Catalina Casino
Catalina Casino | |
---|---|
Santa Catalina Island, California | |
Country | United States |
Coordinates | 33°20′56″N 118°19′34″W / 33.34887°N 118.32601°W |
Construction started | February 1928 |
Opened | May 29, 1929 |
Cost | $2 million |
Owner | Santa Catalina Island Company |
Technical details | |
Structural system | round, cantilevered reinforced concrete column |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Walter Webber and Sumner Spaulding |
The Catalina Casino is an entertainment facility in
The large building contains a
History
The 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, which was instead eventually built in Descanso Canyon. 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.[1][2]
On May 29, 1929, the new Catalina Casino was completed under the direction of Wrigley and
With a height equal to a 12-story building, it was built to serve as a theater on the main floor and a ballroom and promenade on the upper level.
The steel structure of the predecessor Sugarloaf Casino can still be found in Avalon's abandoned bird park. The bird park was conceived by Mrs. Wrigley in the 1930s, and at the time it was one of the largest aviaries in the world.
In 1993, the movie theater was photographed by Hiroshi Sugimoto for his art series "Theatres".[5]
In 1994, the theater underwent a $750,000
In September 2008, the Catalina Casino had the first live full production of a musical on its stage, when the Santa Catalina Island Company presented Grease!.
In December 2019, The Catalina Island Company stopped screening first run showings of movies, essentially ceasing its function as a traditional film venue.[3] They cite the rise of streaming services and large use of satellite television in the small town of 4000 as contributing factors to the theater's low attendance.[3][6] The theater remains available for daily tours and special events such as the Catalina Film Festival and Silent Film Benefit.[7][3]
Structure
Surrounded by sea on three sides, the circular structure of the Catalina Casino is the equivalent of 12 stories tall. It has a movie theater on the first level and a ballroom on the top level. The building interiors were decorated in the Art Deco style, including with sterling silver and gold-leaf accents.
Movie theater
The Avalon Theatre is a movie theater on the first level, with a seating capacity of 1,154.[8] It has a single massive screen.[9] The theater has its original 4-manual, 16 rank pipe organ built by the Page Organ Company of Lima, Ohio.[8]
The theater is sound insulated so that patrons do not hear the band or up to 3,000 dancers in the ballroom above. The circular domed ceiling has notable acoustics and has been studied by acoustical designers, due to its repute. A speaker on the theater stage can speak in a normal voice without a microphone and be heard clearly by all in attendance.
The theater's interior walls retain the original
Ballroom
The upper-level houses the 20,000-square-foot Catalina Casino Ballroom. It is the world's largest circular ballroom, with a 180-foot (55 m) diameter dance floor that can accommodate 3,000 dancers.[1] French doors encircle the room connecting the dance floor with the Romance Promenade, an open balcony that runs around the building.
To reach the ballroom on the top level, the Casino building has two ramped walkways, both in enclosed towers that extend out from the circular building. Wrigley took the idea to use ramps instead of stairs from Wrigley Field, his Chicago Cubs stadium. The ramps allowed the large numbers of people using the ballroom to quickly move to and from their destinations. They each have a small lobby area just below the dance floor level.
Catalina Island Museum
In 1953,
On June 18, 2016, the museum relocated to a new building, located approximately one half mile from its original location in the Catalina Casino. The Ada Blanche Wrigley Schreiner Building is located at 217 Metropole Avenue.[1]
The museum continues documenting Catalina Island history, adding from
In popular culture
- The Casino figures in the 1935 film Murder on a Honeymoon.
- A portion of the 1974 film Chinatown was filmed on Catalina Island, featuring cinematic shots of the Casino.[11]
- In 1984, Catalina Island and the Casino were filming locations for the Airwolf episode "Sins of the Past".[12] A replica of the Casino was set ablaze in the episode.[13]
- After players complete the 2020 action-adventure video game Abby has finally reached the Casino to reunite with her former group.[14]
- The theater is featured in Episode 12005 of California's Gold with Huell Howser.[15]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Catalina Island Museum
- ^ a b c Visitcatalinaisland.com: Catalina Casino
- ^ a b c d e Arellano, Gustavo (2019-12-01). "This theater has attracted movie stars and Catalina Island residents for 90 years. Now, it may call it a night". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2019-12-01. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
- ISBN 978-0987903808(on-line)
- ^ "Hiroshi Sugimoto | Avalon Theatre, Catalina Island". www.metmuseum.org. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
- ^ Rubin, Rebecca (2019-11-12). "Avalon Theatre Owner Blames Streaming Services for 'Upside-Down' Attendance". Variety. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
- ^ "Silent Film Benefit". catalina-museum. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
- ^ a b Visitcatalinaisland.com: Avalon Theater
- ^ Visitcatalinaisland.com: Avalon Theater walking tour
- ^ Henson, Steve (Jan 25, 1987). "A Second Life : Restoring a 57-Year-Old Mural on Santa Catalina Island Was a Labor of Love, Science and Art". LA Times. Retrieved 2022-12-20.
- ^ Kudler, Adrian Glick (2014-06-19). "The ultimate 'Chinatown' filming location map of Los Angeles". Curbed LA. Retrieved 2020-07-07.
- ^ Sins of the Past, retrieved 2020-07-07
- ^ "YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on 2021-12-14. Retrieved 2020-07-07.
- ^ "The Last Of Us 2: Here's What The New Game Plus Menu Screen Means". GameSpot. Retrieved 2020-07-07.
- ^ "Catalina Casino – California's Gold (12005) – Huell Howser Archives at Chapman University".
External links
- Santa Catalina Island Company: official Catalina Casino website
- Catalina Island Museum – formerly located in the Catalina Casino.
- Cinematreasures.org: Avalon Theatre – article by movie theatre preservation organization.
- Casino Point Dive Park - dive park located at the base of the casino.