Have an Account?
| Register Now
Berkeley, CA: Housing Project Dooms Former Historic Theater

Posted on Thursday, December 19, 2024 4:25 PM


Remove ads with our VIP Service

Share This Page

Facebook logoTwitter logo
Related Movies/Theaters
Reader Comments
Reader Voice
No comments found. Be the First!
Add Your Comments
Related News Articles

Hopes for saving the former Regal UA Berkeley in Berkeley, California are dimming with the announcement of plans for a housing project that would replace all but the facade of the 1932 movie theater.

Located on Shattuck Avenue and Bancroft Way, the historic movie theater originally opened September 16, 1932 as the United Artists Berkeley with one auditorium seating 1,800 people. Built in the Art Deco style of the time, the theater was eventually converted to two, five, and then seven screens. According to reports, much of the original treatments still exists behind the surface layer of those remodeling projects. United Artists was purchased by Regal Cinemas in 2002 and the combination of Regal, United Artists, and Edwards Theatres became known as the Regal Entertainment Group. Cineworld acquired Regal Entertainment Group in 2017.

When Cineworld filed for bankruptcy in September 2022, it began closing many locations around the country. The closure of the Berkeley location was announced in January 2023, when Regal listed 39 locations that would be closing around the country. The theater closed on March 1, 2023.

As commonly happens when historic downtown movie theaters close and plans begin popping up about demolishing them, people organize efforts to try to save them. Earlier this year, a group called Save Berkeley’s United Artists Theater formed to do just that. Key to that struggle was likely going to be getting the theater declared a historic landmark, which failed when the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission turned down the request for landmark status.

The building's owner, Panoramic Interests, is planning a 22-story housing project it is calling CITYSPACE® 2274 Shattuck. It will have 299 studios, 4-bedroom, and 5-bedroom units.

KPIX, the CBS affiliate in San Francisco, published a video recently about the plans:

Plans are announced all the time for properties, and not all of them come to fruition. That means that there might still be hope for the Regal UA Berkeley, but sooner or later, something is going to happen, and it most likely won't be the reopening of this historic movie theater.

Unless that magically happens somehow, moviegoers in the area will need to continue visiting one of the other nearby theaters, including the Pacific Film Archive and the Rialto Cinemas Elmwood in Berkeley, and the AMC Bay Street 16 in Emeryville.

Save Your Local Theater Before It Closes

Let this serve as a lesson to us all. If you enjoy a movie theater, don't just look at it and admire it from afar. Go see movies there. Buy their concessions, and enjoy it. Your business is critical to its survival, and even if it closes some day, you will have lots of memories of seeing movies there.

Related News Articles



Remove ads with our VIP Service

Share This Page

Facebook logoTwitter logo
Related Movies/Theaters
Reader Comments
Reader Voice
No comments found. Be the First!
Add Your Comments
Related News Articles

Add Your Comments

Reader VoiceReader Comments

No comments found. Be the first and let us know what you think!

Add Your Comments

Please login
Commenting on Journal Articles is available only to our readers who have customized this site, which makes it easier for you to complete the form and for us to contact you with any questions or concerns about your comments.

Please login or register a new account before continuing.


Already Registered?

Log in to retrieve your saved settings.

E-Mail Address:
BigScreen Passcode:

Forget Your Passcode?

Send My Passcode To Me

Not Registered? Create a New Account!

E-Mail Address
In case we need to contact you. A valid E-Mail address is required, profiles with invalid addresses will be removed.
Please Confirm Your E-Mail Address
ZIP Code
This helps us display theaters that are near you.

Our registered members enjoy more features, including:

Basic accounts are free -- sign up today!

Concerned About Privacy?

So are we! We won't sell, trade, or share your personal information with anyone unless required by law. For more information, please read our Privacy Policy.



Home - About Us - Feedback
News Headlines - Theaters - Movies - Reader Reviews - Movie Links
Your Account - VIP Service

The BigScreen Cinema Guide is a service of SVJ Designs LLC. All graphics, layout, and structure of this service (unless otherwise specified) are Copyright © 1995-2025, SVJ Designs. The BigScreen Cinema Guide is a trademark of SVJ Designs. All rights reserved.

'ACADEMY AWARDS®' and 'OSCAR®' are the registered trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Find Us on Facebook
Find Us on Instagram