The future of the Avalon Theatre, located in the iconic Casino building, is unclear. The Catalina Island Company has formally withdrawn a statement sent to the Islander newspaper concerning the status of movies at the iconic local movie house. Their spokesperson had no further comment as of our editorial deadline.
However, the Island Company says on its own Facebook page that the movie house will remain open for tours and special events.
The Island Company owns most of the private property and many of the business entities in the city of Avalon on Catalina Island.
Meanwhile, an online petition to “save” the Avalon Theatre has gathered more than 8,300 signatures. The petition says “Please Help! Keep Our Beautiful, Historic Avalon Theatre on Catalina Island Open!” and is addressed to both the Island Company and the city of Avalon.
The Islander has received letters concerning the movie house, which appear on page 3 of this issue.
In one of those letters, local historian Chuck Liddell said, “We complain when they are forced to make a financial business decision that everyone of us would understand in our personal dealings and yet we complain as if we are babies and a sucker has been taken out of our mouths.”
Liddell proposes having a non-profit entity take over the operation of the movie house. It is unclear if the Island Company is aware of his proposal.
The Island Company issued its original announcement by Facebook post at 6:34 p.m., Nov. 7, that the company had decided to discontinue showing movies at Avalon Theatre.
The original announcement was still on the Island Company’s Facebook page as of 4:06 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 13.
So was a subsequent,6:40 a.m., Saturday, Nov. 9 announcement that the movie house would remain open for tours and special events and explaining the reasons for discontinuing showing films on the first day of 2020.
Many members of the Avalon community, which has a population of about 4,000, are unhappy.
The initial online reaction on the Island Company Facebook page, the Catalina Discussion Facebook page and the Catalina Islander page was mostly negative.
åThere were 90 comments on the issue posted on the Islander newspaper’s Facebook page alone, most of them opposed to ending the showing of movies at the Avalon Theatre.
The following quotes are taken exclusively from the Islander’s Facebook page:
Christy Condon O’Reilly wrote, “So sad. That was our favorite weekly event when we lived in Avalon.”
Gaye Jones wrote, “Yet another unnecessary change to our beautiful island town.”
Laura Roughton wrote, “Did they think folks would be happy about it? I wonder if they could have a streaming account and then they could show a different movie every night or every couple of nights even if they weren’t first run.”
Valli Moore wrote, “Of course the online response is negative. It’s a beautiful theatre, some of us have been seeing movies there for over 50 years. The island company is taking away everything that made Avalon, Avalon. The Island Company does not see what they are doing.”
In a telephone interview, Mayor Anni Marshall said, “I don’t believe there’s anybody that’s happy that it’s closed.”
