Crowded beach in front of the Metropole Hotel on Santa Catalina Island, ca.1904

Photograph of a crowded beach in front of the Metropole Hotel on Santa Catalina Island, ca.1904. The beach is at center and is bustling with people of all ages dressed in dark bathing suits. Many are seated on the rocky shore at center, while a few are wading out into the shallow, calm water. More people, mostly in suits and hats, watch the scene from the street above at right. The large, three-story clapboard hotel is in the background at right, across a wide dirt road. There are several other large buildings visible, including a building at the end of a pier at left. There are tall mountains in the background.