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In 1864, the U.S. Army sent 83 soldiers to survey Santa Catalina Island as a proposed reservation for “militant” Native Americans. That plan was never completed, but the barracks they built remain as a monument to the Civil War, World War II, and even a little Hollywood magic.
The Banning House Lodge was built in 1910 as the summer home for the pioneering Banning brothers, who owned Santa Catalina Island. Now a charming, Craftsman -style bed and breakfast, the Banning House Lodge offers sweeping views of the Isthmus of Catalina and Catalina Harbor from its romantic, hilltop perch above Two Harbors.
Perhaps the most notorious ship ever to drop anchor in Catalina Harbor was the 158-foot, wooden Chinese pirate ship, NingPo.