Mt Ada - Wrigley Mansion on Avalon Bay

Once the summer residence of William Wrigley Jr. and his wife Ada, this hilltop estate looks out over Avalon Bay and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

William Wrigley, Jr., the chewing gum magnate, built the mansion for Ada between 1919 and 1921. Set high on Mt Ada, it became the family’s warm-weather retreat and offered a getaway from Chicago’s cold winters.

Designed in the Georgian Colonial Revival style, the house was created by architect Zachary Taylor Davis, who also designed the Chicago Cubs' Wrigley Field. The Mt Ada location was chosen because it caught the earliest morning sun and held the last afternoon light before sunset dropped behind the mountains. In 1916, Wrigley purchased the Chicago Cubs with a group of investors, wholly owning the team by 1925. The Cubs held spring training on Catalina Island from 1921-1951, except during the WWII years. Wrigley Field West was placed where Wrigley could look down on practices from Mt Ada. He was known for watching workouts and phoning the manager to send the players running up the hill to Mt Ada when he felt they were not working hard enough.

The residence was constructed in an “L” shape, curving around a formal motor court entrance on the mountain side, with a broad staircase rising toward the mansion from the ocean side. Ms. Wrigley’s original ideas shaped the home’s design, which called for three stories, a Turkish bath, billiard room, organ chamber, and refrigerator room. The plan also included six bedrooms, a sun room, and an elegant terrace porch. Over time, many early design elements were changed or removed, including the home’s third floor.

The property was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. That same year, it became a luxury bed and breakfast with six guest suites and guest amenities such as breakfast, lunch, evening libations, and a golf cart for use during a stay.