Visiting the Catalina Island Museum

Last week I told you all about my glass bottom boat tour on Catalina Island. Well, today the adventure continues as we head back to shore and start exploring the island on foot…and bicycle. Yup, I couldn’t resist the offer of a free bike rental from Brown’s Bikes. This bike shop is located right near the boat docks and offers an array of bikes for traversing the island. I went with the good old beach cruiser and made my way to the Catalina Island Museum.

The Catalina Island Museum is currently located in the famed Casino building and is a wonderful spot to learn all about the island and its history. The museum was founded in 1953 and has been located at the Casino building ever since. When I visited the museum on my first trip to Catalina it seemed as if it hadn’t changed much since the day it was founded. It was quaint and full of interesting subject matter but was a wee bit outdated. Coming back on this trip I expected the same. Nope. It was renovated in 2011 and is quite impressive.

In the museum you’ll learn about so many aspects of Catalina history from the days of the Bannings and Wrigleys to the present. Did you know Catalina Island was home to the Chicago Cubs spring training grounds? Or that Avalon suffered a devastating fire in 1915? How bout the fact that it was Hollywood’s playground during the Golden Age?

There’s Der Bingle fishing in Avalon.

And a whole bunch of other celebs having a ball.

The museum is small but jam packed with fascinating info. I had a wonderful time wandering around learning all about…everything!

And what’s even more exiting is that it’s just going to get better! Next year the museum will be moving into brand new digs in the heart of Avalon. It will be a much larger space that will present even more artifacts from Catalina Island History. I, for one, cannot wait to see it!