A woman wearing a bathing suit and holding an umbrella. Behind the woman are three striped tents, two of which are numbered “322” and “324”; the tent at left has a striped canvas beach chair in front of it. Photo most likely taken at Coronado’s Tent City. (Photo courtesy of the San Diego History Center)

Coronado today feels familiar — wide beaches, quiet neighborhoods, and the San Diego–Coronado Bridge stretching across the bay as it has always belonged there.

But the island’s story didn’t unfold in a straight line. It developed over time through resort experiments, ferry crossings, and a place visited by the author of The Wizard of Oz — L. Frank Baum — as well as land speculation, military use, an early Christmas tree lighting, and steady changes to the coastline itself.

What looks like a single, settled place is actually the result of many different layers of history.

1. It started as beachfront ‘tent living.’

Far right Tent City, Coronado. Women on a sailboat c. 1920. In the middle, Coronado, Tent City, bathers. c. 1920. On the left portrait of two women in dresses, the woman on the right is also wearing a hat, on a wooden walkway to the left of the Hotel del Coronado courtyard. The entirety of the Hotel del Coronado can be seen in the background. Small palm trees line a grassy area to the right of the women. A low barrier fence separates the walkway from the grass. The left of the walkway is lined with leafy plants or vines growing along poles in the sand or dirt, with a low wall behind them. (Photos courtesy of the San Diego History Center)

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Coronado was promoted as a seaside resort where visitors stayed in furnished tents set directly on the beach. Known as Tent City, the area included dining halls, service staff, and resort-style amenities.

However, Tent City was less a workers’ camp than an early mass-tourism resort — a way for middle-class travelers to experience Coronado’s beachfront lifestyle without staying at the Hotel del Coronado.

View of the panorama of Tent City at Coronado in about 1905. View is looking north over Tent City to Hotel del Coronado in the background. The Rag Time Band sign is on a tent in the left center foreground. (Photo courtesy of the San Diego History Center)

It was an early attempt to turn the shoreline itself into the main attraction.

2. Early promotions imagined a much larger city

Advertising from Coronado’s early development period often showed a fully built town with hotels, commercial districts, and transportation systems that were still in early stages or not yet constructed.

These materials reflected development ambition during Southern California’s land boom era.

View of balloon ascension at Coronado, looking north on the strand to Hotel del Coronado, which is under construction in 1887. A large crowd has gathered for the event. (Photo courtesy of the San Diego History Center)

3. Growth was tied to regional transportation plans

Coronado’s early expansion was influenced by a combination of ferry service, railroad promotion, and broader real estate speculation across the San Diego region.

While transportation access did develop, many of the larger expectations were part of promotional-era planning rather than fully realized infrastructure.

Far left Coronado double-deck streetcar 1905. In the middle, CORONADO BEACH R.R.” Notes give date: 1888. Far right Coronado Railroad, Engine#1, 1908. (Photo courtesy of the San Diego History Center)

4. The Hotel del Coronado was built on a major scale for its time

Completed in 1888, the Hotel del Coronado used large redwood framing and a modular structural system that allowed the building to expand over time, according to reports.

Its construction reflected the scale and ambition of late 19th-century resort development along the California coast.

On the far left is Hotel del Coronado, looking northwest from Glorietta Bay. Several boats are in the bay, including a sailboat at the right. In the middle, Hotel Del Coronado under construction – 1887, and far right,  a view of the construction of the dining room of the Hotel del Coronado. A team of horses is pulling a wagon in front of the construction. The framing of the dining room wing is visible c. 1887. (Photos courtesy of the San Diego History Center)

5. Ferries defined how people arrived for decades

Before the Coronado Bridge opened in 1969, the main way to reach the island was by ferry across the San Diego Bay.

That water crossing shaped how Coronado was experienced, reinforcing its separation from the mainland and defining it as a destination rather than a pass-through community.

Far right  San Diego and Coronado ferry boat, Morena, with automobiles on deck, moving across San Diego Bay from Coronado. The far left is a view of Coronado Ferry docked off Strand in Coronado with Coronado Boat House in the background on Glorietta Bay in about 1903. This is probably Silvergate Ferry when it became a casino docked off Tent City. The middle Coronado ferry boat “Coronado I” was in the water crossing San Diego Bay in 1888. The ferry is seen from the side heading to the right with people standing in front of the boat. (Photos courtesy of the San Diego History Center

6. The bridge became a defining regional landmark

Since its completion, the San Diego–Coronado Bridge has become one of the most recognizable structures in the region.

It has also appeared in film and television as a flexible visual backdrop, often representing an unnamed coastal setting rather than a specific location.

In the center is the construction of the Coronado Bay Bridge c.1968. Middle Coronado San Diego Bay crossing 1967. On the left, an architectural drawing of Spreckel’s Company Proposed Bridge to North Island in 1926. Ships are in the bay crossing under the bridge. This bridge doesn’t look anything like the later San Diego-Coronado Bridge. (Photos courtesy of the San Diego History Center)

7. The shoreline has been gradually reshaped

Coronado’s beaches and edges have been modified over time through dredging, sand replenishment, and harbor engineering projects designed to support navigation and stabilize coastal conditions.

These efforts have influenced the modern shape of the shoreline.

People on the beach at the far left, in bathing attire in Coronado Tent City, c. 1903, Middle Coronado Tent City – Children’s Day at the Bathing Pool, and at the far left, view of two women rinsing feet in a large bucket at Tent City in Coronado in the 1910s or 1920s. (Photos courtesy of the San Diego History Center)

8. Naval land use shaped development patterns

Much of Coronado’s geography, particularly the North Island, has been shaped by long-term U.S. Navy presence.

Federal land use restrictions influenced how the island developed and helped create its mix of residential neighborhoods and active military operations.

A 1935 aerial view of Coronado and North Island with Point Loma in the background and ships in San Diego Bay. (Photo courtesy of the city of San Diego Digital Archives)

9. Early imagery often showed an expanded future version of Coronado

During the late 1800s land boom, promotional materials frequently depicted Coronado as a fully developed city with infrastructure and buildings that did not yet exist at the time, according to reports.

These renderings reflected speculative marketing practices common to the era and helped shape early expectations of growth.

Coronado – Tent city – Women in bathing suits – c. 1900. (Photo courtesy of the San Diego History Center)


Read more history stories here; send an email to debbiesklar@cox.net

Sources

San Diego History Center — photographic and archival collections on Coronado development, Tent City, and early resort promotion
City of Coronado — historical overview materials and municipal archives
National Register of Historic Places — Hotel del Coronado documentation
Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), U.S. National Park Service — architectural and structural records
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) — San Diego–Coronado Bridge history and engineering documentation
U.S. Navy History and Heritage Command — Naval Air Station North Island land use and operational history
San Diego Bay maritime and coastal engineering records — dredging, shoreline stabilization, and harbor modification documentation
Early ferry transportation histories of San Diego Bay — late 19th to mid-20th century regional transit records
Southern California land boom era historical studies — promotional practices and regional development patterns