(KRON) -- Despite a final attempt by neighbors, a historic theater in downtown Berkeley will come down.
Berkeley City councilmembers voted Tuesday night to uphold their approval of a project to tear down the United Artists Theater and turn it into housing.
People packed into a special city council meeting in a last effort to save the nearly century-old theater.
"This place could never ever be duplicated again," said Rose Ellis, founder of Save the UA Theater. "So I told myself about 15 years ago after seeing a movie that I would never let someone harm this theater."
Rose Ellis has kept that promise. For two years, she’s been fighting to stop the demolition of the United Artists Theater in downtown Berkeley. The theater, which opened in 1932 with film stars like Charlie Chaplin in attendance, closed down in 2023.
"It's really important theater that opened and we want to save it," said Ellis.
Developer Patrick Kennedy, with Panoramic Interests, bought the property and received approval to build a 17-story residential building. But the preservation group "Save UA Theater Berkeley" filed an appeal, arguing the theater remains on the state historic registry. It is also the last standing theater downtown.
"It could remain a movie theater," said Laura Linden, co-creator of Save the UA Theater. "It did operate as a multiplex for many many years. 91 years. But we also see this possibility for the auditorium to be restored. Then it could be this really beautiful art deco mid-sized theater that would be great for symphonies, arts groups, plays."
People both for and against the project lined up to speak Tuesday night.
"This development aligns with the city's commitment to building more housing downtown near public transit and jobs," said one resident. "It's far more important for theaters like UA to be preserve for the connection of our past but also help forward the generations of the future," voiced another resident.
Kennedy says that while they plan to demolish the theater, they also plan to preserve and restore the front facade and lobby.
"We'd like to preserve it and provide a unique experience for the residents of our building," said Kennedy. "The inside has 25 foot ceilings. It's got colored glass, chandeliers, art deco details which we want to incorporate in the lobby."
The developer says with tariffs making construction materials more expensive and harder to find, he could not say when they will break ground. But once they do, it will take 24 months to complete.
The theater preservation group says they will continue their fight.
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