The Island Story

The Story of Coronado Island: Landmarks, Firsts and Island Traditions

The landmarks and traditions that make Coronado unlike anywhere else, in the order they arrived.

Updated September 2026 · Rudy Flores

Coronado's landmarks each have a story: a Victorian hotel, a tent-city summer tradition, a famous flight, a movie shoot and a bridge that changed everything. Here they are in order.

For the latest on local history, visit the Coronado Museum of History and Art, which offers free exhibits.

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The Victorian era
1888
The Hotel del Coronado opens
On February 19 the Victorian seaside hotel opens with 399 rooms and electric lighting, the largest resort hotel in the world at the time.
1897
Golf comes to the island
A nine-hole golf course opens, an early sign of the leisure life that would define Coronado.
1900
Tent City brings summer crowds
John D. Spreckels builds Tent City south of the hotel, an inexpensive seaside camp that draws vacationers for decades.
1904
A Christmas tree lit by electricity
On December 25 the hotel lights what it calls the world's first electrically lit outdoor living Christmas tree, a holiday tradition ever since.
Wings and film
1927
Lindbergh takes off
Charles Lindbergh departs North Island in the Spirit of St. Louis on May 10, on the first leg of his journey toward the first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic.
1959
Some Like It Hot
Billy Wilder's classic comedy, filmed at the Hotel del Coronado, brings the seaside landmark to movie screens around the world.
Bridge, ferry and honors
1969
The Coronado Bridge opens
The graceful, curved bridge opens on August 3, becoming a beloved skyline landmark and the island's front door.
1977
A National Historic Landmark
The Hotel del Coronado is designated a National Historic Landmark on May 5, recognizing its architecture and history.
1986
The ferry returns
On June 20 a passenger ferry sails again between the Ferry Landing and downtown, and the waterfront marketplace grows around it.

Living among the landmarks

Many of these places are part of everyday life: the ferry to a ball game, the bridge at sunset, the Hotel del at the end of a beach walk. Rudy can help you find a home where the island's story is right outside your door.

Historical facts come from public sources and local histories and may be simplified. Rudy is not a historian, so for deeper research visit your local historical society.

The Story of Coronado Island: Landmarks, Firsts and Island Traditions

Related reading

The Hotel del Coronado opens

Golf comes to the island

Tent City brings summer crowds

A Christmas tree lit by electricity

Lindbergh takes off

Some Like It Hot

The Coronado Bridge opens

A National Historic Landmark

The ferry returns

Living among the landmarks

Ready to Live Where the Story Happened?