Birdseye view of the community of Avalon on Santa Catalina Island, California, ca.1898

Photograph of a birdseye view of the community of Avalon on Santa Catalina Island, California, ca.1898. Mountainous terrain creates a crescent that encircles the inlet to Catalina Island. A large cargo ship is docked at center, while several other smaller masted ships, as well as some non-sail ships navigate the harbor around it. To the left, both on the flat land, as well as on the lower half of the mountainside, houses are situated closely to one another along a few main roads. On the edge of the mountain in the foreground, a single house with a spire, possibly a lighthouse, can be seen. The community, originally known as Shatto for George R. Shatto, was later renamed Avalon by Shatto's sister Mrs. E.J. Whitney. The name heralds from Tennyson's "Idylls of the King"