William Wrigley Memorial and Botanical Garden (1932-Present)

William Wrigley Jr., known for owning the world’s largest chewing gum manufacturer, purchased the island of Catalina in 1919. He became an essential role in the growth of the island. He built a mansion for his family and purchased and built public utilities, new steamships, a hotel, a ballroom, a movie palace, the circular Catalina Casino building, and made sure to plant lots of trees, shrubs, and flowers. Aside from his chewing gum company, he left behind a legacy of caring for the future of Santa Catalina Island.

When Wrigley passed away in 1932, the Chicago architecture firm, Bennett, Parsons, and Frost, used Catalina materials to construct a memorial in his honor. Quarried Catalina stones are displayed in the concrete in the front of the memorial. The blue flagstone rock is featured on the terraces is from Little Harbor, located at the backside of the island. All of the tiles that are included in the memorial are from the Catalina Pottery plant, which was open from 1927 to 1937. The only thing quarried from out of state would be the marble from inside the tower, as it is from Georgia. The memorial was finished in 1933-34, and for a short time, William Wrigley Jr. was buried here but was later moved to his final resting place in Pasadena, California. The original dedication plaque is still on display at this memorial in Catalina. 

In 1935, Wrigley’s wife, Ada, supervised horticulturist Albert Conrad plant the original Desert Plant Collection. She learned that Santa Catalina Island could showcase plants from all over the world thanks to its temperate marine climate. After learning this information, in 1969, the Wrigley Memorial Garden Foundation expanded the garden to 37.85 acres. They wanted to follow suit with the memorial and use plants native to the island, specifically endemic. Today, most of these plants are listed on the Endangered Species list. In 1975, the Wrigley family signed 90 percent of the island to the Santa Catalina Island Conservancy. In 1996, the Wrigley Memorial Garden Foundation and the Catalina Island Conservancy were combined to ensure Santa Catalina Island’s preservation and restoration. 

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Visit California. "Wrigley Memorial & Botanic Garden." Visit California. Accessed August 1, 2020. https://www.visitcalifornia.com/experience/wrigley-memorial-botanic-garden/index.html. 

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