14 acre parcel is a private camp and retreat center called The Catalina Experience. The Catalina Experience hosts numerous youth camps, family camps, group retreats and outdoor education programs.
Education
Children in Avalon attend schools in the Long Beach Unified School District.
There are two schools on Catalina Island. Two Harbors is served by a one-room school house for grades K-5; students travel to Avalon for grades 6-12. Avalon schools are housed on one main campus that includes Avalon Elementary School, Avalon Middle School and Avalon High School. About a dozen children attend the Two Harbors school and about 800 students attend Avalon schools each year. Thousands of school-age youths travel from the mainland to study at the Catalina Island Marine Institute every year.
The USC Wrigley Institute research and teaching facilities at Two Harbors, maintained by the University of Southern California and named for Philip K. Wrigley, consist of a laboratory building, dormitory housing, cafeteria, a hyperbaric chamber, and a large waterfront staging area complete with dock, pier, helipad, and diving lockers. The facility was made possible by a generous donation from the Wrigley family.
Notable visitors and residents
- In 1936, Ronald Reagan, a young radio announcer for WHO in Des Moines, Iowa, traveled to Catalina to cover the Cubs during spring training. While there, he took a screen test and was offered an acting role.
- After visiting Catalina Island, Jack Owens, the Cruising Crooner, a popular radio vocalist of Don McNeil's Breakfast Club, was inspired by the friendly greeting people used there, "Hi, Neighbor," and wrote the music and words in 1941 for a song of the same name, and it went on to be a top-selling pop tune that year.
- In the early 1940s during World War II, Marilyn Monroe, as a young, married woman, briefly lived in Avalon with her first husband, James Dougherty, a lieutenant in the Merchant Marine, who was stationed on the island. Monroe often was a babysitter for neighborhood children.
- On May 31, 1950, actor Gregory Harrison was born at Avalon on Santa Catalina Island. His father, Ed Harrison, operated a glass-bottom boat sightseeing service on the island. Harrison went on to star in many stage, screen and television productions, including Logan's Run, Trapper John, M.D., Centennial, and It's My Party. In 1980, Harrison and a partner founded an entertainment production company, the Catalina Production Group Ltd., named after his island birthplace.
- Actress Natalie Wood drowned off the coast of Catalina in 1981 while on a boating trip with husband Robert Wagner and actor Christopher Walken.
- In 2001, while vacationing on a yacht off of Catalina, Lisa Marie Presley allegedly got in to a fight with boyfriend Nicolas Cage and threw a famous ring, once owned by her father Elvis Presley, overboard. The ring was worth approximately $500,000.
In popular culture
- In 1958, the Four Preps recorded the hit song "26 Miles (Santa Catalina)"; the song reached the #2 position on the U.S. popular music charts. The metric distance of "40 kil-o-meters" also is sung.
- In 1982, the group Descendents released the album Milo Goes to College, featuring a song called "Catalina."
- Catalina Island is briefly mentioned in the 1987 movie Lethal Weapon as the place where Roger (Danny Glover) would like to fish with his new boat.
- The 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit featured an oft-referenced vacation to Santa Catalina Island as a subject in the failing relationship between Eddie Valiant and Dolores.
- In Dan Brown's popular novel Deception Point, published in 2001, there is a reference to sailing off the coast of Catalina.
- In Sandra Byrd's Faithful Friends: The Hidden Diary Series (published in 2001), the main setting and location for all the books is Santa Catalina Island.
- In the 2001 novel A Darkness More Than Night, by Michael Connelly, Santa Catalina Island is featured extensively.
- The island is the location of some key action scenes in the 2007 novel Falling by Christopher Pike.
- The Island lends its name to a local weather pattern, the Catalina eddy.
Filming location and setting
- The 1924 silent comedy film The Navigator, directed by and starring Buster Keaton was filmed over a 10 week period in Avalon Bay on Catalina Island.
- Several scenes in the 1966 romantic comedy film The Glass Bottom Boat, starring Doris Day and Rod Taylor, were filmed in and around Avalon and Avalon Harbor on Catalina Island.
- The 1967 teen comedy film Catalina Caper, starring Tommy Kirk, was filmed on Santa Catalina Island. This movie was later featured in episode 204 of Mystery Science Theater 3000.
- Several scenes from the 1974 film Chinatown, starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway, were filmed on Catalina, including one showing the Casino.
- In 1984, Catalina and the Avalon Casino were the filming locations for the "Airwolf" episode titled "Sins of the Past", though the island was given a fictional name.
- In 1989, actor Chad Allen is seen visiting Santa Catalina Island in the promotional video The Real Chad Allen. Allen is seen visiting Avalon there and also snorkeling off the coast in the vicinity of a sunken ship.
- Portions of the 1998 film Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss, starring Sean Hayes and Brad Rowe, utilize the Catalina ferry terminal in San Pedro, California as well as locations on Catalina Island, including Avalon Harbor and the Casino building. The film also closes with a song titled Love Slave of Catalina.
- In 2002, the TV show Endurance was filmed on Parson's Beach, near the west end of the island.
- In a 2004 season one episode of the Fox series Arrested Development titled "Staff Infection," employees of the Bluth Company get lost on Catalina Island, and are found and transported by a sheep herder in his animal trailer.
- The 2006 TV Comedy Falling in Love with the Girl Next Door, featuring Crystal Allen, Ken Marino and Patrick Duffy takes place on Catalina Island.
- The ending to the 2008 film Step Brothers is a wine mixer on the island of Catalina.
- In the MTV reality series Daddy's Girls, Angela and Vanessa decide to spy on their friend, Alycia. So as pay back for them spying, their cousin Jessica, lies and tells them that Alycia went to Catalina. Leading Angela and Vanessa to spend hours searching the island.
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