The Catalina Casino is one of the imposing structures you will see when you first enter Avalon. It has been the focal point of Santa Catalina Island since it opened on May 29, 1929, over eighty years ago. The Catalina Casino has been the venue of choice for great entertainers, live theater productions, and first-run motion pictures. Step foot in the restored Art Deco circular icon, enjoy the original murals, furnishings, photos and experience the feeling you have traveled back in time. Enjoy your trip down memory lane where you can easily visualize the time when bands were big and movies were transitioning from silence to sound.

To date the venue hosts most of Catalina’s major indoor events and is well known as  the location of the Catalina Island Jazz Festival. The large circular world famous ballroom is available year round for private and corporate events. Some of the best views of Avalon are seen from the ballroom’s Romance Promenade which is considered the most romantic spot in Avalon.

You can take the Casino Walking Tour, Behind the Scenes Casino Tour, and enjoy a short film which highlights the history of the building and learn its connection to Hollywood.

Located on the lower level of the Catalina Casino is the Avalon Theatre which still shows first-run movies nightly starting at 7:30 pm. The theatre seats 1,184 people and is 138 feet across and 43 feet high.  Art deco murals created by John Gabriel Beckman adorn the walls and create a stunning ambiance.  A testament to the history of this place is the 1929 pipe organ built by the Page Organ Company of Lima, Ohio. You can hear it being played every Friday and Saturday evening, one hour before the movie starts.

Catalina Beckons! Come See for Yourself.

 

 

By: Rosa L. McArthur, CMP

Meeting Planners Plus