A makeover for Catalina’s Avalon
Bob Kennedy, mayor of Avalon and owner of the ScubaLuv dive shop, tests a “Sea Trek” helmet at Catalina Island’s Descanso Beach with dive instructor Tim Mitchell, left . The Santa Catalina Island Co. is planning a massive makeover for Avalon; one of the planned tourist attractions is “Sea Trek,” in which customers walk through offshore kelp forests. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
The marina at Avalon is reflected in windows of the landmark “casino” building as Doug Hippe conducts a “Behind the Scenes” tour. His parents were the first couple married in the ballroom in 1972. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
The city of Avalon as seen from the “casino” building. The Santa Catalina Island Co., which chewing gum magnate William Wrigley Jr. bought in 1919, has embarked on a series of projects to turn the city into a resort without walls.” (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
Boats tied up at restaurant dock in Avalon Harbor. In the 1960s, development on Catalina slowed as big spenders and tourists gravitated toward newer resorts Disneyland, Palm Springs, Lake Arrowhead blossoming on the mainland. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
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Avalon Mayor Bob Kennedy, right, and dive instructor Tim Mitchell at Descanso Beach. The era of the Santa Catalina Island Co. planning improvements but not pulling the trigger on development for fear of making a mistake is over,” Kennedy said. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
Randy Herrel is president and chief executive of the Santa Catalina Island Co. Over the next 18 months there will be more investment in Avalon than in the previous 18 years combined,” he said. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
Joe Calvia, vice president of sightseeing for the Santa Catalina Island Co., points out a mural in a previously closed part of the “casino” building. New investments in Avalon, a community of 3,500 residents about 22 miles off the Southern California coast, cannot come soon enough for some business leaders. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
John Dravinski, chief operating officer of the Santa Catalina Island Co., smiles as he has lunch at Descanso Beach. Avalon has been waiting decades for something new to offer visitors from its target market: the coastal communities stretching from Santa Barbara to San Diego. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
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Murals inside the theater of the “casino” building. Parts of the building were previously closed. For quite some time, Catalina has been battling a perception that there is nothing to do here, a notion fueled by the fact that weve had no new products to offer in decades, said Wayne Griffin, executive director of the Avalon Chamber of Commerce. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
A canyon where a new zip line will whisk customers by cable from a mountain peak to the beach. The aim of the current projects is to revitalize the 1-square-mile city of Avalon, spurring future growth without destroying its nostalgic charm. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
