On Saturday, May 5th, spent some more time soaking up the Houdini Terror on the Magic Isle Exhibit in the SAPAP Gallery; And then Jessica Zumberge (a curator at the Catalina Island Museum) graciously offered to help me on a quest to find and visit the locations of the Strand Theatre [1920], the New Hotel Central [1919] and the Catalina Hotel [1919].
Thanks to an ad in the Catalina Islander from September 7th, 1920 we knew that Terror Island was first shown continuously from 6 to 11pm at the Strand Theatre on Friday, Sept 10. This ad can be seen as part of the Houdini exhibit at the Catalina Island Museum. And thanks to the Catalina Islander article from November 25, 1919 we knew that:
Two hundred players for the Lasky Film Company have spent the week [camping] at [TBD] Beach to reproduce a “South Sea Island” picture. [The Houdini exhibit reveals the name of the TBD Beach]
…
The star players of the reproduction have been guests at the Hotel St. Catherine, the New Hotel Central and the New Hotel Catalina during their stay on the Island.
On my first visit to discover Terror Island in February, we found the beach where the two hundred players stayed and the Hotel St. Catherine, where Houdini stayed. The Houdini exhibit has a nice image of the hotel, its swimming pool and two letters written by Houdini himself on Hotel St. Catherine stationary.
Jessica was able to use her resources at the museum to find and print the addresses of the locations during Houdini’s time:
- Strand Theatre, 122-24 Sumner
- Hotel Central, 106 Metropole
- Catalina Hotel, 129 Whittley
and off we went in Jessica’s golf-cart to see what the locations look like today.
Our first stop was 129 Whittley:
where the Catalina Hotel still stands.
Next, we went to where 106 Metropole would have been,
but there was only a driveway and no building there anymore, so the Hotel Central no longer stands.
Next, we went to 122-24 Sumner:
where we found that the building where the Strand Theatre was located still stands.
The theatre (1912-1925) was originally the Sumner theatre before it became the Strand in May of 1919 when it was upgraded with new projectors. The 600-seat theatre was located on the first floor. Apparently, doctors were on the second floor and an Emergency Hospital and maternity ward was on the third floor. Today, there is a liquor store and sports bar where the theatre once was and the upper floors are now an Health Center.
Last official stop was to find a spot where we could see the large Hotel Catalina sign that sits atop the Hotel.
As an added bonus, Jessica showed me the ruins of the Avalon Amphitheatre, and where the Incline Railway once operated.
Jessica was an amazing tour guide.
After Cinco De Mayo lunch at Coyote Joe’s, it was time to catch my boat.
Excellent!
I know where I’m staying next.
Are you going to camp out or stay in the hotel, lol.
Thank you Joe & Jessica for that Rick Steeves tour! I never knew Terror Island played AT the island in 1919.
You are most welcome. Finding out that TI played at the island was an amazing find. It played in 1920 (Friday, Sept 10). The theatre became the Strand in May 1919.
The exhibition displays a nice original ad for the showing from a 1920 The Catalina Islander (newspaper).
The exhibition also displays a nice photo of the Strand Theatre back in the day; I am holding a copy of the photo in the image above of me standing in front of the building.
Hi Joe,
Thanks for posting! That was a fine day, even though I was a little tired after the installation. It was fun hunting around town for history, making discoveries!
My pleasure and thanks again for a fun adventure.