As I approached the Avalon Casino for the first time in sixteen years, a bit of a fog had descended on the Island. No problem here; I like to shoot in all kinds of weather! You might recognize the Catalina Island Yacht Club shown below from the classic film “Chinatown” (1974) with Jack Nicholson:
On this trip, I ventured further down the way to see the Descanso Beach Club:
As I was nosing around, I discovered this abandoned stone staircase behind the club.
While it was a little rough hiking up the hill to the top, the almost sunset views were worth it:
Afterwards, another hike towards the Chimes Tower provided more fantabulous views, including this one of the Casino from above:
In 1925, William Wrigley Jr. and his wife Ada purchased the Westminster chimes from Chicago’s J.C. Deagan Company and had them installed in this tower that was built for their use:
While there, a documentary about the chimes was being filmed, so I couldn't get inside.
Nearby is the Zane Grey Pueblo Hotel:
In 1926, American West author Zane Grey built a home on the hillside overlooking the Avalon Bay. After his death in 1939, his pueblo was converted into a hotel. The South Building of the property houses rooms from the original estate. Until the next post, I’ll leave you at the Casino:
It looks better with the fog IMHO. Great pics from the top of that hike. My hike is just getting to Descanso and back.
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