Coronado, also is known as Coronado Island, is a resort city in San Diego County located across San Diego Bay from Downtown San Diego. It was founded in the 1880s and incorporated in 1890, Coronado is a tied island connected to the mainland by a narrow sandy isthmus known as Silver Strand, commonly known as The Strand. Silver Strand is seven miles long and connects Coronado Island to Imperial Beach which is an incorporated city just west of Chula Vista, National City, and city of San Diego. Beaches on or adjacent to Coronado Island include Coronado Central Beach, North Beach, Glorietta Bay Beach, Ferry Landing Marketplace Beach, and Silver Strand State Beach.

Hotel del Coronado

Hotel del Coronado, also known as The Del, and Hotel del, is a historic beachfront hotel on Coronado Island, founded in 1888. When it opened, it was the largest hotel in the world. Guests have included presidents Benjamin Harrison. William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lyndon B Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. The architectural style is Late Victorian, Queen Anne. The magnificent hotel is listed on the US. National Register of Historic Places and is both a US National Historic Landmark, and a California Historic Landmark.

 

Naval Air Station North Island

Naval Air Station North Island, also referred to as NAS North Island, located at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay in San Diego is part of the largest. aerospace, industrial complex in the United States Navy. It is home port for three aircraft carriers and up to 35,000 military and civilian staff and employees NAS. North Island is home to 23 naval aviation squadrons and operates two other airfields, one on San Clemente Island about 70 miles to the northwest in the Channel Islands, and the other in Imperial Beach. NAS North Island was established by the Department of Defense/United States Navy in 1917.

 

Silver Strand State Beach

Silver Strand State Beach is one of the most beautiful beaches in Southern California Located on the isthmus that connects Coronado Island to the mainland at Imperial Beach, Silver Strand State Beach actually consists of two beaches, one fronts on the Pacific Ocean with the other fronting· on San Diego Bay. The two beaches are connected by pedestrian tunnels under the highway. Visitors can enjoy swimming, surfing, boating, water skiing, volleyball, picnics, volleyball, and fishing.

 

San Diego - Coronado Bridge

The San Diego- Coronado Bridge, locally called the Coronado Bridge, crosses over San Diego Bay, connecting Downtown San Diego with Coronado. The famous bridge, which is quite spectacular, was completed in 1969 and is 11,179 feet long.

 

Coronado Chamber of Commerce

The stated mission of the Coronado Chamber of Commerce is to help businesses succeed by promoting them and by providing educational and networking opportunities for members. The chamber was founded in 1,937 and has nearly 300 members which are based in Coronado, San Diego, Imperial Beach, Chula Vista, National City, and the surrounding areas.

 

Coronado Historical Association and Museum

The Coronado Historical Association, founded in 1969, is a non-profit cultural organization which includes a museum that is open to the public. The research center is available by appointment. The museum features rotating exhibits and a large collection of historical photos, plus many scheduled events. Memberships are available.

 

Timeline of Coronado Island

1542: Under the Spanish flag, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo lays claim to the port he called San Miguel (now known as San Diego). His crew explores the bay and the long peninsula that protects it.

1602: Spanish explorer Sebastian Vizcaino sails past the four rocky islands 17 miles off the San Diego coast and names them Las Yslas Coronadas. He enters the bay and renames the site San Diego de Alcala. His crude map of the bay provided the world with its first picture of Coronado. No other European visits the area for another 167 years.

1769: Threat of Russian encroachment on western North American soil prompts the Spanish government to send several land and sea expeditions to occupy California. On July 7, 1769, San Diego, the first city in California, is founded.

1846: The American era begins in San Diego and Coronado with the arrival of the the American sloop-of-war CYANE under the command of Commander Samuel Francis DuPont who captures the city at the beginning of the Mexican War.

1846: Coronado peninsula is deeded to Pedro C. Carrillo and his bride Josefa as a wedding gift from Mexican Governor Pio Pico. A few months later Carrillo sells the land to American Bezer Simmons for $1,000 in silver. A series of rapid changes in ownership of Coronado occur over the next few years.

1850-70s: In 1855 part of the peninsula is leased for agriculture experiments in growing wheat and barley. Whaling companies establish whale processing triworks at both Point Loma and North Island. Shore whaling was quite profitable, long boats would row out beyond Point Loma and intercept migrating whales along the coastline and tow their prey into the bay for processing.

1851: The first formal survey is taken of San Diego Bay and Coronado.

1867: The first topographical map of the land of Coronado is required by the state. The total land area is determined to be 4,185.46 acres.
1880s: The rapid growth of California is fostered by the completion of the railroad. Health seekers, the unemployed, .real estate promoters, merchants, and tradespeople come to California in large numbers.

1885: Coronado sold Businessman Elisha Babock, Jr. and Hampton Story and their partners purchase Coronado peninsula for $110,000. The deal is finalized November 19, 1885. Three weeks later Story's steam launch Della sails to Coronado, pulling a barge with 40 Chinese laborers to begin work developing the peninsula.

1886: The official map of Coronado is recorded in San Diego and the first lot sale on November 13 attracts 6,000 prospective buyers. Bidding starts at $500 and goes as high as $1,600. Lot sales help fund the building of the Hotel del Coronado.

Orange trees are planted down the center median of Orange Avenue.

Coronado Beach Company builds a dance pavilion and bandstand and provides free concerts at the beach.

1887: Groundbreaking ceremony for the Hotel del Coronado. Construction begins on a causeway connecting North Island to the rest of the peninsula.

1888: The Hotel del Coronado, the largest resort hotel in the world at that time, opens only 11 months after groundbreaking.

1889: John D. Spreckels, son of San Francisco "Sugar King" Claus Spreckels, purchases all of the Coronado Beach Company holdings for $500,000. Except for privately owned lots, Spreckels owns all of Coronado, North Island, the hotel, the ferry, the trolley, and water systems.

1890: Coronado residents vote to incorporate.

1901: Fort Pio Pico is established at North Island as a coast defense port.

1911: Famed aviator Glenn Curtiss leases North Island (rent free) as a place to experiment with his newly developed seaplane. He flies the world's first seaplane from Spanish Bight and convinces the Navy to establish their first aircraft squadron making North Island the "Birthplace of Naval Aviation."

1917: Congress passes a Condemnation Act to acquire the 1,232-acre North Island as a permanent military aviation school and base. After several years of litigation, the U.S. government pays the Spreckels Company $5 million for the land.

1926: John D. Spreckels dies, ending an era in Coronado. The Spreckels Company files articles of incorporation to split into three companies.

1927: Charles A. Lindbergh departs for New York from North Island; from there he undertakes the first transatlantic flight to Paris.

1945: Coronado's population reaches 25,382.

1948: The Hotel del Coronado is sold by the Spreckels Company to Barney Goodman of Tuscon, Arizona.

1961: Aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk arrives in Coronado after the channel is deepened to receive her, the first supercarrier homeported in San Diego.

1967-1969: Dredging of San Diego Bay and construction ofthe San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge begins. The bridge is dedicated.

1972: President Richard Nixon holds the first State Dinner outside of the White House at the Hotel del Coronado.