The United States has a unique community in California that strongly encourages residents to avoid using cars, a notable difference from the country’s general reliance on automobiles.
Avalon is a harbor town on Santa Catalina Island that currently has a 25-year waitlist to get a permit to even own a car.
This small enclave, home to approximately 3,000 people, has created a Mediterranean-style haven just 30 miles of ocean away from Greater Los Angeles.
The contrast is striking; while Los Angeles is infamous for its congested, sprawling highways, residents in Avalon navigate their compact, hilly streets using golf carts.
Avalon is the only city in California that puts strict limits on the number of cars on its roads.
And even if you’re approved to have a residential vehicle after a quarter century of waiting, you’ll then face restrictions on the size of it.
‘A full size vehicle can measure no more than 200 inches in length (including the bumpers), and 80 inches in width,’ according to the city website.
Most full-sized SUVs and even mid-sized trucks are far longer than 200 inches. The behemoth pickups that clog roads and parking lots all across the US would never be approved in Avalon.
Pictured: The harbor of Avalon, a city on Santa Catalina Island that has a 25-year waitlist for car permits
Locals and tourists alike instead primarily get around the narrow hilly streets with golf carts
The lack of cars gives Avalon a completely feel than practically every other US city, suburb or exurb, SFGate reports.
There are no gas stations, no highways, no drive-thrus, and no exhaust fumes, making it cleaner and quieter.
One large vehicle that can be found in Avalon, or near it, are cruise ships.
Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the typically days when the giant luxury liners loom over the smaller sailboats and other watercrafts that dot the city’s semi-circle harbor.
Cruise ships dock nearly a mile out and passengers are then ferried to shore by smaller boats. Their arrival can double the population of the city in a matter of minutes.
But even Californians, not tourists coming by cruise, say Avalon and the island as a whole is a underappreciated gem.
Brandon and Claire D’Sa, two Long Beach school teachers, said it feels like a secret even among Angelenos.
‘It’s off the radar. A lot of our friends in LA have never come here,’ Brandon told SFGate. ‘If you’re in Italy, everyone says go to Capri, but in LA, no one tells you to take the boat to Catalina.’
Cruise ships dock nearly a mile out and passengers are then ferried to shore by smaller boats. Their arrival can double the population of the city in a matter of minutes
Before the era of cruise ships, Catalina was an island that functioned almost as an exclusive getaway for the who’s who of Hollywood. Marilyn Monroe, Humphrey Bogart and Clark Gable were regular visitors.
Later, in 1981, the island attracted its fair share of infamy after actress Natalie Wood mysteriously drowned there.
She was with Brainstorm co-star Christopher Walken and her husband Robert Wagner on the latter’s 58-foot yacht. They were anchored at the north end of the island.
It’s never been determined how she entered the water, but there are rumors she and Wagner argued the night of her death.
This, and the dawn of the commercial jet – which made flying to more exclusive destinations like Carribean and Hawaii easier – put a damper on celebrities’ interest in Catalina and Avalon.
This leaves the island for the enjoyment of regular folks who can marvel at, among many other things, the Catalina Casino.
Most homes are perched on incredibly steep hills near the bay, offering beautiful views of the harbor
An entertainment complex built by William Wrigley Jr. – the chewing gum magnate and former Cubs owner – is a towering Art Deco masterpiece at the northern end of the Avalon Bay.
Contrary to its name, the Casino is not a gambling complex. Rather, it has a silent-era movie theater and a giant 1920s ballroom that is now being used as a roller-skating rink.
Tourists and locals alike also stroll down the shoreline walkway to gaze into the clear waters.
The city is also full of bars and restaurants, one of the most famous being Luau Larry’s, a staple tiki bar right on the water.
