What changes did the Wrigleys make on the island?
The Wrigleys of Chicago purchased Catalina Island in 1919 and quickly set about developing it further. With William Wrigley, Jr., guiding its evolution, the Island was soon home to the Sugar Loaf Casino, Atwater Hotel, Band Box Theater, Bird Park, and Catalina Clay Products plant. The Wrigleys imported deer and boar for hunters, brought in the Chicago Cubs for spring training, and began hosting the Bobby Jones Amateur Golf Tournament. To get to the tourist paradise, visitors could steam to the Island in the expensive and spacious SS Avalon and SS Catalina or take advantage of the new cross-channel air service. Images: • Hotel St. Catherine in Descanso Canyon, 1938 [Courtesy of the Catalina Island Museum] • Hotel St. Catherine in Descanso Bay, c. 1935 [Courtesy of the Catalina Island Museum] • Front steps, flower beds, and Mt. Ada, the home of William Wrigley in Avalon, c. 1930 [Courtesy of the Catalina Island Museum] • First Casino and Sugarloaf, c. 1920s [Courtesy of the Catalina Isla
