Avalon Theatre

1 Casino Way, Catalina Island, CA 90704

A truly classic movie palace situated in Avalon on Santa Catalina Island. The Avalon Theatre opened on May 29, 1929 with Douglas Fairbanks in The Iron Mask.  It is located in the Catalina Casino built by chewing gum magnet William Wrigley, Jr. and is beneath the casino ballroom.  In the era of the "big bands" the ballroom attracted the likes of Benny Goodman who was the King of Swing.  Goodman played in the ballroom to 2,000 capacity dancers.  The outer lobby of the building has eight 'Atlantis' inspired tiled mural panels, the work of John Gabriel Beckman who decorated the entire Avalon Theatre in atmospheric style.  There are painted murals on the side-walls depicting a noble savage hunting deer with a bow & arrow as a few Francisan monks arrive by galleon surrounded by stylized hillsides.  The rear wall has painted murals of birds and monkeys. 

Above the rounded proscenium arch is a recreation of Botticelli's Birth of Venus while on the safety curtain is painted Flight of fancy Westward depicting a primitive surfer boy riding the crest of a wave superimposed on a map of the island in the background. The silver leaf ceiling is made to glow in shades of pink and violet by colored light hidden behind a low wall surrounding the auditorium.  

The Avalon Theatre organ is equipped with a 4 manual 16 rank theatre organ built by the Page Organ Company of Lima, Ohio.

   

The Avalon Theatre was closed on December 31, 2019 with Dwayne Johnson in Jumanji: The Next Level.  The Santa Catalina Island Company citing "operating costs are too expensive and hinder their 'good business stragegy'.  It will be maintained as a special events facility, occasional screenings of silent movies and for the Catalina Film Festival. Tours of the casino building and the Avalon Theatre are available.  

As a sidenote, there is an online petition to reopen the building which gained over 5,000 signatures in just 4 days!  The petition was launched online in 2019 and is still online. I signed the petition and hope you sign, as well.  Thank you.

https://www.change.org/p/catalina-island-company-don-t-close-our-beautiful-historic-avalon-theatre-on-catalina-island