The Elmwood Theater, a survivor at 110, is hosting a free party

The 110-year history of the Elmwood cinema reads like an all-odds epic on the scale of a Dino De Laurentiis production.

The theater, which opened in 1914 as the Strand, caught fire in 1988, was rocked by the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, was nearly converted into stores in 1990, flooded in 2004, and closed for over a year during the pandemic, almost leading to the theater’s eventual demise.

In 2023, the so-called “poodle accident” occurred when a car collided with the facade of the building after a poodle jumped into the front seat, not to mention the existential threat posed by streaming services that have closed hundreds of cinemas nationwide. In Berkeley alone, three downtown theaters have closed since 2020.

Now Rialto Cinemas Elmwood, which operates the theater, and the nonprofit Elmwood Theater Foundation, which has owned the building since 1991, are hosting a party to celebrate the 30th anniversary of its reopening on Tuesday, Oct. 22.

The festivities begin at 5:30 p.m. with a cake and champagne reception, followed by a presentation on the theater’s history at 6:15 p.m. by David Salk, ETF’s longtime president, and a screening of the premiere performance when the theater reopens at 6:45 p.m. 30 years ago, Cinema Paradiso, A film that is doubly significant because it is a love letter to film. A “post-screening mingle” follows at 9 p.m.

Free tickets for the evening will be available at the box office from Friday, October 18th and must be picked up in person. (The box office opens 15 minutes before the day’s performance.)

“Whenever there was a barrier, people reached out and said, ‘We’ll help,'” said David Salk, who has been president of the Elmwood Theater Foundation since its inception. “When people work together for a common goal, Elmwood Theater is created.”

Despite the many obstacles the theater has had to overcome over the decades, a serious threat emerged in the early 1990s that spurred the community to action. At the time, the theater was owned by United Artists, who allowed the building – and its programming – to neglect. The plan to convert the building into a retail complex came about after the building was damaged by fire, but fell through when the site was converted into a theater.

These efforts were led by residents and store owners who suddenly became community activists: Salk, an optician who owns Focal Point Opticians on Ashby Avenue; Burl Willes, a former Elmwood business owner and author of the book Tales from the Elmwood: A Community Memoir; Laurie Capitelli, a real estate agent, longtime council member and mayoral candidate whose wife owned Avenue Books (now Mrs. Dalloway’s); and the late Fred Harvey, an attorney who lived and worked in the neighborhood.

Many of these activists founded the Elmwood Theater Foundation in 1991, which became a nonprofit a year later, and are still active in the organization. In addition to Salk, Capitelli remains its treasurer and Willes is on the board.

Then-Mayor Loni Hancock, Councilwoman Carla Woodworth and Dave Fogarty of the city’s economic development office, who led the rezoning effort, were also instrumental in saving the theater on the city side.

“The city said yes when we had to buy the building,” Salk said of the $215,000 city loan that covered the $190,000 purchase price and an additional $25,000 to bring architects and contractors on board fetch. These costs were covered by the creation of a Business Improvement District in Elmwood and were paid off in approximately 2014.

“When we had to renovate the building, the community agreed,” Salk added. The foundation raised the $425,000 needed to renovate the theater in two Saturdays, a combination of interest-bearing loans from residents and small donations, Capitelli said.

“The theater is a great example of collaboration between city and neighborhood merchants and people who love theater,” Capitelli said.

As part of the renovation after the fire, the theater became a triplex, an economic necessity. The main theater now seats 178, while two 49-seat theaters have been carved out of the former balcony. When the theater reopened in 1994, San Carlos Cinemas was the operator.

“When we opened, it was David versus Goliath,” says Ky Boyd, who has run the theater with his husband Michael O’Rand since 2007. At the time, the Rialto was a second-run establishment, running first-run films after the other cinemas had shown them. Since then, the owners have initially converted the theater into a premiere theater In Bruges in 2008.

“We had to fight with the downtown theaters for every movie we got,” Boyd said. “Being the last man standing is kind of surreal. The other theaters downtown were not protected.”

During the pandemic, Boyd said, the theater would have gone bankrupt without the support of GoFundMe donors and government programs, including $1 million from the Shuttered Venue Operator Grant. Even in 2023, the number of visitors was only 65% ​​compared to 2019.

The Rialto’s owners have since seen moviegoers return after making a number of programming changes and introducing a food, beer and wine menu in July 2024. So far, the theater is “slowly approaching break-even,” Boyd said. Rialto also has theaters in El Cerrito and Sebastopol.

Boyd is excited about the fall lineup, which he called “an embarrassment of riches.” Upcoming films include We Live In Time, Conclave, Emilia Pérez, Flow, Queer and Anora.

“Yes, it was a great project and we achieved a lot,” said Salk. “But we want this theater to stay here for a very long time. That only happens when the community comes to the theater and buys tickets.”

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