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The City
The guide was updated:
Coronado is living proof of man’s ability to transform arid landscapes into manicured masterpieces. Before the artistic touches of Elisha Babcock and Hampton Story, Coronado was unremarkably flat and without greenery. However in 1886, Babcock and Story purchased the land for $110,000 and set out to build a resort community by the sea. They planted trees, constructed a waterway and power plant, and zoned the area, auctioning off the lots to fund the project. A year later, the first official guests checked in at the $1 million Hotel del Coronado. It is now one of only a few Victorian seaside resorts still erect.
Depression settled over Coronado like soot in the 1890s, but it received the attention of sugar tycoon John D. Spreckels—who became sole proprietor of Hotel del Coronado after falling in raptures over “The Del.” Spreckels proceeded to build a mansion on Glorietta Boulevard and established Tent City along the strand to appeal to Coronado’s middle class citizens. Tent City would thrive until 1939.
The military’s strong presence at Coronado began with the US Government’s purchase of “North Island” from Spreckels in 1917. The US Army, Marines, and the Navy would now call the Crown City home (which would lead to the first seaplane flight, the first mid-air refueling, and the first non-stop transcontinental flight!). Charles Lindbergh even flew from North Island on the first leg of his New York to Paris flight in 1927.
Coronado’s rich history continues today with vibrant developments and effervescent communities up and coming every year.
Depression settled over Coronado like soot in the 1890s, but it received the attention of sugar tycoon John D. Spreckels—who became sole proprietor of Hotel del Coronado after falling in raptures over “The Del.” Spreckels proceeded to build a mansion on Glorietta Boulevard and established Tent City along the strand to appeal to Coronado’s middle class citizens. Tent City would thrive until 1939.
The military’s strong presence at Coronado began with the US Government’s purchase of “North Island” from Spreckels in 1917. The US Army, Marines, and the Navy would now call the Crown City home (which would lead to the first seaplane flight, the first mid-air refueling, and the first non-stop transcontinental flight!). Charles Lindbergh even flew from North Island on the first leg of his New York to Paris flight in 1927.
Coronado’s rich history continues today with vibrant developments and effervescent communities up and coming every year.