United Artists Berkeley 7

Like so many of its UA brethren in the Southern California region, but unlike any others in the Bay Area, this house features the "Unity" and "Artistry" facade panels, but in this case reversed, so as to read, "Artistry" and "Unity."

When the theatre opened in 1932, it had an organ, a fine Wurlitzer originally installed in the T&D Theatre in Oakland. The organ still exists in private hands, having been removed around the time the house was 'plexed.

It should also be stated that even though the auditorium is 6-plexed, and a seventh screen is made out of a lounge area, the lofty lobby alone, with its murals, mezzanine railings, and chandeliers, is a must-see. Some lobby furniture, paintings, and a few wall sconces now have a home at the Oakland Paramount.

The architects for this theater were Walker & Eisen, along with C.A. Balch.

Having gone to this theater a few times, I must assent to Gary Parks' rave about the lobby. I saw "Field of Dreams" here in 1989 and "Thelma And Louise" in 1990. I like the bold Deco fluted design above the retrofitted marquee, seen in the picture above, which hints at its original elegance.

The wonderful marguee and vertical sign are long gone. I saw "Home Alone 2" here opening night back in 1992, and was highly disapointed with the condition of the auditorium I was in. I just hope they have fixed it up since then. It would be wonderful, seeing that there is a multiplex down the street, to see this theatre restored as well as others in the area.

I loved this theatre when it was a single screen. I attended a movie once since the muti-plex conversion and have not returned. This is an example of how not to plex an historic theare.But then United Artists chain has one of the worst reputations of maintaining theatres. Regal has since purchased United Artists.It would be nice if the main floor of this theare was restored. brucec

:(
Don't go there if you value your life.
The management of this theater is dangerously irresponsible for the sake of a few dollars. Youth and migrant workers had taken to propping the fire exit doors to avoid payment, so the exits are now chained shut. Don't believe it? Go see for yourself outdoors on the building's southside from Bancroft Way.

Would Gary Parks email me about Berkeley CA theaters? mlind@lmi.net

UA Berkeley's style was originally Art Deco; there are still a few elements remaining, despite the million alterations and plexings.

Partial picture of the vertical sign from sometime in the 1950's http://206.103.49.193/keysyst/htm/key060.htm

And another one http://donross.railspot.com/ks182a.jpg 1940's?

The lobby of this theatre is still quite impressive, despite the wear of years of use. On a recent visit I noted what appeared to be some pipe coming out of patch of tile on the second level, and was told it used to be a water fountain. Would be nice if there was a real restoration project initiated on this place. I think it has promise for one. The auditoriums themselves are typical plexing...plain, boxy, rather small, and dull. I noted some decor on the walls of some of the auditoriums, but I wasn't sure if it was original. Does anyone who visited this place when still a single screen remember which direction the original screen faced? I'm assuming it was on the left side of the building. Is the fly tower still in existence?

The original UA screen was to the left side of the building (as you go inside; in other words, the screen's back was to Bancroft Way. I believe the fly tower is intact (as least visually from the outside).

Maintenance seems better since Regal took over. The lobby murals appear to have been sensitively touched up, and there are no longer video game terminals right up against them! Handsome light fixtures, stainless-steel balustrades, and chevron-veneer doors are also nice remnants; carpeting and new painting also seem to have some awareness of the Deco context.

Service is really bad. We just went into "Hitch", and the sound system was broken (right side was off, left side went off a couple of times) and the image not sharp. We didn't get a refund.
This is not acceptable for $9.
Not hard to explain why few people were watching the movie.
If someone would manage it better and restore it, it could be a treasure I believe.

I visited a theatre in Berkeley in 1978 called the "U.C. Theatre." What was that?

well you were there? why are are you asking us?

I am asking if the theatre is posted on Cinema Treasures under another name, since I cannot find one by that name.

Gerald; The UC Theatre is listed here: http://cinematreasures.org/theater/713/

Hi Folks:

The managment of the Berkeley 7 tells me they are working to upgrade and clean up the theatre. The two main downstairs auds have a brighter image as the mirrors in each Christie consoles were replaced. They are also working to replace the missing glass from the various light fixtures. Glad to see them maintain the theatre.

Presentation has been very nice during my many visits. The auds are clean.

Mike

Here is a recent photo of the United Artists Berkeley 7.

Yes for a old UA cut up they did a good job. Two big theatres downstairs, two big ones uptairs in the old balcony. The lobby is still looking very deco. The other small theatres are not worth seeing movies in. One is in the backstage area the others are closets. The last time I went a few months ago the right stereo speaker in the upstairs left big theatre was not on. I got my money back, they didn't believe me but after checking it out they said I was correct. Go see a film and check out the lobby. The stereo I think is DTS and the surrounds are up at a good level. Not like the Landmark down the street. You can stand under a surround speaker and hear about 10% audio at the California and Albany Theatres.

Berkeley Planet article:
Berkeley’s United Artists Theater Turns 75
By Steven Finacom, Special to the Planet (09-14-07)


“Motion picture stars bowing to admiring throngs and stopping before microphones to extend greetings. Dazzling klieg lights, brighter than a torrid desert sun. Powerful searchlights piercing the darkness above with sudden flashes. Music and flowers.”

It would be, the Berkeley Daily Gazette said, “Hollywood transplanted here” and “the greatest theatrical event in the history of Berkeley.”

That was 75 years ago, Sept. 16, 1932, as Berkeley’s new United Artists theater opened on Shattuck Avenue, just south of the Berkeley Public Library.

The opening was big news in Depression-era Berkeley, which preened in the assurance that a national corporation was willing to invest in the community, despite economic hardship.

Then, as now, there were several movie theaters downtown, but the new building with its fluid sculptural facade, enormous marquee with hundreds of lights, and towering sign that proclaimed “United Artists” in neon up and down Shattuck Avenue, changed the commercial and physical landscape.

Berkeleyans flocked to the spectacle.

“Every one of the 1,800 luxurious seats in the theater was filled within five minutes after the doors opened,” reported the Berkeley Daily Gazette the next day. “Twice as many filled the foyers, waiting for an opportunity to obtain seats for the second show.”

“A solid mass of stargazers” outside ogled the celebrities who arrived in “a fleet of new sedans,” after dining at the Berkeley Country Club. Actors and actresses “mingled with their local admirers, laughing and

chatting and writing autographs on anything that would take ink or lead pencil.”

They included “beautiful blond Josephine Dunn” and “the vivacious Spanish dancer, Senorita Conchita Montenegro,” both splendid in evening gowns and “costly outer wraps.” Male stars included “broad-shouldered, swaggering George Bancroft,” “youthful Marty Kemp, suave Lou Cody” and “crooning, good looking, Bing Crosby,” who rushed over from a performance in Oakland to attend the opening.

“Outside as late as 10 o’clock several thousand persons stood in the street.” Police and firemen managed the crowds, not only on Shattuck but around the corner of Bancroft where a “great throng” waited to see movie stars emerge from the stage door.

Inside the theater, Bancroft recited a monologue and comic actor “Stuttering Roscoe” Ates paired with Kemp on “an impromptu dialogue which even had Master of Ceremonies Cody laughing.”

Berkeley Mayor Thomas Caldecott came forward to “extend the City’s greetings to the United Artists and the Fox West Coast Theaters corporations for giving Berkeley such a magnificent theater.”

Caldecott had earlier posed with two “pretty usherettes” to sign the “biggest proclamation in the world” which had noted “life in Berkeley and its surrounding communities takes on a new and bright aspect” with the opening of the theater.

“Practically every city official and civic leader of Berkeley and the East Bay district was in the audience, including the entire City Council.”

United Artists was founded by powerhouse stars Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith to make films and, as was typical of the time, show them in its own corporate theaters.

Berkeley’s UA Theater “was an early link in the United Artists chain,” and “fairly deluxe,” says Gary Parks, southwest director of the Theater Historical Society of America. Southern California had several similarly designed UA theaters.

Berkeley, though, has the only one where the allegorical figure of “Artistry” is on the left on the facade, “Unity” on the right. “Let’s hear it for Berkeley non-conformity,” Parks says.

“The Berkeley UA was the work of Clifford Balch, with Walker & Eisen,” he notes, while the interior painted decoration were done by the Heinsbergen Decorating Company of Los Angeles.

The Berkeley theater is perhaps the only one of its type still directly connected to United Artists, which merged with Regal Cinemas and Edwards Theaters to form Regal Entertainment Group, which runs 6,368 screens in 529 locations around the country and calls itself “the largest motion picture exhibitor in the world.”

When the $300,000 UA Berkeley opened, it had a single screen and the filmgoer was offered a spectacle extending from curb to commode.

“The brilliantly illumined marquee and the lobby give no idea of the beauty and space within,” the Gazette reported at the opening.

The theater originally had a tile-floored atrium open to the street, with a four-sided dome; it’s now enclosed and carpeted.

“Once through the outside doors patrons will be delighted with the artistic outer foyer with its high, richly toned ceilings, the great French plate glass mirrors on either side, the delicate warmth of color and the great black and gold illustrated panels, depicting above, on and below the earth,” the Gazette wrote.

There was no concession counter. “Theatres in the 1930s in some cases did experiment with things like candy machines, but it wasn’t until the 1940s that concessions became common,” says Parks.

From the lobby, “straight ahead the artistic mezzanine looms up with its polished aluminum railings like glistening silver” the Gazette wrote. “Then further ahead is the inner foyer with its wonderful murals depicting the drama. To the right is the main lounging room, replete with comfortable and handsome furniture, a gigantic solid mahogany table on which is mounted a beautiful silver statuette. Here there are roomy Chesterfields in Spanish and modernistic design sufficient to seat comfortably nearly 100 persons.”

Within the theater one found, the Gazette said, “the massive stage, the artistic contours and decorations of the proscenium arch, the golden console and generously large orchestra pit which extends outward so far that it makes the front row of seats desirable ones at a distance sufficient from the silver screen.”

The stage, 25 feet deep, had a dozen adjacent dressing rooms, and was equipped “to present all kinds of stage attractions at any time there is demand to offer vaudeville here.”

Patrons could also luxuriate in non-theatrical amenities.

The “ladies’ parlors” included “overstuffed furniture, lounges and individual chairs, beautiful French plate glass mirrors” and “inviting” lighting. The main women’s lounge has “smoking stands” and a “cosmetic room” with dressing tables.

The men got their own smoking room with walls “stenciled with various sports—football, baseball, track, polo, hunting and fishing, tennis and basketball.”

Many of these features are now gone or covered up. In the 1970s the main auditorium and balcony were partitioned to provide four separate screens, although liniments of the original spaces can still be seen.

Further renovations in the early 1980s caused worries that the lobby would be compromised, and heartfelt appeals were made to the management. As a result, the original glass and wood entrance doors, set back from the street, were preserved, a matching new mural was added, and the lobby stayed intact.

“The high standards of the original design are something that future generations would appreciate as theaters of this type are becoming increasingly rare,” wrote architectural historian Michael Crowe to the president of United Artists in 1982.

“The glittering, labyrinthine Aladdin’s Cave of a lobby, belying the building’s small street facade, still conveys the feelings of surprise and splendor that were part of the great days of movie-going. This must not be lost now,” wrote the Berkeley Historical Society.

The theater now has now seven screens serving about 1,400 seats, according to Regal Entertainment representatives.

Outside, the original marquee is gone along with the neon tower. In the 1960s and ’70s, Parks says, civic and architectural distaste for neon brought about the demise of numerous theater signs, including Berkeley’s.

The facade retains its original flowing Art Deco character but has been painted. It’s one of the more prominent and important architectural compositions from its era in Berkeley, complementary to the Deco-style Berkeley Public Library, just up the block.

Some original furnishings are at the Oakland Paramount, while others are scattered among private collectors. The theater organ is now privately owned and may end up, Parks says, in a theater in Astoria, Ore.

On opening night in 1932 the organ was central to the entertainment, with four virtuosos offering solos as a prelude to “a typical theater opening program” on film.

A Will Rogers comedy, Down to Earth, was the feature film. “There was one of those almost tragically funny ‘Screen Souvenirs,’ a Magic Carpet Travel, a Mickey Mouse cartoon and the Metrotone news.”

Tickets cost 30 cents for general admission and 40 cents for loge seats at matinees, 45 cents and 69 cents on evenings, Sundays and holidays, and “children 10 cents any time.”

“Those who waited in the foyers were loud in their praise of the wonderful lounging rooms, the artistic decorations. Hundreds stopped to congratulate Manager Clarence L. Laws on the beauty of the theater and the wonderful service rendered by the house staff.”

Back then, elaborately uniformed staffers ushered patrons to their seats and even posed for publicity photos. Today’s staffers are practically invisible in comparison and there’s no such thing as an usher, only an employee who slips in silently after each showing to clean up.

In 1932 Councilmember Reese Clark said the theater “is one of the beauty spots of the downtown district.

“Berkeley at one time was known as a ‘show town’ and, if the theaters continue to express their confidence in Berkeley with such luxurious structures, it again will assume that role.”

Berkeley Police Chief Greening added “bright lights are a deterrent to crime—criminals fear them more than any other one thing. That is exactly what the new … theater has brought to the downtown business area—bright lights and plenty of them.”

“Berkeley citizens are entitled to the best that the show world has to

offer,” Greening concluded.

And that’s just what they enjoyed on that brilliant night, 75 years ago.



Photograph Courtesy Regal Entertainment

In late 1966 the theater still had its original marquee, below the neon sign tower that dominated the façade.

More lobby photos needed!

Facade in 2006 photo:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jakes_shoebox/155809287/

Close up of exterior Art Deco mural on facade:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tspauld/64948161/

facade showing both murals:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sethgaines/2545701/

Lobby & auditorium photos:
http://www.cinematour.com/tour/us/1869.html

I think this theater is in need of major restoration, but it is still beautiful compared to most megaplexes and bland national-chain theaters. They regularly show old movies here at reduced price, and the theater rooms are a nice size. It's not as beautiful as the Shattuck or the California, but it's an authentic classic theater.

I used to attend the UA in my youth. I only attended the theatre once after it was butchered. The UA is a prime example of how not to multiplex and historic theatre. I consider the UA one of the worst plexing of an existing theatre in the Bay Area. brucec

I'll never forget the United Artists theatre in Berkeley. The year was 1953, I was 7, and the movie was "War of the Worlds". That started my fascination with sci-fi films.

Here is a photo circa 1940s:
http://tinyurl.com/c58hfl

That is a great article. Thanks for posting.