Avalon, California
| Avalon, California | ||
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| City | ||
| City of Avalon | ||
Avalon Harbor
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| Motto: To the Island Valley of Avalon | ||
 Location of Avalon within Los Angeles County |
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 Avalon, California
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| Coordinates: 33°20′27″N 118°19′40″W / 33.34083°N 118.32778°WCoordinates: 33°20′27″N 118°19′40″W / 33.34083°N 118.32778°W | ||
| Country |
 United States
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| State |
 California
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| County |
 Los Angeles
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| Incorporated (city) | June 26, 1913 | |
| Named for | Avalon island, Idylls of the King | |
| Government | ||
| • Type | Council-manager | |
| • Mayor | Ann Marshall | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 2.937 sq mi (7.607 km2) | |
| • Land | 2.935 sq mi (7.602 km2) | |
| • Water | 0.002 sq mi (0.005 km2) 0.07% | |
| Elevation | 30 ft (9 m) | |
| Population (2010) | ||
| • Total | 3,728 | |
| • Density | 1,300/sq mi (490/km2) | |
| Time zone | PST (UTC-8) | |
| • Summer (DST) | PDT (UTC-7) | |
| ZIP Code | 90704 | |
| Area code(s) | 310/424 | |
| FIPS code | 06-03274 | |
| GNIS feature ID | 1660283 | |
| Website | cityofavalon.com | |
Avalon is the only incorporated city on Santa Catalina Island of the California Channel Islands, and the southernmost city in Los Angeles County. The population was 3,728 at the 2010 census.
Avalon was first settled in pre-modern times by members of the Gabrielino/Tongva tribe. From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, several different developers tried to develop Avalon into a resort destination community, but most went bankrupt. In 1919, William Wrigley, Jr. gained control of Avalon. Wrigley oversaw much of the development of Avalon, including the construction of the landmark Catalina Casino.
The city remains primarily a resort community. Most of the waterfront is dominated by tourism-oriented businesses. The older parts of the town on the valley floor consist primarily of small houses and two and three-story buildings in various traditional architectural styles. Avalon attracts about 1 million visitors a year and is frequently visited by cruise ships.
Prior to the modern era, Avalon Bay was inhabited by people of the Gabrielino/Tongva tribe. The island was a major source of soapstone to the Tongva, who used the material to make stone vessels for cooking. The Tongva called the island Pimu or Pimugna and referred to themselves as the Pimugnans. However, by the 1830s, the entire island's native population had either died off, or had been relocated to the mainland to work in the missions or as ranch hands for the many private land owners.
In the 1860s, German immigrant Augustus William Timms ran a sheep herding business on Catalina Island. One of his vessels, the Rosita, would also ferry pleasure seekers across the channel to Avalon Bay for bathing and fishing. The settlement in Avalon was then referred to as Timms' Landing in his honor. By the summer of 1883, there were thirty tents and three wooden buildings at Timms' Landing.
The first owner to try to develop Avalon Bay into a resort destination was George Shatto, a real estate speculator from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Shatto purchased the island for $200,000 from the estate of James Lick at the height of a 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. Though early maps labeled the town Shatto, Shatto's sister-in-law Etta Whitney came up with the permanent name of Avalon in reference from a poem by Lord Tennyson called "Idylls of the King" about the legend of King Arthur. Shatto laid out Avalon's streets, and introduced it as a vacation destination to the general public. Despite Shatto's efforts, in a few years he had to default on his loan and the island went back to the Lick estate.
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Wikipedia