In 1919, William Wrigley, chewing gum magnate and the owner of the Chicago Cubs, bought a majority of land from the Island Company and developed the island with an eye toward preservation, simplified beauty and temperate family fun. Named after the Italian term 'casino,' meaning “gathering place,' this iconic building has attracted tourists and architectural enthusiasts alike for nearly 100 years.Ĭatalina, a small mountainous island only 22 miles long and 8 miles wide, was virtually untouched until the 1880s and ‘90s, when resort development began with the founding of the Santa Catalina Island Company. The circular, 12-story Art Deco- and Mediterranean-influenced masterpiece boasts a large ballroom, a state-of-the art theater, and floor-to-ceiling murals by the famous John Gabriel Beckman. No matter what form of transport you take, the, first thing your eye is drawn to is the white, rotund Catalina Casino, jutting out from Sugarloaf Point and dominating the coast line like a gleaming palace. Every day, the Catalina Island town of Avalon swells with scores of boisterous tourists who come over from the mainland on ferries or helicopters, cruise lines or yachts.
