Image credit: UA in 1968. Stevin Levin/Theatre Historical Society.
A local citizen group, Save the UA Berkeley, is seeking support in its campaign to rescue the now-shuttered United Artists Theatre in downtown Berkeley from destruction. Despite operating as a multiplex in recent decades, the UA Berkeley is actually a magnificent Art Deco theater built with 1,800 seats and a stage that is capable of being restored — if it is not first demolished by a developer vying to build a residential high-rise.
The group's application to landmark the theater exterior will be on the agenda of the Berkeley Landmarks Preservation Commission on Thursday, February 1 at 6:30 pm, at the North Berkeley Senior Center at 1901 Hearst Avenue at Martin Luther King Junior Way. Landmarking the building will not itself stop the development project, but it will help by raising awareness.
Please consider supporting the efforts of Save the UA Berkeley by attending or writing to the LPC before February 1. Indicate that you want to see the entire theater preserved, not just the facade.
Please visit www.savetheuaberkeley.org for more information, especially the Take Action page.
Recent Op Ed from Allen Michaan, owner of the Grand Lake Theater: https://www.berkeleyside.org/2024/01/23/opinion-save-the-regal-ua-berkeley-theater-from-demolition
Daily Californian Piece: https://www.dailycal.org/news/city/local-businesses/cultural-theft-save-the-united-artists-theater-mobilizes-to-block-demolition-of-regal-ua-theater/article_cc16185a-bc21-11ee-885a-1bb2be3b1713.html