When Avalon Theatre opened on Wednesday, May 29, 1929, as part of chewing-gum tycoon William Wrigley Jr.’s Catalina Casino, the festivities — which included marching bands and a screening of Douglas Fairbanks’ The Iron Mask — attracted thousands of curiosity seekers as well as various Hollywood stars who trekked out for the spectacle to the small town of Avalon, perched on the southeastern end of Santa Catalina Island. But the most lavish and beautifully detailed movie palace in Southern California — and quite possibly the entire world — went out with a virtual whimper during its final week of regular screenings, ending a 90-year tradition of showing first-run films.
Source: The Last Picture Show: Southern California’s Most Beautiful Movie Theater Closes – LA Weekly