Chewing gum, red clay, sun, and sea
Despite being only about 22 miles away from the megalopolis of Los Angeles, Catalina feels like, well, an island. The surrounding deep blue and turquoise waters are dotted with bright flashes of orange Garibaldi damselfish. Harbor seals bark and glide through thick kelp forests around moored sailboats and motor yachts. Late chewing-gum magnate William Wrigley was seduced by the island lifestyle, and his purchase of a controlling interest in the Santa Catalina Island Company in 1919 gave him ownership of Catalina, the only developed Channel Island and the central jewel of the corporation.
Ever the business mogul, Wrigley was constantly looking for ways to monetize his investments. He founded Catalina Clay Products Company in 1927 as a way to create employment for local residents. Until 1937, the signature colorful and graphically bold tiles were made from red clay harvested from the island itself. The factory on Pebbly Beach Road was in operation for only a decade, making the original Catalina tile quite rare and valuable. Today, six-inch-square tiles, originally priced at 25 cents, typically sell for $200 to $300 apiece. Downtown Avalon businesses, such as the former Catalina Casino – now a contemporary movie theater – and public fountains are blanketed with them. Crescent Avenue, Avalon’s main street, serves as a default open-air museum of Catalina tile and is well worth a leisurely stroll.
Info
Address Crescent Avenue, Avalon, CA 90704 & Wrigley Memorial at the Botanic Garden, 1402 Avalon Canyon Road, Avalon, CA 90704, www.catalinaconservancy.org | Public Transport By boat: Catalina Express leaves from San Pedro, Long Beach, and Dana Point. See www.catalinaexpress.com for schedule and fares. | Hours Crescent Avenue: always open. Botanic Garden: daily 8am–5pm; admission: $7 adults, $5 seniors & veterans, $3 children & students.| Tip Bookend the day with coffee in the morning and beer or wine at night at Catalina Island Brew House (417 Crescent Avenue, Avalon, CA 90704).
The Wrigley Memorial on Avalon Canyon Road, about two miles into the interior of the island, is covered in thousands of hand-painted, primarily blue, Catalina tiles. Wrigley could afford it. The memorial is nestled in the canyon foothills of the Botanic Garden, which also displays the eight plants endemic to Catalina. Shuttles run to the memorial and gardens, or you can rent a golf cart, the island transport of choice, for a self-guided tour.
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