United Artists Berkeley 7
2274 Shattuck Avenue,
Berkeley,
CA
94704
2274 Shattuck Avenue,
Berkeley,
CA
94704
12 people
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Showing 26 - 42 of 42 comments
I am asking if the theatre is posted on Cinema Treasures under another name, since I cannot find one by that name.
I visited a theatre in Berkeley in 1978 called the “U.C. Theatre.” What was that?
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.
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.
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).
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?
And another one http://donross.railspot.com/ks182a.jpg 1940’s?
Partial picture of the vertical sign from sometime in the 1950’s http://206.103.49.193/keysyst/htm/key060.htm
UA Berkeley’s style was originally Art Deco; there are still a few elements remaining, despite the million alterations and plexings.
Would Gary Parks email me about Berkeley CA theaters?
:(
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.
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
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.
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 architects for this theater were Walker & Eisen, along with C.A. Balch.
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.
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.