Life on Mt. Ada
Jeannine Pedersen
Curator of Collections, Catalina Island Museum

The Inn on Mt. Ada was originally built between 1920 and 1921 as the Island home of William Wrigley Jr. and his family. The building site on the upper most terrace overlooking Avalon Bay was chosen by William Wrigley Jr. for its amazing view and because the site received both the earliest morning and latest evening sun. The home was designed and built by David M. Renton, general manager of the Santa Catalina Island Company in the Georgian Colonial style. The original plans for the home included some surprising features -- three stories, a turkish bath, billiard room, organ chamber, and refrigerating room. According to an article published in The Catalina Islander on June 29, 1920, "In the semi-circle of the second floor is designed a magnificent drawing room, 22X60 feet, with an eight-foot fireplace. A $100,000 pipe organ, with an echo organ built into the opposite side, will be a feature in this room." The plans for the home also included a dining room, sunroom, six bedrooms, and a terrace porch. Mrs. Wrigley specifically requested a landscaped courtyard at the entrance of the home. Many of the original details of the design were modified or removed completely, the most significant detail being the third floor of the home.

The home was finished in December of 1921 just in time for the Wrigley's arrival in January of 1922. The home named by William Wrigley Jr., Mt. Ada (after his wife, Ada Foote Wrigley) included six bedrooms, a drawing room, billiard room, sunroom, dining room, office, and terrace porch. According to an article published in The Catalina Islander on January 3, 1922 "Mr. & Mrs. Wrigley and party arrived on the Island Wednesday, and were immediately taken to their home Mt. Ada on the East Avalon terrace. The house is 350 feet above the picturesque bay and, standing at any of the front windows, or on the porch, Mr. Wrigley Jr. has a wonderful view of the Island coast line as far as Long Point, the entire town of Avalon, the golf links, the baseball park, the mainland, etc." Mr. & Mrs. Wrigley made two annual visits to the Island in the summer and winter, lasting between four and ten weeks. Many distinguished guests stayed in the home with the Wrigley family including Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover and Calvin Coolidge.

After Mr. Wrigley's death in 1932, Mrs. Wrigley continued to visit the home regularly until the late 1940s. Following Mrs. Wrigley's death in 1958 the property was managed by the Santa Catalina Island Company and was occasionally used for meetings and events by local organizations. In 1978, the property was donated to the University of Southern California and was used by the University as a conference center for the next several years. In 1985, the home was leased to its present operators and became The Inn on Mt. Ada. The home was restored in an effort to bring the property up to current building standards and to provide the amenities of a luxurious Inn. Several fireplaces were added and a new roof installed. However, the historic qualities of the home were preserved and the home was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. The home was also completely redecorated with antiques and reproductions similar to the home's original furnishings. Today the property is as beautiful as it was when the Wrigley's first saw their new home in 1922 and can be enjoyed by guests of the Inn and to the general public one day each year.

The Inn on Mt. Ada is open to the public every December for the Catalina Island Museum's Annual Open House.