Rialto Cinemas Cerrito

The theater sat 644 when in operation. Blumenfeld was the original operator.

Friends of the Cerrito theater recently had a public open house which had an excellent turnout. The murals looked in good shape & the lobby had a mirrored mural behind where the concession counter stood. The auditorium had evidence of past ceiling leaks, but overall the theater has a lot of potential.

Good news!! According to a small article in an East Bay edition of the San Francisco Chronicle (June 7, 2002), the city council of El Cerrito voted recently to go ahead & buy the theater! They are now in escrow with the building owner. This gives us much hope that it will reopen as a theater!

The Cerrito Theatre is located at 470 San Pablo Ave..

The web site for this theatre can be found at: http://www.cerritotheater.org/index.html

The National Trust has featured this theatre in their new section.
http://www.nationaltrust.org/Magazine/archives/arc_news/012904.htm

Doesn't look like it's in very good condition. The exterior has been completely stripped of a marquee and signage.

William David was the architect of the Cerrito according to their web site at http://www.cerritotheater.org

Considering the tremendous progress that's been made in the effort to revitalize the Cerrito, perhaps a more accurate status at this point should be "Closed/Renovating/Restoring."

Those murals are pretty cool, along with that etched glass design. Hope you all have the best of times there.

This website has some photos of the Cerrito Theater. On that site it reads "Currently in process, the plans call for renovating the theater into a two-screen movie and pizza pub facility featuring a café". I hope that I have the right Cerrito Theater.

There is a hearing at the El Cerrito City Council tonight with an update about the project (Contractor bids and will the city continue to help with the restoration.)

The Cerrito is rising again.

To those involved in the renovation:

Well done!

Here is a recent photo of the Cerrito Theater.

My heart goes out to all those involved in the incredible restoration of the Cerrito Theater!!! If only the same was happening at the moment to the Trylon Theater in Forest Hills, NY, which was intact, but is now undergoing profound alterations because of greed! The Cerrito restoration photos and plans do shed light on other theaters that can make a complete turn-around. Good luck!!!

- Michael, Forest Hills, N.Y.

Fans of Cerrito: I'm doing a school project focusing on the Cerrito Theater and am looking for people who might have the time to answer a couple brief email questions about the theater. I'm just trying to get as many perspectives on the theater as possible. If you're interested, please email me at cerrito@sethleonard.com Thank you!

Cerrito's status should probably be changed to "Closed/Renovating," as work is well underway to prepare it for its grand reopening!

Any word on the progress on the grand reopening? I'll be visiting San Francisco in November and would love to come out for a show at the new theatre or check it out at least and do some photos..

Go to the "Friends" web site and take a look at the photographs of the replica vetical sign and attraction boards being installed. Outstanding!!!

This is a recent photo of the Cerrito Theater.

Sweet picture. The whole project blows my mind. This place sat for, what, forty years?

According to

http://www.cerritospeakeasy.com/index.php

This theatre will re-open on November the 1st.

The 1st and 2nd they will be showing "Casablanca" and also "Pulp Fiction".

Apparently there is an upstairs and downstairs theatre.

Awesome news about this theatre being saved and restored and opening again! Kudos to all!

Hence (and perhaps rather obviously), Cerito's status will very soon need to be changed to "Open," the number of screens changed to "Twin," and the chain to "Speakeasy Theaters." Presumably the seating capacity will also need changing, but the new capacity is uncertain (the site's FAQ isn't up as yet). But WHAT A VICTORY (especially in light of the loss of several beloved Bay Area theaters in recent months)!

Anyone have any interior shots of the finished theatre to share?

Here is an interior photo of the Cerrito Theater.

A 2007 night view of the Cerrito Theater can be seen here.

Another 2007 photo of the Cerrito Theater can be seen here.

A more recent view of the Cerrito at night can be seen here.

See
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_G-jzEFK4k

"Gee Dad, it was a WurliTzer!"

The Cerrito restoration received a California Preservation Foundation 2007 Preservation Design Award:
http://www.californiapreservation.org

This is a 2008 photo of the Cerrito Theater.

The Cerrito opened in December 1937, according to Boxoffice magazine, at a cost of $150,000. The owner at the opening was the Blumenfield Theaters chain.

Unfortunately, according to this mornings Contra Costa Times, the Cerrito Theater is now "closed indefinitely" as the Fischers have ran out of money. The Redevelopment Agency of El Cerrito pulled their lease recently as the Fischers have not paid their $10,000 a month rent on the theater for the last 18 months. (Their other theater, the Parkway in Oakland, shuttered in April due to financial issues & declining attendance.) They have blamed the shutdown on the economy, lack of access to first-run movies, increased construction costs, etc.

This is sad but me thinks that the best solution may be to try opoperating a theater

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that shows Chinese/Hong Kong fare (there is a good Asian population there, and they can cross-market to nearby UC Berkeley as the theater is easily accessible by public transit).

Here is a 2009 photo.

I don't want to be a killjoy. But I'm not sure how much money is left in exhibition of foreign films. I'm sure DVDs, internet access, etc. have taken a bite out of that business as compared to what it was twenty years ago. There is definitely a solution, I'm just not sure what it is. Whatever the case I think the recent renovation means that the theatre is safe for a while.

Reopens on July 15th under the operation of Rennaisance Rialto (who operates the Elmwood in Berkeley). First attraction will be the new Harry Potter film. It sounds as if RR will be running first-run product here, unlike the Fischers.