The California Theatre: Save a Cultural Jewel
After waiting nearly two years for my favorite Berkeley theatre — The California, to re-open, I read a terrible headline — the landlords have refused to renew the lease. It’s become commonplace and tragic in this post-pandemic, technology centric moment to lose the actual structures where so many profound memories were shared. I had a chance to reminisce with Dale Sophiea, who ran The California for eighteen years.
The Cal is one of the last 12 Art Deco theaters remaining in the Bay Area, and movie theaters are disappearing quickly. Once they are gone they are gone forever.
Presently, the fate of Landmark’s Shattuck Cinemas is unknown and the nearby Regal UA Berkeley only shows Hollywood blockbusters. Dale asks, “Without this art-house theater, what is left for everyday people, young and old, without lots of money in our city’s arts district?”
According to UC Historian Paul Lee, who grew up in West and South Berkeley, The Cal has the unique designation of being a theater that regularly catered to the African American community in Berkeley.
Dale recounted two times in 2013 when Ryan Coogler, the director of Black Panther, packed the 600-seat auditorium with special screenings of Fruitvale Station. The Cal hosted local junior high and high school students to watch and discuss Coogler’s directorial debut about the murder of Oscar Grant III by a BART officer. The Q&A that evening by the youth sparked the most brilliant and interesting analysis of the vulnerability of people of color in our society. “It was glorious,’’ says Dale. “The potentially unruly crowds sat in rapt attention as they thoughtfully contemplated the issue and possible courses of action with Ryan.”
In a similar vein, economist and former secretary of labor Robert Reich screened his 2013 documentary, Inequality for All, and was present at 3 screenings for lengthy discussions.
I recall my sons going to see thought provoking movies at The Cal with their Berkeley High classes and coming home changed by the experience.
Today in Berkeley, we face an ever-growing attack on our public meeting grounds and spaces. Not only are the property prices going through the roof, our urban landscape is being decimated. There must be spaces for larger groups of people from all strata of society to share life experiences, including cafes, libraries, movie theaters, parks and public transit.
What realtors and luxury condo developers fail to understand is that when they focus only on increasing profits, they destroy the very thing that they’re selling — namely, Berkeley’s culture.
Fortunately, Dale believes there is a path to save our theater. Rialto Cinemas Cerrito, a nearby art-house theater, was saved by a collaboration between El Cerrito residents and the city, and has been preserved as a community resource and treasure. Farther away in Ann Arbor, MI, the city government stepped in and gathered community support to not only keep the Michigan theater open, but restore it to magnificent splendor.
Our city council must step up and realize that providing their constituents with cultural quality of life, not merely increasing the number of rentable units, is also their job.
The Art Deco Society of California will be submitting an application to Berkeley’s Landmark Preservation Commission on January 10, in the hope that the commission will vote to declare the theater a City of Berkeley landmark. If the application is accepted, a hearing will take place in March or April, and we will need vocal support at an upcoming hearing.
Please write a letter of support before January 10 for the preservation of this community treasure!
Some points to consider for your letter:
- The California Theatre is one of the last 12 Art Deco theaters in the Bay Area still in good shape and mostly intact. Historic movie theaters are disappearing every day — once they are gone, they are gone forever.
- Berkeley’s Arts district needs cultural destinations that everyone, not just the affluent, can afford.
- If the Cal is gone and the Shattuck ends up getting developed, there will be only one remaining movie theater in downtown Berkeley, which would be a huge loss to the community.
- Events held at the Cal over its long history have contributed to the political and social justice character of Berkeley and the broader Bay Area community. Just a few milestones in the last two decades:
o Fahrenheit 911 — top grossing theater in the country, July 29, 2004
o Juno / Planned Parenthood staffed a help desk in lobby — Dec 21, 2007
o Sorcerer / William Friedkin — September 2013
o Fruitvale Station / Ryan Coogler Q&A for area students — Dec 4, 2013
o Inequality For All / Robert Reich Q&A — October 2013
1. Please address your letter to the city:
Landmarks Preservation Commission, Fatema Crane, Secretary
Land Use Planning Division
2120 Milvia Street, Berkeley, CA 94704
2. Your letter must include the name and address of the theater:
California Theatre ~ 2113 Kittredge St, Berkeley, CA
3. Please email the letter as an attachment to:
Zelda@artdecosocietyofcalifornia.org
Or you can snail mail to:
The Art Deco Society of California
P.O. Box 5539
Berkeley, CA 94705
Only community mobilization can save theaters like this. It worked for the Cerrito Theater, and it worked for the Park Theater in Lafayette. We hope through this process, the city of Berkeley will understand how important this theater is to the community. Landmarking will be the first step towards preserving the theater and hopefully finding a way to return it to showing movies and hosting performances, lectures, and other cultural and educational events important to the city of Berkeley.
But you must act now. Together, we can do this!
This article was first published in the Berkeley Times on December 16, 2021.
