Small but bright, informative, interesting museum on the Island. Lots of local history exhibits. They had a looping movie about local history done in a mix of newsreel and TV news styles fitting the era & topic presented. Cool. Surprised to learn about the Island's connection to Marilyn Monroe, Wrigley chewing gum, and the Chicago Cubs. The museum also was hosting several artists' exhibitions. Narsiso Martinez's artwork depicting California agricultural labourers was particularly impressive. Some of the works don't get shown to the public often. One of the museum's docents gave interesting background on the artist and the backstory for some of the art pieces. If on Santa Catalina Island, this museum is worth a visit. read more

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Small museum on Avalon with a very informative history of Catalina Island. Admission prices can be a bit much for what the museum is worth, but a good visit for your first time. Every time I take my kids to Catalina Island, we always visit here. Very calming atmosphere away from the busy streets of visitors. Not only that, but we take in good education about the island. There's some awesome artworks displayed throughout the museum. My favorite part of it all is the patio area. We love to sit there while relaxing next to beautiful plants. So quiet to reflect on the peaceful environment. There is also a gift shop where they sell all kinds of goods like jewelry, books, drinks, soaps, lotions, backpacks, and much more to take home as a memory. Good spot to check out on your next visit to Catalina Island. read more

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June 26 & July 5, 2025 | Catalina Island Avalon | The Catalina Island Museum is a great way to know more about the beautiful island, including its history! Experience | It was amazing learning more about Catalina Island: history, the famous people on the island, including Marilyn Monroe, as well as well-known Writers/Authors, incredible art pieces, sculptures, pottery, photography & even the blueprint of the spectacular Casino... and so much more! Lights, Camera, Action | There is also a sit down Theater inside the museum where you can watch a 15 minute movie about the history of Catalina Island! Tickets | $12 | Admission throughout the two-level museum, both indoor and outdoor! Stairs and elevator accessible! Gift Shop | Fun books, postcards, beautiful tiles, souvenirs, jewelry, figurines, Bath & body products ... The gift shop has it all! Overall | I enjoyed every moment at the museum, as Catalina Island Avalon is one of my favorite places! Exploring the museum is a great way to know more about the island and it's history! read more

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Beautiful museum in Avalon surveying its history, from Native American settlements to the Civil War (!), the great fire, the Wrigleys, WWII, the Beach Boys, and beyond! Has a nice gift shop with quality souvenirs, a theater with an enjoyable movie that gives you a great overview of the island's history, well laid-out exhibits, and galleries with local art and pottery. There is a large rooftop patio with a nice view, and one of my favorite plaques (by the elevator), which lists some of the local slang! (Eg, non-islanders live "overtown" on the mainland) A visit here will enrich your visit tenfold, giving you context to the paradise around you. read more

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This place was amazing! I learned so much about Catalina's history. The intro videos to the museum were so fun, creative, and informative. $12/person and totally worth it! read more

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A great museum but honestly overpriced for how small the exhibits are. I would say $8 for adults instead of $12. Great video about the Wrigley and the Chicago Cubs history. We appreciated the exhibits but a bit overpriced. read more

Catalina Museum - Wrigley contributions to the island - Museums Near Me - Avalon, California

This time I went in. It was good. The last time I was here it was an exhibit of some famous unibrow person which didn't interest me much. This time I went through and was blown away by how much actual locally historical items were in here. My elderly mother was with me and talked to me at length about the PBX system when we got to that. It reminded her of her childhood operating a similar device at a hotel her parents owned 80+ years ago. read more

Catalina Museum - No tour is complete without mentioning the Grumman Goose - Museums Near Me - Avalon, California

It was amazing seeing the history behind that island and how it came together and how much of the history was changed by the time. We had a great time visiting read more

This place is soo cute! Just a tiny little museum with Catalina history. There's definitely not much to it so it's definitely a one time thing ,but why not do it! It was fun to do exploring around Catalina. It's quaint, organized, and veryyyy clean (especially the bathrooms; they even smelled really good). Check this place out! read more

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Museum thats been documenting Catalina History for 60 years, it recently relocated to a new building on Metropole. We brought our kids so it was a fast stop for us and though the building was new and fresh the exhibits were small and most of the local history is captured via large printed walls with bits of props and historical artifacts and not the other way around. The most interesting parts were Marilyn Monroe's ties to the island, where here potential home was, and how she was discovered working at a local taffy shop. There was also an old Chinese ship called the Ning Po that was purposefully exploited and exaggerated with props for execution and torture during the Yellow Peril/Fu Manchu era of US History. The special exhibit I came here to see was the Contemporary Mexican Photography exhibit that is housed in a small room on the 2nd floor. The photos were well done and perfectly capture the heart of Mexico but the print sizes were hilariously undersized. There was also a Norman Rockwell exhibit that was made mainly of old Saturday Evening Post magazines but still impressive. I kept thinking "this guy can really paint" when looking through the exhibit. They used to have an exhibit on Ralph Glidden who claimed he found giant human skeletons on Catalina and also stole and resold Native American burial artifacts during another unfortunate period in history. read more

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I'm obsessed with all things historical and try to visit museums every place I visit. This one did not disappoint! $18 for entry and it was a nice reprieve from the humidity of the island. Looks brand new and filled with so many interesting sights & facts. We didn't have a chance to go thru it all so we returned the same day. Took us 2+ hours to see it all. read more

Catalina Museum - Marilyn Monroe on Catalina Island. - Museums Near Me - Avalon, California

A very small but well put together museum documenting the history of Catalina Island. Everyone should find a section or a display that they find interesting since the history of this island is fascinating and extensive. It's a bit pricey so if you are on a budget you might end up skipping. Clean restrooms, ice cold AC and a good gift shop round out the reasons you should check it out! read more

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One of my favorite parts of my trip to Catalina. I arrived with my husband around 330 and had the perfect amount of time to roam the museum and take our time before it closed at 5. The little movie you watch in the beginning is kind of long and as campy as it gets but it's low commitment. The Norman Rockwell exhibit was great - learned a lot about his covers and got to see so much of his art I did not expect to see. Also loved getting to read all about the history of Catalina Island and see artifacts from the early eras of the island. I came here the day before I did the casino tour, and I'm glad I did as it gave me a lot more context for the next day. Would totally come back next time I visit when they have a new exhibit read more

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Lots of history to learn. I was a little disappointed in the exhibit of 70 items of curiosity. It was not as interesting as expected. Lots of great photographs. Gift shop had some interesting gifts read more

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It's really small which was to be expected, but the staff were unwelcoming and all they did was chit chat and gossip amongst themselves. The admission fee is $18 per adult. You can learn a little bit of the history here but I feel you can learn more through the actual tours. Art pieces were small but pretty, consisted mainly of landmarks and scenery. Personally I love museums but I think this a little too pricy for what it offered. read more

Catalina Museum - Theatre - Museums Near Me - Avalon, California

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It's a great place to explore the history about Catalina Avalon. It's very near to beach. Opens at 10 am and cost $17 for adults. Many exhibits rooms and few occasional special ones too. Lady at desk is very helpful and she provided ton of information. Takes 1-1.5 hours to completely explore museum properly. If you become member then visit is always free for lifetime it seems. Why 4-star - because of the price. History Museums should not be so costly entry fees so that many people visit and learn themselves. read more

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A great place to visit to get the ever changing and fascinating history of Catalina, the Wrigley legacy & art displays and galleries! The staff were super helpful and friendly. The gift shop had some cool jewelry earrings with sand in them and unique gifts for a fair price. read more

Nice little museum that gives you an overview of the history at Catalina Island, including the original settlements, developers, major disasters/fires, and the famous people who lived here or vacationed here. Normally this museum would be a pass for me when visiting the island as it's a bit pricey at $17/ticket but I went on our recent trip because they have the Dale Chihuly exhibit right now. The exhibit doesn't rival Seattle's but it's still pretty cool to see up close. There are colored glass seaform sculptures in one room, and another smaller room with glass baskets. The outdoor garden is marvelous with its array of shapes and colors. The intro video when you walk in is quite long but a must: it gives you both an introduction of the islands history and all about Chihuly. You can see the first Chihuly item, a huge chandelier of glass pieces descending over you in an upside down cone, as you walk into the museum lobby. The gift shop is far out and probably the best of all souvenir gift shops on the island. You can shop there without paying museum admission. It has Chihuly stuff including original paintings and sculptures but also lots of nostalgic catalina collectibles. Museum closes at 5pm but right now they have special evening hours for the Chihuly exhibit so you can see all the glass lit up at night. Call them for details. read more

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This is a nice, small museum. It starts with a continuous movie reel about the history of Catalina and then you see the artifacts of the history. The special exhibit was Norman Rockwell in the 40s, which was nice. There is a yellow Chihuly on the second floor. read more

My husband and I first visited the new building just after it opened in 2016 just hours after getting engaged up at the botanical gardens. We decided right away that this is where we wanted to get married. We had been to the original museum in the Casino building and had seen the permanent exhibits there on the history of the island but the updates in the new building make it so light and clear and entertaining to look at. Also the movie on the history of the island is fun to watch in the comfy theater. The gift shop is really wonderful with a selection of local artists, Catalina memorabilia, and items from the other current exhibits and we love using our membership discount to pick up some gifts for family and friends. We have seen many of the temporary exhibits and they never disappoint in their variety, the care of curation and presentation. The recent Titanic exhibit was so neat as was the Soot and Water and Chihuly was amazing. I hope he comes back to the museum some day. As far as our wedding went, the event team was wonderful and helped us with every detail and logistic. It was a perfect day and we were so honored to be only the second wedding ever at the museum. We have been yearly members since 2017 and will continue to renew and support, even if we only get to visit once a year. Basically the museum never disappoints and I hope that someday we are hosting our 20th wedding anniversary renewal here! read more

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I love the museum here. I spent serval hours carefully reading each display and gained so much knowledge about the history of the island. They show a brief movie in the beginning with some great images of our past. Lots of local lore can be gained here. I hope they start holding music events in the outdoor stadium seating area. Looks like an amazing music venue! read more

Brand new museum at a new location, the layouts are great, very open, so easy walk and look. Start from the theatre, a very detailed and interesting history of Catalina island. There are a few halls, loved the Marylyn Monroe photos and Bettie Page exhibition, and a small oil painting exhibit upstairs. There wasn't too much too see but enough to spend an hour or so. It's very quiet and relaxing place, two courtyards are great to stay a bit longer to enjoy the nice weather. I highly recommend to pay a visit here, it's fun and educational too! read more

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We had previously been to the old museum in September 2015, that one was located underneath the Catalina Casino. The old museum was quite small and I remember it lacking air conditioning on the extremely hot day that we visited. Luckily, the new museum was opening in June 2016 (a few weeks before we were moving out of California). Catalina Island was one of our favorite parts of LA county, so we went wanted to come over one last time to check out the updated museum in it's new location. The new museum building is absolutely gorgeous! It has all of the modern amenities, but the architecture fits in well with the rest of the buildings around it. If you haven't been to the island, it is breathtaking and you will most likely fall in love with it! Catalina has a very rich and unique history, so I would say it's a must to visit the museum and learn all about this unique destination. If you are a Cubs fan, you will be interested to learn about the history that the island holds with the Wrigley family. The museum won't take you too long to get through, it's safe to budget 90-120 minutes to spend there. The museum just has tons of awesome memorabilia, I highly recommend it. The gift shop has a lot of great trinkets and souvenirs. I especially liked the decorative surfboards that they sell for $29, I picked one up on three of my separate trips to the island. They are colorful and fun to decorate the house with. The museum is about a half mile walk from where the ferry drops you off. There are tons of shops and restaurants within walking distance of the museum. If you have time, I recommend taking the short guided tour of the Catalina Casino. read more

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This is one of the must see places of Avalon. I did not expect a little town like Avalon to have such a nice museum. The Chihuly exhibit was certainly a pleasant surprise. There were many impressive pieces of from Chihuly, best I have seen outside of the Chihuly Museum in Seattle. Certainly a place to pay a visit before the Chihuly exhibit moves on. Also plenty of local history, such as Ronald Reagan, Marilyn Monroe and many others. read more

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The display walking you through the history of the island was wonderful, very well laid out for the space. I'm sure there is a lot more to Catalina but they carefully curated it to make it more easy to take in. I left there with a sense of nostalgia for the past and a new respect for the Wrigley family. Note: I'm very glad that the admissions attendant encouraged us to interact with the interactive sculpture on the 2nd floor, it is a must do. read more

Catalina Museum - The interactive statue on the roof - Museums Near Me - Avalon, California

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4 stars for the extensive collection of history about the island and its cultural roots 3 stars for the pricing/"wow factor" for the lay tourist Price: $15 for students with ID, $17 for adults, $15 for seniors over 60y Ambience: We walked in a rainy Wednesday to a kind receptionist who explained the history of the museum. We watched an informational video (20 min loop) about the history of the island with fun facts about the inception of the island, sports/casino/theater, celebrity history, the new exhibits on the rooftops, etc. Exhibit: Personally, since I am not from California, I wasn't too interested in the history portion, I did enjoy reading about superstars Marilyn Monroe & Natalie Wood. I enjoyed the creativity and concept of the upstairs bird interactive exhibits. Tips/Takeaways: -Standard price museum that you can spend about an hr in $15-17, worth checking out while on Catalina Island just to get more background on the island as a whole. I would clarify that this is not the type of flashy contemporary art museum that many would immediately jump on and say wow, it's more of a cultural 'ah-hah' type vibe. -$15 students, seniors; $17 adults read more

What a jewel of a museum to really educate yourself about the colorful history of Catalina. I was really pleased they added a permanent exhibit of stunning, original Catalina Pottery! I would recommend a visit for anyone interested in learning the history of Catalina. From excellent plein art paintings by resident artists, historical photographs of Hollywood movie stars enjoying Avalon, western novelist Zane Grey, many Chicago Cubs objects for sports fans to enjoy. Most of all, the huge contribution William & Ada Wrigley made to develop Catalina Island to what it is today, really fascinating. read more

Lame, tiny exhibit that took 15 minutes to see (not the 45-60 minutes the receptionist inflated it to be) and definitely not worth the $17. The Getty or LACMA are real museums and cost the same or less! Only about 1/5 of the 18,000 feet she claimed was the exhibit was actually an exhibit, and you can get better information and images by Googling the island. The rest of the space was empty rental event space and amphitheater bleachers covered in tarps. The movie theater with the info video wasn't even open. Of the existing exhibits, it was mostly celebrity rumor, film and gossip, and very little of the actual claimed "10,000 year history of the island." There was almost nothing of the original indigenous inhabitants of the island, save a few stone artifacts with little description, and no images or history of the incredible seafaring tribe. Disappointing and misleading. Don't waste your time. read more

We walked from the ferry to the museum and just to get in was $20 a person. I was nothing grand.

What a lovely hidden gem. We wondered in and decided to have a look around. Learned a lot about the island's history. The Titanic artifacts were interesting to read through. Loved that it was a self guided tour and we could go as fast or slow as we wanted. It was both entertaining and educational! read more

THE INSIDE STORY OF CATALINA This museum, tucked away on a side street a couple of blocks from the waterfront, is a hidden gem. It presents a well-curated series of exhibits on the history and culture of Santa Catalina, from the original Native Americans through the early developers, the war years, movie filming, and contemporary arts. Most visitors don't get past the bars and restaurants near the waterfront. Too bad. They really should check out this place. read more

This is wayyyyyy overdue! The Catalina Island Museum is a beautiful, well kept museum. I visited when they had their Chihuly exhibit and could not believe how well they used the space they had. I hope to visit again after the pandemic is over. read more

The History Gallery features a Titanic exhibit with interactive displays, priceless letters, artifacts, and interesting information about the innerworkings and tragedy of the Titanic in April of 1912. Also featured at the Catalina Island Museum is the Gail Garner Roski exhibit which is the first public display of her 33 watercolor paintings that illuminate her adventure under the ocean aboard the MIR I submersible to view and study the remains of Titanic in 2000. read more

First let me state I am from DC so my standards are higher than average when I see an exhibit. For $17 admission I was expecting more. I honestly felt $17 is an excessive amount to charge for such a small exhibit. If you are here for a day trip I say skip it. However, they have an excellent gift shop...that has really cool handmade clay magnets...so save the $17 bucks and just come for the gift shop. So what does the $17 get you? You get to see a movie that was ok. They could of made it a bit less "hyper" and more informative. Then you see how great Wrigley Jr. Is the stars that used to hang out here and then the special exhibit is the paintings some pottery and upstairs is a joke. You see the bird room exhibit and a few structures and then lots of sponsored by xxx. Literally it felt like a campaign add to get your name on a wall. They did not pay tribute to the original inhabitants of the island. The staff was very friendly and nice however I left feeling unsatisfied. read more

Overpriced for the lack of content. This is a beautifully appointed quaint, 2 story museum. The island 20 minute video is in a newsflash format and highlights the islands' history. No drinks are allowed. The beautiful 2nd story open air space is lovely. Great place for an event al fresco. It would be better if they offered food to sit and enjoy the surroundings after a long tour or to get a break from the walking and sunshine. Until next time. read more

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Beautiful Museum showing the history of the island, along with other exhibits. Be sure to become a member and support the community

I'm really not a museum person but my friend likes to visit them. I will admit I have been to some museums because of her and this one for ME was not worth $17. There is not much to see, we walked through the exhibits pretty quick. Not to take anything away from the Museum because I did enjoy the short history film about the island and the blown glass was pretty impressive...but that was it. Don't let me discourage you from visiting, see for yourself. I posted some pictures of the blown glass below, enjoy. read more

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I went here when my cruise ship stopped at Catalina for the day, and I went expressly for the Chihuly exhibit, one which I have been hoping to see for years. To start with, the building is beautiful. I understand it just moved to this new location so I was a little disappointed to miss the Casino Building location, but I could see where this would be much nicer. The visit starts with a short film cataloging the history of Catalina. It's very interesting, so don't miss it. Then it goes on to display interesting things about Catalina like the history, movie stars, etc. To tell the truth, that's all there was for Catalina as the rest was the Chihuly exhibit - which was incredible! There are a lot of wide open spaces and outside venues which are beautiful. I'm not sure what fills up all those spaces when a special exhibit isn't there. read more

My husband and I have been visiting the island for 35 years. Every time we visit we like to cruise the museum when it was based at the Casino. It's been 2 years since our last visit and we were so looking forward to seeing the new location. But $17 a person? We turned away. That's just too much. read more

This museum opened June 2016. Great new facility. Clean. If you want to know the history of the island, this is the place to be. Cost is $17/adults, $15 for seniors, but anyone under 15 is free! Not bad. Currently there's the family glass blown exhibit from chihuly! read more

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