"Catalina Island Days" by Paul McGehee. Santa Catalina Island, located 26 miles off the coast of Southern California, is a beautiful and popular tourist destination. The town of Avalon is a colorful sight to behold, with the famous Avalon Casino and Ballroom presiding over Descanso Beach and the harbor, always alive with pleasure boats and ferries. This mid-1960's view from the bluff where Holly Hill House is located, depicts the passenger steamer "Catalina" heading towards her dock, flanked by the famous glass-bottom boat "Phoenix" and a myriad of yachts, sailboats and motorboats buzzing about. The 301'-long "Catalina" had a long and happy career, being launched in 1924 and sailing back and forth from the mainland, her decks always full of tourists, on an almost daily basis until 1975. The records state that the "Catalina" carried more passengers over its long life than any other vessel, anywhere. It is estimated that between 1924 an 1975 she carried about 25 million passengers between Los Angeles and Avalon Harbor. Her life as a passenger steamer was interrupted for four years, however, during World War II when she served as a troop transport stationed at the port of San Francisco transporting more than 800,000 soldiers and other military personnel between embarkation camps and the departure piers. The day-excursion steamer "Catalina" featured a glass-enclosed saloon deck and a luxurious ballroom, along with individual staterooms. She carried many famous passengers back in the day, including Presidents Coolidge and Hoover, and a long list of musical talent booked to play at the Avalon Ballroom in the era of the Big Bands. A trip on the "Catalina" was a wonderment in its own right, while live bands played on the upper deck, couples danced...entertainers roamed the ship, performing magic tricks or clowning around. As the ship, known as "The Great White Steamer", approached her pier at Avalon Harbor, she would be greeted by speedboats and water skiers swirling about her and then, closer to shore, local children would swim out to catch coins tossed into the azure waters by the ship's passengers crowding the deck railings. Truly a magical moment during the 'Golden Age of Travel', here in this island paradise of warm white sand and swaying palm trees. Her post-career days, however, were not as glorious, serving as a floating disco and a bar for a while in Ensenada, Baja California, she eventually deteriorated to the point where, after drifting out from shore and landing on a sandbar in 1997, she sat vandalized and forgotten. An effort was mounted to bring her back to Los Angeles and preserve the famous ship, but it was not to be...and "Catalina" was finally broken up in 2010. For over 50 years she brought joyful passengers to one of the most beautiful tourist destinations in the world, and is fondly remembered by many. "Catalina Island Days" is faithfully reproduced as an archival-quality print from McGehee's original color pencil and acrylic artwork, in a limited edition of only 2,000 pieces each hand-signed by the artist. Print image size: 10 5/8" x 25 1/2".