Virtually every Big Band of that era played in the Catalina Casino Ballroom.
The greatest number of dancers ever in the Catalina Casino was 6,200 people dancing to the music of Kay Kyser, on May 8, 1940. Measuring 20,000 square feet, the Catalina Casino Ballroom is the largest circular room in the world without supporting pillars. They danced the night away to the music of Glenn Miller, Harry James, Kay Kyser, and many others over the years. Guests came by steamship to Charleston and later Jitterbug on the huge parquet floor. The Catalina Casino – which is actually not a gambling facility but “place of entertainment” – played host to dozens of Big Bands through the 1930s and 1940s. Commissioned and built by William Wrigley, Jr, the Catalina Casino opened on May 29, 1929, just in time for the summer season. During the day its white facade gleams in the sunshine, and at night it lights the harbor with a romantic glow. The round, Art Deco structure rises the equivalent of 12 stories, and is surrounded by the sea on three sides. The Catalina Island Casino is without a doubt Catalina Island’s most recognizable landmark.
