GWAR

The UC Theatre is a music venue on University Avenue near Shattuck Avenue in Downtown Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States. From 1976 until 2001, it was a movie theater known for a revival house presentation of films. In 2013, The Berkeley Music Group was formed as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with the mission to renovate and operate the UC Theater as live music venue. It reopened its doors on April 7, 2016.

Opened on June 30, 1917, as a first run theater, the 1,466-seat theater was initially owned by Luther H. Williamson and Richard H. Bradshaw and managed by Albert H. Moore and John P. Dean. The auditorium measured 150 by 91 feet (46 by 28 m) and was billed as "comfortably [seating] 2,000 persons." The theater was named after, but had no relation to, the nearby University of California, Berkeley. It was housed in a mixed-use building which included commercial (retail) and second-floor office spaces; the offices were converted to rental lodging in 1942 by Luther Williamson's son and were renamed the Stark Hotel until it was shut down in the 1980s for code violations. The theater was subsequently acquired by Twentieth Century Fox as part of their West Coast Theatres chain in 1924, and became part of the National Theatres chain after Fox West Coast went bankrupt in 1933. In the 1940s, the UC was gutted by a fire and the interior decor was never fully restored. === Arthouse/Grindhouse (1974–2001) === The UC was acquired in 1974 by Gary Meyer, who joined the Landmark Theatres chain in 1976, bringing the UC with him; Landmark was initially founded in 1974 by Steve Gilula and Kim Jorgensen to run the 550-seat Nuart Theatre in Los Angeles, and Meyer was responsible for programming the UC.