UC Theatre Taube Family Music Hall

I was here once only, in July of 1978, to see an excellent and unusual double bill of Ramparts of Clay and the Egyptian-made The Night of Counting the Years.

I saw hundreds of movies here in the 1970’s and 80’s. I loved the place – it was large, classy and a little run down. They showed great, imaginative double features. I watched a lot of classic films here in the pre-VCR era.

I also seem to remember going to some first run showings here in the 60’s when I was a kid. Does anyone know the history before it became a repertory house? Do I remember correctly that I saw MASH here on its initial release?

I recently (Feb 2005) had the opportunity to tour the inside of the long closed UC theatre. My first impression upon entering the lobby was that things were not all that bad. But that was a temporary illusion. For some reason the lobby and concession stand area were in inexplicably good shape compared to the rest of the interior and auditorium which have pretty much been totally trashed. The fabric on the auditorium auditorium walls was torn & moldy. All the surround speakers had their cones slashed, and the wall sconce lighting fixtures were either smashed or partly melted from having something flammable poured on them. Nothing is left of the screen, or up the projection room. Parts of the dressing rooms under the stage were under several feet of water from recent heavy rains in the SF Bay area. I took some pictures, but there’s really nothing to show. It was painful to see such a sad end to such a former showplace.

I put this was in my post of 4/8/04, but here it is again, I look forward to hearing from you.

I knew that seat well, the one with leg room. Mind was 2/3rd’s back, next to the wheelchair spaces. Had the best sound.
I still have those 4 chairs

I grew up in the UC theatre, saw my first movie(s) there. I knew no peace like the peace of sitting in my favorite seat, watching Das Boot, or some other great film. I was lucky enough to work there as assistant manager up until she went dark for the last time. A glorious time, spent with the most amazing people. There are a million stories about the UC theatre which need to be told. I am now in the process of doing so, and would love to get some imput from you, the faithful who remember the life of that once great movie house. Please email me anything you feel like sharing @
I have a lot of files and historical information and other goodies from the theatre I’d love to share, so drop a line.
When I put “Hello, I must be going” on the marquee, I never thought it would be the last hurrah. Sadly, it appears that they are gutting her as I write this and that she’s through as a movie theatre. Contact me if you’d like to know why the theatre really closed. It’s a sad tale, but one that needs be told.

I was telling a friend about a 12 hour long horror movie marathon I watched at the U.C. Theatre in 1996, and it prompted me to get out the old calendars I saved. That made me quite melancholy, and led to me google-ing the theatre and finding this site. I’d give darn near anything to have the U.C. back. I was there sometimes 5 times in a week. It’s absurd that Berkeley couldn’t find a way to save that place.

For many years, this was my most favorite theatre in the bay area. You couldn’t beat the one-price double-features they used to run here, and the enthusiasm with which many of the films were presented, was memorable at the least. I saw a screening of William Castle’s “House on Haunted Hill” here in ‘93, where they actually recreated the original “Emerge-O” effect, and pulled a life-size skeleton over the audiences’ heads. It’s the only time I can recall being in a theatre, and having people stand up to take photos during a screening!
Then there was the screening of “The Tingler” from around the same time, where they had ushers dress up in Halloween masks and run up and down the isles screaming…such fun!! Of course, “Rocky Horror” was long-running at this theatre on weekends, but it’s the other stuff I enjoyed the most.
It had a wonderful old-time feel to it. The floor was wood, and was sloped. There were dimly-lit lamps in the alcoves next to the screen. The ambience was great. Shortly before this theatre closed, they celebrated an anniversary and had a new screen installed. Too bad it couldn’t have remained open. After closing, the marquee read, “Hello, I must be going”…a Groucho Marx quote. If you called the theatre’s answering machine at that time…instead of the usual program schedule, they had a sound effect tape playing of an empty room with wind blowing through (like a haunted house). How sad. Something really must be done to reopen and restore this terrific old theatre. It’s Berkeley’s jewel, to be sure.

Tell me, what good is it to live in a city renown for it’s high population of bleeding heart, lefty, do-gooders, if we can’t even substain the oldest and most special movie theatre in town? The UC Theatre was part film education, part freak sanctuary and was truly the heart of downtown Berkeley. Everytime I walk by the boarded-up windows, it tears me up. Does anyone know the current status of this building? Is there anyone working on re-opening it in any capacity?

The UC and the Campus are not the same. The Campus still stands on Durant St. a little south of Telegraph Ave. The former Campus has long been an office and retail building, but the large concrete stage fly tower can still be seen sticking up above the rear of the building.