MEET ME AT THE CASINO CATALINA LANDMARK HAS BEEN SOCIAL CENTER FOR 71 YEARS.Byline: Eric Noland Travel Editor AVALON - As the ferry boats draw close to Catalina Island's southeastern tip, visitors see the postcard cove of Avalon Bay, dotted with sails; they see the town's clutch of cottage dwellings on the hills that rim the bay; they take in the considerable sweep of arid, unsettled land that is the island's interior. But the eye is inexorably drawn to a structure at the water's edge on the west end of the bay: the Casino. It is 140 feet tall. It is round. It is of a lavish design that has been alternately characterized as Spanish colonial revival with Mediterranean and Adriatic influences and a Moorish- Alhambra balcony. You can't miss it. And that was exactly the intent at its conception. As a result, it has come to be Catalina's most defining landmark - no matter how out of place it looks. Shortly after chewing gum chewing gum, confection consisting usually of chicle, flavorings, and corn syrup and sugar (or artificial sweeteners). Prehistoric people are believed to have chewed resins. magnate William Wrigley William Wrigley may refer to:
v. To restore consciousness, vigor, or life to. the island's sagging tourism fortunes. Central to this plan would be an enormous entertainment center, with a 20,000-square-foot ballroom on one level and an elaborate movie theater- with a massive pipe organ for silent films, plus optimal acoustics for the new rage of ``talkies'' - on another. No expense would be spared. After all, you couldn't lure people to this island with the promise of quaint charm. Heck, in the 1920s, they could find that in San Pedro or Long Beach . . . or, for that matter, Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . No, this palace had to be something special. Wrigley and an army of designers and builders succeeded. When it opened 71 years ago this month, visitors marveled at the elaborate touches: exotic murals, subtle lighting, art deco art deco (ärt dĕkō`; är dākō`, ärt) or art moderne (är môdĕrn`, ärt) furnishings, oceans of hardwood for paneling and floors, extensive use of gold-leaf and sterling-silver-leaf accents. A balcony nearly encircled en·cir·cle tr.v. en·cir·cled, en·cir·cling, en·cir·cles 1. To form a circle around; surround. See Synonyms at surround. 2. To move or go around completely; make a circuit of. the ballroom. And a cantilever design employed in the construction meant that there was not a single pillar to intrude on Verb 1. intrude on - to intrude upon, infringe, encroach on, violate; "This new colleague invades my territory"; "The neighbors intrude on your privacy" encroach upon, obtrude upon, invade the ambience of either the ballroom or the theater. People came in droves, riding steam ships to dance to big bands, see movies, listen to symphony and choral performances, socialize so·cial·ize v. so·cial·ized, so·cial·iz·ing, so·cial·iz·es v.tr. 1. To place under government or group ownership or control. 2. To make fit for companionship with others; make sociable. , sip refreshments and breathe in Verb 1. breathe in - draw in (air); "Inhale deeply"; "inhale the fresh mountain air"; "The patient has trouble inspiring"; "The lung cancer patient cannot inspire air very well" inhale, inspire the ocean breezes that wafted in from the channel. They didn't gamble. In the nomenclature of the time, casino meant entertainment club; there never has been a gaming table in the place. Today, the Casino is still a powerful tourist lure, but on a scale that is much less grand. You see them get off the boats, pass by the shops of Crescent Avenue and continue along the seawall seawall: see coast protection. out to Casino Point. They gaze up at this eminence, peer in through the beveled-glass windows, and test the doors, invariably in·var·i·a·ble adj. Not changing or subject to change; constant. in·var  i·a·bil to find them locked. This is a building with a vibrant past, but a comparatively dormant present. The only way to get into the building is to attend a movie (the theater still functions as one - the only one on the island, in fact), attend one of the infrequent public events here or take one of the 50-minute tours conducted by the Santa Catalina Island San·ta Cat·a·li·na Island or Catalina Island An island off southern California in the southern Santa Barbara Islands. Discovered in 1542, it has been a noted resort center since the 1920s. Co. In the Casino's heyday - in the 1930s and again immediately after World War II - dances and musical concerts were held almost nightly during the summer season. No more. This year, the ballroom is booked for public events on just 11 of the 101 days between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day Labor Day, holiday celebrated in the United States and Canada on the first Monday in September to honor the laborer. It was inaugurated by the Knights of Labor in 1882 and made a national holiday by the U.S. Congress in 1894. weekend. A Swing (dance) Camp, to be held June 1-4 and June 8-11, will represent an unmistakable link with the building's past glory. But much of the time, the house will be dark. ``It was a different era,'' said Wayne Griffin, president of the Santa Catalina Island Visitors Bureau and a 22-year island resident. ``Things didn't cost what they do to put on today. There weren't the legal and insurance issues there are today.'' The tastes and interests of the traveler have changed, too, with a greater orientation toward the outdoors. Even the Casino tour, which is outstanding, can be a tough sell on a bright, sunny day, especially when tour buses are headed inland in search of buffalo and semi-submersibles are embarking into nature's fish bowl. And in the evenings, visitors seem content to prowl the impromptu street fair that is Crescent Avenue, sipping a cocktail in one of the many open-air establishments - where sports events on satellite TV compete with the views of the bay. Nostalgia might get lip service lip service n. Verbal expression of agreement or allegiance, unsupported by real conviction or action; hypocritical respect: , but little more. ``Probably 20 years ago,'' said Griffin, ``they used to try a big-band series (in the Casino), but there just wasn't the market for it. A lot of people would call up and say, `I wish you had that.' But when somebody went to the trouble and expense of putting it on, nobody came.'' The 1,184-seat Avalon Theatre, with its terrific acoustics, also cries out for live theater, choral performances or even the occasional revival film - perhaps ``Treasure Island'' or ``Mutiny on the Bounty Mutiny on the Bounty activities of mutineers, Captain Bligh, island wanderings (1789). [Am. Lit.: Mutiny on the Bounty] See : Rebellion ,'' both of which were filmed on Catalina in the early '30s. But such enterprises would have to be sustainable. The 22 miles of open ocean (not to mention the $38 round-trip boat fare) discourages theater troupes, while the theater's contract with its distributor precludes any regular schedule of revival films in the evenings. (Instead, visitors who want to experience the theater in its glory are stuck with first-run pieces of junk like ``The Beach.'') The estimated 3,500 permanent residents on the island, meanwhile, can be expected to generate only so much business. It's still possible to achieve tiny glimpses of a bygone era, though. The Swing Camp, put on by the Pasadena Ballroom Dance ballroom dance European and American social dancing performed by couples. It includes standard dances such as the fox-trot, waltz, polka, tango, Charleston, jitterbug, and merengue. Association, features instruction and evening dances - and organizers have been particularly pleased to see a recent surge of dancers in their 20s. In the theater, local organist Bob Salisbury unleashes the original Page pipe organ in all its splendor for a 45-minute performance on Friday, Saturday and holiday evenings. The concert precedes the first showing of the evening's movie, a tradition that dates to 1930. Next month, the theater and its organ will be given full rein for Rudolph Valentino Rudolph Valentino (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926) was an Italian actor. He was born Rodolfo Alfonso Raffaello Piero Filiberto Guglielmi in Castellaneta, Italy, to a middle-class family. In the 1920s, Valentino was known as a Latin sex symbol. in ``The Sheik'' and ``Son of the Sheik,'' a silent-film benefit to be staged for the 13th straight year by the Catalina Island Catalina Island: see Santa Catalina. Museum Society. Salisbury, whose day job involves fielding 911 calls for the Sheriff's substation on Catalina, is currently working on the score - employing the organ's vast array of sound effects - for the June 24 double feature. The Casino is also used for occasional music events, including concerts featuring artists as diverse as Stephen Stills and John Tesh. Griffin said many organizers are encouraged to schedule events in the off-season, so as to beef up the island's traditionally slack period. Accordingly, a surf- music festival is scheduled for late September, an extended jazz festival for October and a swing dance and costume ball the weekend preceding Halloween. A sense of the Casino's history can also be gained through a tour, provided you're willing to activate your imagination. The 50-minute tour is generally conducted three times a day (times vary by day) and is a bit pricey: $9.75 for adults. But it's a fascinating excursion back in time. The interior is magnificent. The theater lobby alone is richly paneled with 4,500 square feet of black walnut black walnut see juglans nigra. , a hardwood that today costs about $6 a foot for any board narrower than 9 inches. The auditorium walls are adorned by John Gabriel Beckman murals and highlighted by floodlights hidden behind a 7-foot wall. The themes reflect early California and Catalina, from Gabrielino Indians to Spanish exploration to island plant and wildlife. Our tour group - only a couple dozen at midday on a Sunday - had been listening to the guide speak to us in a normal voice from the stage for several minutes before we realized he wasn't using a microphone. Small wonder engineers for New York's Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall New York City’s famous cinema; home of the Rockettes. [Am. Hist.: NCE, 2338] See : Theater traveled here to study this design and patterned that auditorium's acoustics after it. Elevator technology was fairly primitive in the 1920s, so we reached the mezzanine and ballroom levels by ascending a series of wide, stockyard-like ramps, rather than stairs. Wrigley, desirous de·sir·ous adj. Having or expressing desire; desiring: Both sides were desirous of finding a quick solution to the problem. de·sir of being able to move large numbers of people quickly and easily, borrowed this design element from the ballpark in Chicago that bears his name. You're liable to hear a few gasps as you step into the ballroom. The room's vastness is enhanced by the absence of pillars - the result of a complicated cantilever design in which the balcony and the downward pressure of the roof provide counterweight coun·ter·weight n. 1. A weight used as a counterbalance. 2. A force or influence equally counteracting another. coun on a couple of 178-foot, 50-ton steel girders passing beneath your feet at right angles so as to form a right angle or right angles, as when one line crosses another perpendicularly. See also: Right . The ceiling is a great umbrella. And a spectacular view of the ocean, Avalon Bay and Catalina's hills can be taken in through a 250-degree span of windows and balcony. Don't worry about all those stomping feet disturbing any theater patrons below. Sound and vibration is absorbed through extensive layering beneath the hardwood floor: felt, acoustical paper, pine subfloor, cork. They obviously built with durability in mind in the late 1920s: Our guide told us that Avalon High School's basketball team played its home games here when its gym was being worked on in 1989. In the 1930s, exhausted dancers could refresh themselves at an expansive . . . soda fountain? Yes, turns out the Wrigleys were staunch prohibitionists, even after the repeal of the 18th Amendment in 1933. So revelers had to content themselves with libations such as the Wrigley Welcome - crushed cherries, vanilla ice cream, orange sherbet sher·bet n. 1. also sher·bert A frozen dessert made primarily of fruit juice, sugar, and water, and also containing milk, egg white, or gelatin. 2. Chiefly British A beverage made of sweetened diluted fruit juice. , marshmallow marshmallow /marsh·mal·low/ (mahrsh´mel?o) (-mal?o) a perennial Eurasian herb, Althaea officinalis, , whipped cream, chopped walnuts, cherry; 35 cents. But this is not to say the place was dry all those years. ``The drinks were served without it (alcohol),'' said Diane Conover, a museum staffer and former Casino tour guide, ``but that doesn't mean they went down that way. Silver flasks were very popular.'' A full-service bar wasn't installed until 1948, coinciding with a post- war surge in the popularity of the Casino. By the early 1950s, the bill would include such entertainers as Jimmy Dorsey, Woody Herman, Stan Kenton and Dick Haymes. As recently as the early '60s, big bands were playing to dance crowds five nights a week during the summer high season, but this began to fizzle out to burn with a hissing noise and then go out, like wet gunpowder; to fail completely and ridiculously; to prove a failure. See also: fizzle fizzle in the middle of that decade, and the Casino has maintained only a tenuous link with its golden age since then. Other events have also been casualties of apathy and changing tastes: symphony and band concerts, a performance of Handel's ``Messiah'' each Christmas by an island choral group. In the latter case, said the visitors bureau's Griffin, ``It was a major volunteer commitment. The woman who ran it moved off the island and no one else stepped up to the plate.'' Sadly, the Casino may soon be losing another precious tradition. Salisbury, who has served as organist since 1958, is preparing to swap island life for a retreat in the San Bernardino Mountains San Bernardino Mountains, part of the Coast Range, S Calif., extending c.60 mi (100 km) NW and SE through San Bernardino and Riverside counties. Notable peaks are San Bernardino Mt. (10,630 ft/3,240 m) and Mt. San Gorgonio (11,485 ft/3,501 m). . He and wife Mary recently bought a home in Running Springs and plan to move there next April. Time to pass the torch to another? ``I would,'' Salisbury said, a note of despair in his voice, ``but I can't find anyone to pass it to.'' ON TOUR Conducted daily by the Santa Catalina Island Co.; times vary by day. Admission includes entry to Catalina Island Museum (housed in building). Tour is 50 minutes. Adults $9.75, seniors (55 and over) $8.50, children (2-11) $5. Information: (310) 510-2000 or (310) 510-8687. AT THE CASINO Swing Camp: June 1-4 and June 8-11. Classes during the day, dances in the evening, Casino Ballroom. Information: (626) 799-5689. Summer Arts Camp: June 18-24. Week of music, dance, theater and outdoor recreation for grades 5 through 10, culminating with performance in Casino Ballroom. Information: (310) 510-7469. Silent Film Benefit: June 24. Rudolph Valentino stars in ``The Sheik'' and ``Son of the Sheik,'' accompanied by Bob Salisbury on the Page pipe organ, in 13th annual event at the Avalon Theatre. Information: (310) 510-2414. Fourth of July Fourth of July, Independence Day, or July Fourth, U.S. holiday, commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Celebration of it began during the American Revolution. dinner: July 4. Stars and Stripes Stars and Stripes nickname for the U.S. flag. [Am. Hist.: Brewer Dictionary, 8567] See : America buffet dinner, with music by the University of Southern California The U.S. News & World Report ranked USC 27th among all universities in the United States in its 2008 ranking of "America's Best Colleges", also designating it as one of the "most selective universities" for admitting 8,634 of the almost 34,000 who applied for freshman admission Marching Band, Casino Ballroom. Information: (310) 510-1520. Island Embrace Luau Explosion: Aug. 19. Island feast and musical tour of the South Pacific, Casino Ballroom. Information: (310) 510-1520. Surf Music Festival: Sept. 23. Evening surf-music concert in the Casino Ballroom (following day of music and activities at Descanso Beach). Information: (888) 253-8368. Jazz Trax Festival: Oct. 6-8, Oct. 13-15, Oct. 20-22. Jazz artists performing in the Casino Ballroom. Information: (818) 347-5299 or (888) 330-5252. Web: www. jazztrax.com. Halloween Swing Fling: Oct. 27-28. Swing dancing, costume ball, dinner in the Casino Ballroom. Information: (888) 330-5252. New Year's Eve Celebration: Dec. 31. Dancing at 29th annual event at the Casino Ballroom. Information: (310) 510-1520. CAPTION(S): 6 photos, 2 boxes Photo: (1 -- 2 -- color) Visitors to Catalina Island can take tours of the casino and hear nuggets Nuggets can refer to several branches of interest:
(3 -- 4 -- color) The Casino has dominated the landscape of Avalon's tiny harbor since the building was completed in 1929. One of the more popular sstops is the balcony, where visitors linger to take in spactacular views. (5) In its heyday, the defining landmark of Catalina was the Casino, where people came to dance to the music of big bands, see movies, listen to symphonies and socialize. (6) no caption (The Marine Bar in the Casino) Box: (1) At the Casino (see text) (2) On tour (see text) |
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