Resorts were first established on Santa Catalina Island in the 1890s and flourished for centuries afterwards with the Catalina Casino being added in 1929.

Shatto's sister-in-law Etta Whitney came up with the permanent name of Avalon in reference from a poem by Lord Tennyson called 'Idylls of the King' about the legend of King Arthur (which features an island of the same name). Shatto purchased the island for $200,000 from the estate of James Lick at the height of a real estate boom in Southern California in 1887. The first owner to try to develop Avalon Bay into a resort destination was George Shatto, a real estate speculator from Grand Rapids, Michigan. By the 1830s, the entire island's native population had either died off, or had been relocated to the mainland to work in the missions or as ranch hands for the many private land owners. This material was in great demand to make stone vessels for cooking and was traded along the California coast. The Pimugnans were renowned for their mining, working and trade of soapstone which was found in great quantities and varieties on the island. The Tongva called the island Pimu or Pimugna and referred to themselves as the Pimugnans or Pimuvit. Prior to the modern era, the island was inhabited by people of the Tongva tribe. ” - Patron of the Catalina Casino during the Great War

Catalina casino gambling