George Rufus Shatto (August 15, 1850 – May 30, 1893) was an American real estate developer. He was an early land investor in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. In 1887 he purchased

Santa Catalina Island, California Santa Catalina Island ( xgf, Pimuu'nga or ; es, Isla Santa Catalina) is a rocky island off the coast of Southern California in the Gulf of Santa Catalina. The island name is often shortened to Catalina Island or just Catalina. The island is l ...

and was the first person to attempt to develop it into a resort destination.

Biography

Shatto was born in Medina County, Ohio. He married Clara Ruth Alward "Clarissa" Whitney in Flint, Michigan on August 15, 1876. They had one child together, Walter Ohl Shatto, who died eight months after his birth in 1881. Shatto worked as real-estate developer in Grand Rapids, Michigan, though many of his investments were in Los Angeles, California. In 1887 he bought

from the estate of

James Lick James Lick (August 25, 1796 – October 1, 1876) was an American real estate investor, carpenter, piano builder, land baron, and patron of the sciences. The wealthiest man in California at the time of his death, Lick left the majority of his es ...

for a price of $150,000. Shatto planned to develop the bay town then known as Timm's Landing into a resort destination and to lease out other areas of the island for mining and ranching. Shatto surveyed the bay, laid out the streets, and subdivided the land into lots from $150 to $2,000. The original maps called the new town Shatto, but, at the advice of sister-in-law Etta Marilla Whitney, the name was changed to Avalon in reference to the epic poem by

Lord Alfred Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...

. The town of

Avalon, California Avalon is the only incorporated city on Santa Catalina Island, in the California Channel Islands, and the southernmost city in Los Angeles County. The city is a resort community with the waterfront dominated by tourism-oriented businesses. The ...

bears that name to this day. Between the years of 1887 and 1888, Shatto had a steamship pier and the original Hotel Metropole, built. The island was first opened for tourists during the next summer season of 1888. Financial troubles forced Shatto to close the Hotel Metropole for the 1891 season, and in 1891, the island was foreclosed, and ownership reverted to the James Lick Trust. In 1892, Shatto built a Queen Anne style mansion in Los Angeles at the corner of Lucas Street and Orange Street (later Wilshire Boulevard). This location would later become the site of the Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles. Shatto died on May 30, 1893, when the freight train he was riding was involved in a crash with another freight train near Ravenna, California. Shatto was riding in the caboose at the time of the crash. Several other passengers were injured, though no one else died. Shatto's body was returned to Los Angeles for burial.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shatto, George Real estate and property developers Businesspeople from Los Angeles Santa Catalina Island (California) 1850 births 1893 deaths Railway accident deaths in the United States 19th-century American businesspeople