Berkeley's last standing movie theater downtown will be turned into housing

BERKELEY, Calif. - The Berkeley City Council on Thursday voted to tear down the United Artists Theatre on Shattuck Avenue, the last standing movie theater in downtown, in order to convert it to new housing.

The theater closed in March 2023.

The city council rejected a plan by a group fighting to keep the theater, who argued it was on California's historic registry. 

Many spoke both for and against the theater at the meeting.

One person said: "The times that we are living in now, where free speech and the right to assemble are being challenged nationwide, it is far more important now that buildings like the UA are not only preserved for connection to the past but also to forward the generations of the future."

The theater is near a BART station and bus lines, and the building would have 23 affordable housing units out of a total of 227.

It would also have a performing arts venue.