Quick answer
Catalina Island is a ferry destination from Los Angeles, linked to Avalon, the Brown Berets occupation, and island history. Listen for the bluff above the Casino, the Chimes Tower, and the route from Newport Boulevard to the ferry parking lot.
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Crossing to the Island
Begin the trip by driving south from Los Angeles toward the Catalina Flyer ferry. The route follows the fifty-five freeway until it becomes Newport Boulevard, then turns right at Palm Street into the parking lot. The terminal sits across the street, so look for the ferry deck before you board. Once aboard, the crossing frames the island as a low, rocky mass rising from the sea. Keep your eyes on the shoreline for canyon mouths, because beaches here are limited and cling to the water at the ends of ravines. When the harbor comes into view, scan for the town of Avalon tucked against the bay. Stand near the rail, feel the spray, and watch the island grow from a smudge into a place with docks, hills, and rooftops.
The Bluff Above the Casino
In Avalon, walk toward the bluff above the Casino, the spot where the Brown Berets made their camp. The group consisted of twenty-six members, and they posted a large Mexican flag on the point above the Chimes Tower. They named the place Campo Tecolote, or Camp Owl. The occupation lasted twenty-three days in nineteen seventy-two, and the Berets claimed the island's undeveloped land should become housing. Listen for the difference between the harbor's tourist bustle and the quiet memory of protest. Look at the bluff line where the encampment stood, then turn toward the tower and imagine the flag snapping above it. Find a bench near the water, face the bluff, and read the landscape as a stage for a political act.
Seven Thousand Years of History
Santa Catalina has been inhabited for nearly seven thousand years, and its original Native American occupants probably paddled plank canoes from the mainland. Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo became the first European to visit the island in fifteen forty-two. Later, Mexican ownership, sheep and cattle ranching, mining, and wartime use shaped the landscape. The Wrigley family has owned the island since nineteen nineteen, and successive owners nurtured George Shatto's plan for a resort town. Walk the edge of Avalon Bay and look for the canyon mouths where beaches appear. Notice how the peaks rise to two thousand feet above sea level, while the town stays small against the hills. Stand at the water's edge, scan the ridgeline, and let the island's layered history settle into view.