Cerrito Theater Celebrates 75th in Style

There were a lot of smiling faces and high spirits in the packed Cerrito Theater Thursday night as El Cerrito's art deco landmark celebrated its 75th birthday.

Outside the theater, a search light on the sidewalk sent a rotating beam across the sky, while a vintage automobile sat parked in front of the ticket booth.

Inside, the festive occasion featured live 1930s music by the four-member band, "Any Reason," and several patrons in '30s attire. Dave Weinstein, president of the Friends of the Cerrito Theater, gave a brief history of the theater and its resurrection before the evening's main event, a screening of the Oscar-winning Frank Capra film, You Can't Take it With You.

The enjoyment of the occasion centered not so much on the theater reaching 75 as it did on the sustained efforts and uphill struggle by residents and the city to rescue and restore it in 2006 after it had sat nearly forgotten for many years as a furniture warehouse and was on the verge of being sold and lost irretrievably.

Though the Cerrito Theater stands out in El Cerrito for its distinctive marquee and well-preserved murals and etched glass decor, it is not an elaborate art deco palace in the class of, say, the Paramount Theatre in Oakland, Weinstein said.

"This is not the Paramount Theatre," he told the audience. "This is a simple neighborhood theater – a "popcorn palace," it was called – of the kind that once dotted this nation and have been going of business for a long time."

The theater opened on Christmas Day in 1937 and featured uniformed ushers and usherettes, along with free dinnerware given to "ladies" on Wednesday nights. But the changing times took their toll, and the theater closed in the 1960s.

Henry Kiefer of Kiefer's Furniture acquired the building and "kept the murals more or less intact," Weinstein said. Years went by and the theater largely faded from awareness.

Weinstein, a freelance writer, spoke with modesty of his own role in helping rescue the theater, speaking of himself in the third person: "In 1984 a young reporter for the West County Times looking to write something interesting about El Cerrito was told about this theater, a hidden theater that still existed. He came here. He was bowled over. He ran a story about it."

The fate of the theater faced a decisive moment in 2001 after Kiefer decided to sell the building and the buyer decided to dispose of the valuable art deco decor on the open market, Weinstein said.

At that point Weinstein approached the city and suggested saving it as a historical resource, but not as a theater since he and the El Cerrito Historical Society figured a theater wasn't viable given the then recent closure of the UC Theatre in Berkeley.

But Jill Keimach, former community development director for the city, thought it could be restored as a theater, Weinstein said, acknowledging Keimach sitting in the front row. (She's now Town Manager of Moraga.)

The ensuing campaign was a prolonged and often uphill struggle, with the formation of the Friends of the Cerrito Theater and grassroots organizing that raised funds and turned out in numbers for City Council meetings when appropriations for the effort were on the agenda.

Weinstein and Ann Lehman, a former co-chair of the Friends, singled out a number of individuals for special appreciation for their work, including early contributions from Cookie Reese (leader of the "Any Reason" band with her husband) and Susan Figone.

Lori Dair, a founder of the Friends, also was thanked for her work, as was one of the restoration architects, Arnie Lerner, who also was in the audience.

Newly elected City Councilman Mark Friedman, seated in the front row, was thanked for voting for funding for the venture during his previous time on the council. (Other public officials at the celebration included immediate past Mayor Bill Jones and current City Councilwoman Rebecca Benassini.)

Appreciation was expressed also to Al Miller and Linda Moss for their efforts in helping organize the birthday celebration. Moss said thanks are owed also to Jeff Lichtman.

Also noted were "old-timers" in attendance: Oriene Weeks, an usherette in the 1940s; donor Peter Tripp, who went to the theater '40s and '50s; donor Glenn Stephenson, a theater-goer in '50s while he was at Albany High; and Dolores Grosenheider, who went to the theater in the '50s and spoke at the City Council in support of bringing the theater back.

The theater's contemporary business name is Rialto Cinemas Cerrito, though in El Cerrito it is often call by its old name of Cerrito Theater. Melissa Hatheway, representing the theater's operator, Rialto Cinemas, was among those who welcomed the audience to the event.

More details about the history and restoration of the theater, and about the Tuesday night celebration, can be found on the attached program from the event.

The accompanying video provides a brief glimpse of the scene and band's performance as attendees settled in.

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