Fellow
building collector, Scott D., wrote about Catalina Casino, which is
located in Avalon on the island of Santa Catalina, 22 miles off the coast of
Los Angeles, California.
“The Casino is the most recognized landmark on
the island and closes in the harbor of Avalon. The Casino was built on
Sugarloaf Point, an earlier structure that was leveled to make way for the
construction of a hotel.
Ultimately, the hotel was built elsewhere on the island. When chewing
gum magnate William Wrigley Jr. bought controlling stake in the Island he built
a casino called Sugarloaf Casino but it didn’t last long as it was too small
and it was razed in 1928 to make room for a new casino.
It was designed by Sumner
Spaulding and Walter Weber and is describe at Mediterranean Revival. It is also
the first completely circular building built in modern times and it received
the honor award from the California chapter of the American Institute of
Architects. The Casino houses the Avalon Theater on the first level, which
seats up to 1,150, and is the first theater ever designed for sound movies. It
is said that the acoustics are so good that a speaker on the stage can speak in
a normal voice without a microphone and be heard throughout the room. The
ballroom on the second level can accommodate up to 6,000 dancers and is so well
insulated that
The next know version of the Casino was made by
Effco of Japan and was sold on the Island from the 1950s-1960s, (see first
photo, above). They are ceramic banks with rubber stoppers and are the most
common souvenir of the Casino. Also, there have been charms made of the Casino.
Other versions of the Casino were made, but unsure of the time frame.
Visiting Catalina Island
just recently and seeing the magnificent Casino building in person (It’s very ‘Wow’
seeing all the sea-themed Deco decoration), I made a personal search for a
souvenir version of the Casino not only in the town of Avalon, but the Casino
itself. I didn’t find a one and the museum gift shop in the Casino itself told
me there were none to be had. The only resent version of the Casino is by
InFocus Tech and is the most detailed of any of the past or present souvenirs
of the Casino. If you know of any other version of the Casino please let us
know. It’s always interesting to see different versions of a popular tourist
destination! “– Scott D.
3 comments:
I have a one-foot wide reddish clay (painted white) version of the Catalina Casino. I have no idea how my mom got this, unsure if it's new or vintage. There's a sticker on the bottom that says "made in China", so maybe it's not very old at all? The clay is reddish, it is hollow with no top (I use it for dry arrangements), and mostly painted with a shiny white glaze.
Thoughts? I'd be happy to share a pic. It doesn't look exactly like the one on your page, but a little similar. I haven't seen anything like it anywhere.
Thank you for sharring
Born and raised on the island and left at the age of 11, we have a large cookie jar modeled after the casino I believe it was a gift to my grandmother from a family friend
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