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"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.
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