Green Pleasure Pier: Avalon’s Historic Waterfront Landmark

Catalina's Green Pleasure Pier has long served as a welcoming point for people arriving on Catalina Island. Today, it is where visitors find the Catalina Island Visitor Center and where many of Catalina’s on-the-water experiences begin.

The Story Behind Green Pleasure Pier

Avalon began evolving into a lively visitor destination and fishing haven in the late 19th century, after the Banning brothers purchased Catalina Island and formed the Santa Catalina Island Company in 1894. By 1906, Avalon’s harbor beach had become crowded with boat stands, launches, rowboats, fish-drying racks, and sea lions waiting for scraps.

To ease the pressure on the beach and create more open space, the Bannings built another pier alongside Avalon’s Steam Ship Pier. That earlier pier, built in 1887, welcomed thousands of passengers traveling on the S.S. Avalon and S.S. Catalina. The newer structure did not last long; a storm destroyed it in 1908.

In 1909, the Freeholders Improvement Association of Avalon asked the War Department for permission to create a pleasure wharf. The Santa Catalina Island Company handled construction and upkeep of the new pier. It was finished that same year, and in 1914 the City of Avalon bought it for just $5. In 1915, it received the formal name Pleasure Pier.

Another era began in 1919, when William Wrigley Jr. acquired Catalina Island and the Santa Catalina Island Company. During the 1930s, his son, P.K. Wrigley, brought in Dorothy and Otis Shepard to refine Avalon’s visual character. The Shepards selected the vivid green color that gave the pier its lasting name: Green Pleasure Pier.

Green Pleasure Pier Now

Green Pleasure Pier continues to be one of Avalon’s active gathering places. It is home to Avalon’s official weigh station for sport fishermen and Love Catalina Island’s Visitor Center, which is open seven days a week. The pier also supports many visitor experiences, including tour bookings, water activities, a dive center, fishing opportunities, and places to eat.

Extending 407 feet into Avalon Bay, Green Pleasure Pier reflects Catalina Island’s layered history and ongoing appeal. For travelers interested in history, adventure, or a relaxed waterfront view, Green Pleasure Pier brings together many of the things visitors come to Avalon to enjoy.