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A look at Santa Catalina Island
By The Associated Press
Saturday, May 12, 2007 11:22 AM PDT
Facts and figures about Santa Catalina Island:
LOCATION - Although the song says 26-miles across the sea, the island is 32 miles south of Los Angeles Harbor. It's a 15-minute flight by air or an hour by ferry.
POPULATION - Avalon is a 1-square-mile city of about 3,500 residents. Popular with tourists, the island's population can burgeon to more 10,000 in the summer and on weekends.
FILM HISTORY - Over the past 90 years, the island was the backdrop for about 300 movies, including “Mutiny on the Bounty,” “The Glassbottom Boat,” “Rosemary's Baby,” “Chinatown,” “Jaws” and “Apollo 13.”
LANDMARKS - The Casino, built in 1929, is not a gambling hall but an entertainment site that hosted dozens of big bands through the 1930s and 40s. The Tuna Club, founded in 1898, claims to be the oldest fishing club in the United States. Located on the edge of Avalon Bay, the Tuna Club is on the National Registry of Historical Places and past members include Theodore Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Cecil B. DeMille.
WILDLIFE - Eight-eight percent of the island - 42,000 acres - is owned and managed by the Santa Catalina Island Conservancy. It is home to the Catalina Island fox, Catalina Island quail, North American bison, Beechey ground squirrel and bald eagles, which have been reintroduced to the island.
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Source: Catalina Island Chamber of Commerce |