Field Trip - Catalina Island & Avalon, Day 2

Day 2 of our Catalina trip entailed more island exploring. Only one tour planned - of the Casino. Prior to the Casino, we walked around and saw...

Catalina Island Yacht Club (c. 1924)

Descanso Beach

the pigeons that like potato chips

The Casino, seen in the left corner below, is probably the most iconic building on the island.
Built in 1929, the Casino is an excellent example of Art Deco architecture.

deco tile mermaid, above the entrance

It's "Casino" in the traditional definition of the term - a place for recreation. The main level houses the 1,150 seat Avalon Theater - the first-ever theater designed specifically for sound movies.
Since the theater was designed for sound, the acoustics are impressive. Our docent did not need any amplification for us to hear him from the stage. What was even more impressive were the paintings. Unfortunately the pix do not do justice.
After a brief short film, we marched up the Wrigley Field-inspired ramps to the ballroom. It's the world's largest circular ballroom with a 180' diameter dance floor. However, it wasn't very picturesque during our visit as they had chairs and plywood down - remnants from the previous weekend's Gospel Fest. The light fixture was pretty amazing though.

this sucker is about 30' in diameter

cool fish-themed bar (original 1929 paintings)

Catalina is also known for its decorative tile. Wrigley set up the industry in order to give the locals a home-grown industry to help keep them busy during the slower seasons. There's plenty of it in Avalon.

my grrrls

Towards the evening we made our way back over to the dock for the boat trip home. But not before Celeste & I scrambled up to check out a mini cave.

Note to mom and dad - thanks again for everything!