Coronado

Coronado may refer to:

People

Places

San Diego

San Diego /ˌsæn diːˈeɪɡoʊ/ (Spanish for "Saint Didacus") is a major city in California, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, approximately 120 miles (190 km) south of Los Angeles and immediately adjacent to the border with Mexico.

With an estimated population of 1,381,069 as of July 1, 2014, San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest in California. San Diego is the birthplace of California and is known for its mild year-round climate, natural deep-water harbor, extensive beaches, long association with the U.S. Navy, and recent emergence as a healthcare and biotechnology development center.

Historically home to the Kumeyaay people, San Diego was the first site visited by Europeans on what is now the West Coast of the United States. Upon landing in San Diego Bay in 1542, Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo claimed the entire area for Spain, forming the basis for the settlement of Alta California 200 years later. The Presidio and Mission of San Diego, founded in 1769, formed the first European settlement in what is now California. In 1821, San Diego became part of newly independent Mexico, and in 1850, became part of the United States following the Mexican–American War and the admission of California to the union.

Coronado, California

Coronado, also known as Coronado Island (Spanish for "crowned one"), is an affluent resort city located in San Diego County, California, across and around San Diego Bay from downtown San Diego. Its population was 24,697 at the 2010 census, up from 24,100 at the 2000 census. It is part of the San Diego-Carlsbad, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Coronado lies on the geographic combination of an island and a tombolo connected to the mainland called the Silver Strand. Coronado is a tied island, connected by a tombolo. In 2012, Dr. Stephen Leatherman, Director of the Laboratory for Coastal Research, ranked Coronado Beach as the best beach in the United States.

Coronado is Spanish for "the crowned one", and thus it is nicknamed The Crown City. There have been three ships of the United States Navy named after the city, including the USS Coronado (LCS-4).

History

The town of Coronado was incorporated on December 11, 1890. The land was purchased by Elisha Spurr Babcock, along with Hampton L. Story and Jacob Gruendike. Their intention was to create a resort community, and in 1886 the Coronado Beach Company was organized. By 1888 they had built the Hotel del Coronado and the city became a major resort destination. They also built a schoolhouse, and formed athletic, boating, and baseball clubs.

Hotel del Coronado

Hotel del Coronado (also known as The Del and Hotel Del) is a historic beachfront hotel in the city of Coronado, just across the San Diego Bay from San Diego, California. It is one of the few surviving examples of an American architectural genre: the wooden Victorian beach resort. It is the second largest wooden structure in the United States (after the Tillamook Air Museum in Tillamook, Oregon) and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1977 and a California Historical Landmark in 1970.

When it opened in 1888, it was the largest resort hotel in the world. It has hosted presidents, royalty, and celebrities through the years. The hotel has been featured in numerous movies and books.

The hotel received a Four Diamond rating from the American Automobile Association and was once listed by USA Today as one of the top ten resorts in the world, though it has since been removed from that list.

History

San Diego land boom

In the mid-1880s, the San Diego region was in the midst of one of its first real estate booms. At that time, it was common for a developer to build a grand hotel as a draw for what would otherwise be a barren landscape. The Hollywood Hotel in Hollywood, California, the Raymond Hotel in Pasadena, the Hotel Del Monte in Monterey, and the Hotel Redondo in Redondo Beach, California, were similar grand hotels built as development enticements during this era.