Fine Arts Cinema

2451 Shattuck Avenue,
Berkeley, CA 94704

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erilaz
erilaz on December 31, 2022 at 7:51 pm

I saw some interesting programming at the Fine Arts back in the 1990s, including the silent “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” from 1910, accompanied by a live klezmer band, and a Ray Dennis Steckler film festival, where I bought some of his VHS tapes and got him to sign the boxes, along with my copy of “RE/Search #10: Incredibly Strange Films”.

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES on August 22, 2021 at 9:11 pm

There are a few fires that occurred at the Fine Arts Theatre, the earliest one being on November 14, 1957, caused by the projector while in a middle of one out of 3 Charlie Chaplin films. This forced an evacuation of 25 patrons, nobody injured. It caused an estimated $800 in damage.

Bill_Lonee
Bill_Lonee on August 3, 2020 at 8:26 am

Saw my first porn film there! Back in the day, of course, before home video. I think I went two or three times.

enrique53
enrique53 on December 12, 2011 at 7:49 pm

Francesca where are you,. I had such a crush on you. Alas I was just a kid. And you were the candy girl.

enrique53
enrique53 on September 6, 2007 at 11:08 pm

I was one of the projectionists there from 1969- 1973
Helped rebuild the projectors after the fire.

Pauline Kael had a film library there and during the maintenance of some of th enitrate prints the fire started.

Only 1.25 reels of film burned.

the booth was destroyed.

600 reels were undamaged in the fireproof storage area.

claudecat
claudecat on February 5, 2007 at 5:39 am

After they demolished the building, someone spray-painted “Cinema is Dead” on a remaining wall amidst the rubble.

gsmurph
gsmurph on January 8, 2005 at 7:16 pm

Oops—-forgot about Bombay Cinema too.

gsmurph
gsmurph on January 4, 2005 at 10:50 pm

The Fine Arts was originally The Cinema; later it was known as Mitchell Brothers Cinema, Berkeley Adult Cinema, and Horizon Cinema.

gsmurph
gsmurph on December 9, 2004 at 12:03 pm

Don’t know for sure about the theater part, but me, I just can’t help feeling that this is Kennedy’s way of rubbing it in.

GaryParks
GaryParks on November 27, 2004 at 9:53 pm

Surprisingly enough, though it seems the new building will not have a theatre inside, the builders have gone ahead and installed a beautiful and neon-bedecked marquee, reading FINE ARTS, which would have served the theatre, but will now herald the name and entrance of the building. It’s a shame that the theatre part of the development fell through. The building is, I think, a handsome piece of Moderne Revival, and I’m sure out-of-towners in the future will assume the building houses a theatre.

…or am I missing something? Is a theatre going in there after all?

gsmurph
gsmurph on July 15, 2004 at 12:35 pm

Forgot to mention (though it’s probably way too obvious by now), that the Fine Arts (Cinema) has been demolished (as in Closed/Demolished).

gsmurph
gsmurph on July 14, 2004 at 12:52 pm

Unfortunately, the Fine Arts is no more. Operator Keith Arnold was unable to come up with the funding ($800,000 to $1.2 million) required by developer Patrick Kennedy to outfit the space that was to be taken by the cinema. Frankly, I for one was afraid this might happen—-that was how Berkeley lost Gaia Bookstore, and the Shotgun Players had also gotten royally screwed. If only Arnold and Scherer had had the foresight to continue the Fine Arts screenings at temporary sites during the interim—-we might still have a Fine Arts Cinema (as opposed to a Fine Arts BUILDING) even if they’d had to give up on that particular site anyway (the Shotgun Players did more or less bounce back after their own raw deal with Kennedy).