Coronado island history

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Coronado, California, near San Diego is home to 26,000 people and is a tourist destination primarily because of the historic Hotel del Coronado, one of the last surviving Victorian seaside resorts. Coronado is technically a peninsula connected by an isthmus, but it was originally separated from nearby North Island by a shallow channel until the U.S. Navy filled it shortly before World War II.

1. Development

   • Coronado, Spanish for "crowned one," was barren when it was purchased in 1886 by Midwest group investors to build a resort, and link it to a ferry and rail to San Diego.

   Subdivisions

   • Lots were divided and sold for $500 to $1,600 through the Coronado Beach Co.

   Hotel del Coronado

   • The $1 million Victorian-designed Hotel del Coronado was built in 1887-88 overlooking the Pacific Ocean and later sold to sugar tycoon John Spreckels.

   Tent City

   • Middle-class vacationers could not afford the hotel, and tents were erected around the hotel, giving the community the informal name of "Tent City."

   The Military

   • Coronado became a military town when the Army established a base in 1913, followed by the Navy, which developed the Naval Air Station North Island.

   Today

   • Coronado has evolved into one of the 20 most expensive cities to live in the United States. Home prices start at $1 million, with a median household income as of 2007 at $91,748.

Source: www.ehow.com

Tags: Hotel Coronado, Coronado island, Coronado island history, island history, North Island