The curtain call has come for the United Artists Theater in Berkeley, as the city's last historic movie theater faces demolition.
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The building faces demolition after the city council unanimously approved housing developer Panoramic Interests to move ahead with a planned 17-story, 227-unit multifamily project with a ground-floor cafe on the site, The Mercury News reported.
The property, built in 1932, entered into the California Register of Historical Resources in 2006 before shuttering in 2023. The local grassroots organization Save Berkeley’s United Artists Theater fought to halt the project for the last two years, citing the building’s historic status.
Despite acknowledging the theater’s cultural significance, city council members voted in favor of its demolition. Council Member Shoshana O’Keefe told The Mercury News that though the theater is a beloved cultural institution, it had suffered in recent years like many businesses in Downtown from decreased foot traffic and economic headwinds.
The council’s approval represents the hope that Panoramic’s project will inject some life into the community and revitalize local businesses. It will be too little, too late for the theater.
Historic movie theaters across the country have shuttered, including the 100-year-old Highland Theater in Los Angeles in 2024 and the New 400 Theaters in Chicago.
This comes as movie theaters struggle to get bodies in seats, as consumers have gotten comfortable watching movies at home in the postpandemic era.
The total number of screens in the U.S. has dropped 19% since 2019, a loss of 5,691 screens.
Movie theater operators announced plans to invest heavily in premium upgrades to boost dwindling attendance while at the same time shuttering underperforming locations. AMC plans to spend $1.5B on upgrades, while Cinemark will invest $225M, according to CoStar.
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