Hello everyone --

Thank you so much for supporting the campaign to Save the UA Berkeley, the splendid Art Deco theater that was built by Hollywood icons Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford that is at high risk of being demolished for a development project. We wanted to share with you our participation survey and amazing poster illustration by artist Chris Granillo, and talk about what we need do in the next phase of the campaign. 

We are entering our second year fighting to save this irreplaceable Art Deco theater in the heart of Berkeley's downtown from the wrecking ball. Despite the theater operating as a multiplex in recent decades, experts in our group believe this is arguably the finest theater ever built in Berkeley and one of very few Art Deco theaters of its kind in the entire state that could be preserved. To be clear, our group is dedicated to stopping the entire theater from being demolished; we strongly disagree with the developer's plan to preserve only the historic facade and possibly part of the lobby. To learn more, check out this op-ed. 

We've made great strides in the past year (see list of achievements further down), but it remains a seriously uphill battle to rescue this magnificent theater from ruin. The developer that wants to destroy this architectural treasure has state law and complacent city leaders on his side. We want to keep fighting this righteous battle, but we need active support from many more people to be successful. It's time to grow our ranks, get people involved at a higher level, and take further action.

That leads to the group participation survey: https://forms.gle/dvMZQxN8jUWvp3aS9

Please take a moment to fill it out and let us know at what level you'd like to be involved and about any knowledge and skills that could help the campaign. If you have already filled it out but want to add new information, please click the button “edit your response.” If that fails, emails us any new info at savetheuaberkeley@gmail.com.  

We will continue to need people to write to city staff and leaders (more on that in future emails) and spread the word about the plight of the theater. But we are also seeking help in these specific areas: legal, fundraising, website design and admin (specifically Word Press), nonprofit incorporation, social media, graphics and photography, writing/editing, research, public policy.  https://forms.gle/dvMZQxN8jUWvp3aS9

The next phase of the fight will likely involve fundraising, getting legal assistance,  and pressuring the city planning staff to do a full CEQA evaluation of the housing proposal. Under California law, the theater's historic resources are supposed to be extensively analyzed and public input sought, but there's a chance city staff could grant the developer an exemption from this process -- we must make sure this DOES NOT HAPPEN! 

Also, if you haven't seen it already, please check out this amazing poster art from Bay Area artist and muralist Chris Granillo, who has a particular interest in historic local movie theaters. See the google drive link below. There's a chance we could be selling 11x17 posters to raise money. Stay tuned. (And if you can assist with posting flyers around Berkeley, please let us know.)

Last, here are highlights of the group's accomplishments in the first year. Many thanks to all of you who contributed, in big ways and small. 

• Amassed a huge trove of historic and government photos and documents about the UA Berkeley; 
• Attended numerous public meetings and met with city leaders;
• Built a website and launched a petition with more than 2,000 signatures;
• Wrote an 80-page historic report as an application to landmark the theater;
• Gave a public online history talk about the theater;
• Got coverage in newspapers, radio, and TV; and
• Got the city's landmark preservation commission to designate the theater property a city landmark (legally this designation does not prevent the developer from leveling the building but it does protect the WPA-style facade above the marquee). 

As always, for more information please visit our website at www.savetheuaberkeley.org and our FB group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/saveourua/. Email us at savetheuaberkeley@gmail.com. And please continue to share this petition! 

Thank you, and let's keep fighting!

SAVE THE UA BERKELEY

Here's the link to the poster art:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eNeItJ7oElfGvQYwj5yqy-U6nOjJ-P5r/view?usp=sharing