After a period of service as a floating discothèque, the ship ran aground on a sandbar in Ensenada Harbor, Mexico, in 1997 and partially sank on the spot.

[4] Catalina was constructed at a reported cost of $1 million[5][6]by the Los Angeles Shipbuilding and Drydock Company for the Wilmington Transportation Company, which had long served Catalina Island and was purchased with the island by chewing gum and confectionery magnate William Wrigley Jr..[7][8] The ship was to join the steamers Avalon, Cabrillo and Hermosa already serving the island and designed to make the trip from Los Angeles Harbor to Avalon of 25.5 nautical miles (29.3 mi; 47.2 km) in one and a half hours.

[9] The hull was double bottomed with tanks for fuel and water ballast with six transverse watertight bulkheads extending to the main deck.

[9] A unique feature of the ship was the arrangement of the lifeboats, which were stowed in recesses in the hull just above the waterline to clean passenger decks and quick and efficient launching.

In its heyday, the ship was known as the "Great White Steamer", and carried 2,000 passengers at a time on the two-and-a-half hour trip to Catalina.

[12] Among its famous passengers were Presidents Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover, actor Robert Mitchum and many of the great musicians of the Big Band era.

[13] The Los Angeles Times recalled the passage to Avalon:"To board the Catalina during its heyday was to enter a world of luxurious leather settees and gleaming teak.

"[14] The United Press reported on 24 December 1951 that Catalina had returned to service at Los Angeles Harbor after a two-month overhaul and annual inspection.

Ownership remained with Wrigley's Wilmington Transportation Company, and the vessel was placed under bareboat charter to the War Department on the same date.

[19] As the Army began equipping its large ocean transports with new radar in 1946 an obsolete set was installed aboard FS-99 and adjusted to detect nearby objects for tests in use under harbor conditions.

[11][19] By the early 1970s, smaller, faster vessels made it difficult for Catalina to compete for passenger traffic, and she was retired from service in 1975.

[11] In 1977 Catalina was bought at auction for $70,000 by real estate developer Hymie Singer as a Valentine's Day gift for his wife.

Catalina was recognized as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument (LAHCM #213) by the city's Cultural Heritage Commission,[21] and was a California Historical Landmark.