It’s a new era for Catalina Island Museum

Twenty-six miles across the sea, Santa Catalina is waiting for visitors -- with a revamped attraction in its iconic casino building. The Catalina Island Museum, on the ground floor of Avalon’s Casino, reopened earlier this month with new galleries and an enlarged gift shop.

Among the museum’s attractions is a show called “The Boys in Blue,” a temporary exhibit dedicated to the Chicago Cubs, who trained on the Southern California resort island from 1921 to 1951. The exhibit runs through April 30. One of the first visitors to the show was retired Chicago Cubs star Ernie Banks, a Hall of Fame shortstop and first baseman who recently vacationed on the island.

In addition to the Cubs exhibit, the museum offers newsreel-style snippets of history recalling the island’s golden years, when Hollywood celebrities and Big Band-era musicians were regular visitors. New exhibit openings are planned every few weeks, Executive Director Michael DeMarsche said.

Info: Catalina Island Museum, (310) 510-2414. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission: adults $5, seniors $4, children (6 to 15 years) $2, children under 6 are free. Phone: (310) 510-2414