Page 134 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL FALL 2024 SPAIN

to Descanso Beach, where a very pretty
beachfront bar and restaurant hold court,
and then wound around the island to the
historic Wrigley Memorial and Botanic Gar-
den. The memorial was built to house the
remains of William Wrigley Jr., who bought
the island in 1919. After he died in 1932, his
wife, Ada, established the 38-acre Botanic
Garden with a special emphasis on
Catalina’s endemic plants. While Wrigley’s
remains were interred there briefly, they
were later moved to Forest Lawn Cemetery
in Glendale.
Wrigley, the chewing gum magnate
from Chicago, bought Catalina Island to use
for spring training for his Chicago Cubs
baseball team. He built a beautiful home
above Avalon, now operated as Mount Ada
Bed & Breakfast. He restored the Casino in
1929 and generally developed Catalina into
the gem it is today.He also established the
Catalina Island Tile Company which during
the 1920s and ‘30s was a premier producer
of decorative tiles. Colorful tiles decorate
the town of Avalon.
We visited the Catalina Museum of Art &
History, located right in the center of town.
Some historic tile murals here are worth
finding.
Catalina’s waters are known for their
clarity. You can often see down 25 feet to
the ocean’s floor. Glass-bottom boat tours
have been popular here for years. But we
went one better and boarded the Nautilus
Semi-Submarine through Catalina Adven-
ture Tours and viewed the fish and kelp

Left: Avalon is very walkable. Crescent
Avenue is lined with shops and eateries.
Right top:You can see the entire town of
Avalon from the Casino — the highest
house on the hill across the bay is the Mt.
Ada B&B, formerly the Wrigley mansion.
Right: The stroll to the Casino is lined with
old palm trees as well as tiled tableaus.

134 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE FALL 2024