Catalina Island / Casino

Catalina Island is someplace I thought about venturing to for years but for some reason never did. That was a mistake. It's so charming and there is even some good architecture.

Catalina Casino (1929) was commissioned by William Wrigley Jr and designed by Sumner Spaulding and Walter Webber, under David M. Renton. Wrigley was the gum guy and also owned the Chicago Cubs. He also owned pretty much the entire island.

The casino is constructed of steel and concrete. The steel structure was prefabricated on the mainland and shipped to Catalina. The roof tiles were made from local Catalina clay.

1929

Source: Los Angeles Public Library Legacy Photo Collection

The style of the 12-story building is described as Mediterranean Art Deco.

The murals are by John Gabriel Beckman. They were originally supposed to be done in tile but the tile production was being consumed by other aspects of the building.

The lobby with sofas resembling waves.

The theater is said to be the first in the world that was specifically designed for talkies. The concrete domed roof design was copied by the Radio City Music Hall.

These murals are aldo by John Gabriel Beckman. They depict scenes from California history.

The Page Organ Company pipe organ is still in operation.

In 1993 Hiroshi Sugimoto photographed the theater for his series called Motion Pictures.

The upstairs ballroom. There has never been any gambling at the casino.

A lot of Catalina tile can still be seen in Avalon. Catalina Clay Products, Catalina Pottery, and Catalina Island Pottery are all the same thing. Wrigley started the company to produce clay building products and provide employment for Catalina residents when the tourist season was over. At first local clay was used. Later, clay was imported. In 1937 Gladding, McBean & Co. bought the pottery and moved it to Los Angeles. The markings changed over the years, so the Catalina geeks can tell you what is what. Gladding, McBean & Co stopped producing it in 1942.