Coronado Tent City, California

Wood Sign

12 in. x 7.5 in.

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A quote from the May 1920 edition of the Coronado Tent City News – “They regret that they cannot stay in Tent City forever.”

Back then, people came to Coronado out of the heated interior of the Southwest, and from the extreme Eastern states and the Mid West. Holiday makers and vacation seekers flocked to Tent City by the hundreds to experience the joys of a home by the sea. And it wasn’t just Americans, people from foreign countries contributed liberally to the long list of visitors.

It was said that Tent City was all seaside and sunshine, the most ideal summer resort to be found anywhere. The climate of Tent City was exceptional even for Southern California and far surpassed the Riviera in climate and comfort. The close proximity of bay and ocean made it delightfully cool during the hot months, yet there was never a day at any time during the season too cool for comfort.

Visitors enjoyed the promenades, the sailing, the fishing, the boating, the bathing and the matchless music. They mingled with the lively crowds, or quietly, lazily spent the hours on the inviting sands close to the sea.

The scenic surroundings near and far away, on a moonlight night, framed a grand picture to be seen nowhere else. The sparkling bay, reflecting the shadows and lights of the big city opposite, the misty mountains in the eastern and southern distance, while near by the great Hotel del Coronado with its myriad lights looming up in the gloaming of the foreground. It was a veritable palace of fairyland, with the mallow moon flooding the ambient air, flashing a pathway out over the ocean. And all about were the throbbing harmony of the restless ocean and the rippling tides of the bay.

Even though Tent City is a thing of the past, the descriptions of life on Coronado are pretty much the same. Visitors still flock to Coronado and many regret that they cannot stay longer, just like those visitors of long ago.