Catalina Casino

The Catalina Casino is located in Avalon on Santa Catalina Island, off the coast of Los Angeles in California. It is the most visible landmark in Avalon Bay, and when approaching it from the mainland.The large building contains a movie theatre, ballroom, and formerly an island art and history museum. The Catalina Casino gets its name from the Italian language term casino, meaning a "gathering place." There is no gambling at the facility.HistoryThe Catalina Casino was built on a site formerly known as Sugarloaf Point. The site was graded for the planned construction of the Hotel St. Catherine. However, it was eventually built in Descanso Canyon instead. When chewing gum magnate William Wrigley Jr. bought the controlling stake in Catalina Island in 1919, he used this cleared site to build a dance hall he named Sugarloaf Casino. It served as a ballroom and Avalon's first high school, until it became too small for Avalon's growing population. In 1928, the Sugarloaf was razed to make room for a newer casino building. Sugarloaf Rock was further blasted away to enhance the Casino's ocean view.On May 29, 1929, the new Catalina Casino was completed under the direction of Wrigley and David M. Renton, at a cost of 2 million dollars. Its design, by Sumner Spaulding and Walter Weber, is in the Art Deco and Mediterranean Revival styles. It was the first movie theatre to be designed specifically for films with sound ("talkies"). It received the Honor Award from the California Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, as "one of the outstanding architectural accomplishments."