UC Theatre Taube Family Music Hall
2036 University Avenue,
Berkeley,
CA
94704
2036 University Avenue,
Berkeley,
CA
94704
14 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 46 comments
UC’s full name is now UC Theatre Taube Family Music Hall; as the name implies, it’s primarily a concert hall, seldom if ever showing movies.
SO MANY great memories of this place! “Spider Baby” with director Jack Hill in attendance; Kate Bush’s “The Line, the Cross, and the Curve” back-to-back with Katja von Garnier’s “Abgeschminkt” at the Berkeley Women’s Film Festival; all-night movie marathons (I remember going to a Halloween horror marathon and a Pam Grier marathon); weekly Hong Kong double features; silent films with the Club Foot Orchestra… not to mention the anniversary shows with cake, champagne, and Louise Brooks in “Pandora’s Box”!
Used to love going there in the early-to-late 80s, when it was a revival house. Saw the Marx Brothers in Duck Soup with a full house. I laughed so hare, I thought I would pass out, several times! It was the first place I’d been that showed all three original Star Wars films in on order, in one day! Saw great films from some of the best filmmakers, from all over the world. Even got to see a few silent films, accompanied by live organ music! Having a baby is what stopped me from going and of course, home video killed the whole thing off, eventually. It was great in it’s day, though. I wish there were still revival houses. Seeing a film with a theater full of fans is a great experience.
We had magnetic sound and would demand prints with a mag stipe. Made for a fantastic sound experience. Check out www.EatDrinkFilms.com for some interesting articles on 2001. Another coming soon.
I remember seeing 2001: A Space Odyssey there in 1980? … my 17th viewing of the film at the age of 17. It was one of the few revival theaters in the Bay Area that could do Kubrick’s classic justice with its huge screen and capable sound system.
Here’s a clickable link to the Berkeleyside article and here’s the drone tour!
I took some pictures of the auditorium about an hour after the final seats were removed last March, I’ll look through them and perhaps upload a few.
And how do we show the theater as reopened here?
Check this article http://www.berkeleyside.com/2016/04/12/dark-star-orchestra-opens-revived-uc-theatre/
Cool drone flight video during remodel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEux2Qv8qSk
After some electrical problems that caused the grand-reopening of the U.C. Theatre to be delayed, the theater is up and running with a solid schedule of live music. Plans include some film showings, festivals and a revival of The Rocky Horror Picture Show where the UC’s 22 year run was the longest continuously running engagement of any movie, anywhere.
Some photos of the first concerts http://www.theuctheatre.org/gallery/
Print ad added.
Berkley California Daily Gazette-Tuesday July 8th, 1924 Edition. Image courtesy of Jeffrey Allan.
The status of the UC should be changed to renovating and restoring, work began last month to convert it to a live venue, mostly featuring music. March began with a seat giveaway on the 1st, those interested were invited to come and help themselves to sets of seats, take as many as you can transport. Individuals and local organizations and businesses took away about 500. By the following Saturday, all the seats had been removed and on the 15th, official groundbreaking ceremonies were held and construction began, no opening date has been set yet.
Here is an article from Berkeleyside about the groundbreaking and other info.
The UC will be run by the Berkeley Music Group, a nonprofit organization headed by David Mayeri, which has a website here with loads of info and an interesting drone tour of the theatre. They also have a flickr page with tons of pictures in 8 albums, including historical pictures and shots from the seat giveaway. Unfortunately flickr does not permit embedding links, so this one you’ll have to cut and paste, sorry about that..
https://www.flickr.com/photos/121761888@N03/sets/
I’ve just uploaded a picture of the new marquee installed earlier this week, here is a link to the Berkeleyside article mentioned in a previous post, and this is a link to the nonprofit that will be running the UC when it reopens.
Plans to reopen as a music venue.
http://www.berkeleyside.com/2014/04/14/long-shuttered-uc-theater-to-get-new-marquee-and-new-life/
I loved/love the UC Berkeley. Many a great night was spent there..Harold & Maude, Road Warrior, etc. etc. And I loved the folks that worked there!
The February, 1919, issue of The Architect and Engineer of California featured a portfolio of the work of James W. Plachek, architect of the UC Theatre. There are two exterior photos of the theater and, following a page of text, two interior photos depicting the foyer and lobby (scroll down.) Pictures can be enlarged by clicking on the + sign in the toolbar at the bottom right of the web page.
I was so sad to learn of the demise of the UC. After my marriage ended and I became the sole parent of two adolescent boys, I began bringing them from Orinda to Berkeley 2 or 3 times a month. We discovered samurai movies together there: Zatoichi, the blind masseur swordsman, was our favorite. One evening I arrived to find a line for tickets clear around the block; the show was 47 Ronin, a samurai epic cherished in Japan. Also saw The Last Waltz and Woodstock there, discovered many rock performers thereby. Wonderful memories of the movies, esp. the audiences, and the ambience. My kids, now in their 40s, dearly remember those times too.
I’m curious to know if there are any photos of the inside of the house, prior to the fire in the 1940s?
The UC was such a great place to see a film!
Growing up in 1970s Montana I did not have much of an opportunity to see anything but mainstream Hollywood movies. Moving to Berkeley in ‘86, it was the UC that made me a lover of the independent cinema. I too have been saddened when I have happened by there in recent years.
The UC is coming back to life, as a live music venue…
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Yeah, a great theatre.
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One that I miss daily.
Here is an article I wrote about the u.c., I loved that place…
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The announcement of the UC Theatre was made in the October, 1916 issue of Architect & Engineer magazine. The owners were given as Messrs. Bradshaw and Williamson. The projected cost of the theatre was $100,000. The architect was James W. Plachek (1893-1948.)
Older man here; went to the UC a lot back during the Taft administration. And back in my day I used to have to walk 14 miles through 8 feet of snow just to fight for a seat. Because there were only 9 seats back then. Grumble.
An old man here; went to the UC as a kid lots of times, depression days. but I think what all you kids are missing is when in the hell have you seen this many seats on one floor.
The UC was designed by Berkeley architect James W. Plachek.