Earth Day is April 22, 2022 and there is an activity to appreciate nature right here in Coronado. Below is an updated list of “Heritage Trees” courtesy of the City of Coronado. These are some of the oldest and tallest trees in Coronado!
A map can be found here.
Serial 001 TORREY PINE located in Palm Park (Palm Avenue at Third Street) was designated a Heritage Tree on April 3, 2008. The Torrey Pine was recognized by the City Council as the City’s Official Tree in 2006. Pinus Torreyana is the rarest pine in the United States and is native to this area. It was planted early in the twentieth century under the supervision of Louis C. Bandel, Coronado’s Superintendent of Parks for forty years.
Serial 002 TORREY PINE located near the front entrance of the Coronado Library was designated a Heritage Tree on April 3, 2008. This Pinus Torreyana is typical of the Torreys that were planted about a century ago in the City. Well-cared for, Coronado’s Torreys grow to more than 50 feet in height. This tree, sharing characteristics with serial 001, was planted in a city-wide program by Supt. Bandel and assisted by Kate Sessions of Balboa Park fame.
Serial 003 STAR PINE located in Rotary Plaza was designated a Heritage Tree on April 3, 2008. This Araucaria Heterophylla is native to Norfolk Island in the SW Pacific and was transplanted to this location by Supt. Bandel in 1936. The project was funded by the Coronado Rotarians and has since served as the City’s living Christmas tree. Star pines can grow to 100 feet in height.
Serial 004 TORREY PINE located at Sixth Street & Pomona Avenue was designated a Heritage Tree on May 5, 2011. This grand tree, similar to serials 001 and 002 Torreys above, dominates the small triangular park named for Medal of Honor hero William Cronan, a bosun mate (later Lt. Cmdr.) aboard the USS Bennington when it exploded in San Diego harbor in 1905.
Serial 005 MORETON BAY FIG located adjacent to Star Park at 1121 Flora Avenue was designated a Heritage Tree on December 7, 2011. Ficus Macrophylla, native to northeastern Australia, has heavy buttressing trunks that spread to support a massive crown that can grow to more than 100 feet in diameter.
Serial 006 FERN PINE located at 525 I Avenue was designated a Heritage Tree on December 7, 2011. Afrocarpus Gracilior (previously known as podacarpus g.) are from eastern Africa. This mature specimen is clearly the most impressive tree fronting I Avenue.
Serial 007 ITALIAN STONE PINE located in the rear yard of 731 I Avenue was designated a Heritage Tree on October 4, 2012. This Stone Pine, clearly visible from the street and alley, is believed to be the largest in the City and was planted as a one foot Christmas tree in 1965. A native of southern Europe, Pinus Pinea grow well here, producing paired bright green needles in a dense umbrella shape.
Serial 008 ITALIAN STONE PINE located in the rear yard of 1027 Adella Avenue was designated a Heritage Tree on October 4, 2012. The tree is easily visible from the front gate of the property. This Pinus Pinea has been nicely pruned to expose its attractive trunk and limb structure, allowing it to share the space with another large conifer in the backyard of a historically designated 1923 home.
Serial 009 DEODAR CEDAR located in the second block of the Orange Avenue median was designated a Heritage Tree on May 2, 2013. It was planted in 1952 as one of the forty-two memorial trees to replace the trolley tracks that were removed after World War II. This Cedrus deodara, native to the Himalayas, is the finest example of those in Orange Avenue’s “Christmas Lane.”
Serial 010 SUGAR GUM located on the right side of the 100 block of E Avenue, as one approaches from First Street, was designated a Heritage Tree on February 5, 2015. This stately Eucalyptus cladocalyx is representative of the Sugar Gums that were planted on this block at the beginning of the 20th century. Eucalyptus were imported from Australia soon after California’s Gold Rush, 90% of them being Tasmanian Blue Gums. The Blue Gums are structurally weak and have other problems which these Sugar Gums lack. The residents of this block of E Avenue are proud of their “Eucs” and plan to replenish them with young healthy gums as the older trees approach the end of their life.
Serial 011 NORFOLK ISLAND PINE located at 1000 Adella Avenue was designated a Heritage Tree on February 5, 2015. Araucaria heterophylla, sometimes called Star Pine, is native to a small beautiful southwest Pacific island. It grows wonderfully well and very tall in Coronado. This beautiful specimen about 100 years old is on the property of a historically designated home moved from Ocean Boulevard after the 1905 storm that washed away some of the boulevard.
Serial 012 NORFOLK ISLAND PINE (1) located on one side of the Coronado Library main entrance was designated a Heritage Tree on October 6, 2016. Araucaria heterophylia, sometimes called Star Pine, is native to a small beautiful southwest Pacific island. They grow particularly well in Coronado reaching a hundred foot height at maturity. This tree was planted in 1909 with the opening of the Spreckels Library.
Serial 013 NORFOLK ISLAND PINE (2) located on one side of the Coronado Library main entrance was designated a Heritage Tree on October 6, 2016. Araucaria heterophylia, sometimes called Star Pine, is native to a small beautiful southwest Pacific island. They grow particularly well in Coronado reaching a hundred foot height at maturity. This tree was planted in 1909 with the opening of the Spreckels Library.
Serial 014 CANARY ISLAND PINE located in the rear yard of 1517 Ynez Place, was designated a Heritage Tree on May, 2021, the first Pinus Canariensis so designated in the City. Native to the outer Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, it is a subtropical evergreen pine. This majestic tree stands about eighty feet tall, the approximate maximum height for this species and is visible from as far away as the Coronado Bridge. Blue Heron nests have reportedly been sighted in the tree by residents from time to time. The tree was planted nearly a century ago, among a large group of Canary Island Pines planted throughout Coronado at that time. It can be seen from both the front and back of the historic, Irving-Gill designed home, named after Dr. Lorini, who was the resident physician at the Hotel Del Coronado for more than 30 years.
Serial 015 MAGNOLIA GRANDIFLORA located in the front yard of 928 A Avenue, was designated a Heritage Tree on July 29, 2021. This iconic species, widely planted throughout California, is noted for its dark, glossy, evergreen leaves and its spectacular fruit-scented creamy white flowers. This specimen currently stands approximately forty feet tall, which is about half the maximum height for the species. It is clearly visible from the street and sidewalk in front of the home. The residents of the home believe that the tree was planted at about the time that the house was constructed in 1951.
Related article from 2012 (old list of Heritage Trees):
