Catalina Islands CA

Ceramic collectors and experts from around the world flock to Catalina to purchase the rare, fine ceramics mined from the unique Catalina hills. They were painted in an appealing native-American style and are very easy to spot, and are now extremely expensive, as they stopped producing all ceramics on Catalina in 1937.

The Phillip Wrigley had these beautiful tiles put in many buildings and furniture throughout Avalon, and you can touch them walking down the street everywhere you go. Oddly enough, nobody ever reported one stolen, as the crime rate in Avalon is extremely low.

The movie industry also came to Catalina in a big way. Ever since the 1920s, Hollywood has used this beautiful setting for countless movies, and it has been an income-producing industry for the island ever since. Whenever Hollywood needs a remote ocean setting with beautiful cliffs and wilderness, there is no place closer to shoot on than Catalina island.

In 1924, a movie production crew preparing to film a Zane Grey movie set free 15 buffalo (American Bison) in the hills near the modern day airport. The herd is doing well today, bigger than ever, and is a popular tour destination. In fact, the Catalina Airport has a great restaurant called the Runway Cafe, which is famed for its buffalo burgers & buffalo tacos. (Don't worry; no buffalo were harmed in the making of any food.)

In the end, the Wrigleys willed the Island over to the Catalina Island Conservancy, which is a non-profit corporation with a mission to "preserve and restore Catalina to its natural state in perpetuity." There will be no more real estate or homes built on Catalina Island, and the prices have risen dramatically ever since. (They far exceed the price for relative homes in Los Angeles!)

An afternoon, a weekend, or buying a condo... Deciding how much time you should spend on Catalina Island.

Since real estate on the Catalina Island typically starts above $1 million for even the smallest of run-down shanties, it's not usually a place that many people think that they can afford to live.

Catalina Island Real Estate, Santa Catalina Island, CA

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