The building was acquired by new owners in 1999 and Landmark negotiated a $ 3,000-per-month lease to continue in the space . According to the new owners , Landmark later requested a reduction in rent to $ 1,500 per month and asked to make the property owners responsible for the entire cost of seismic retrofits . The theater closed in March 2001 after Landmark — now owned by Silver Cinemas , Inc. — decided to pull out of the space rather than spend its half of the $ 500,000 needed for seismic upgrades required for the unreinforced masonry building in the wake of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake ( the UC was designed and built in 1916 to 1917 , preceding the 1933 California ban on unreinforced masonry buildings ) . The UC had been " marginally profitable " prior to its closure due to low attendance , and the theater had switched to weeklong runs rather than daily rotations in the fall of 2000 . One year after closing , the UC hosted a production of '' Medea '' by Euripides from April through June 2002 . The production company , the Shotgun Players , were allowed to play rent-free in exchange for bringing the building up to city codes . The theater was named a landmark by the City of Berkeley on 6 May 2002 . In early 2006 , plans to convert the theater to a jazz club were submitted to the City of Berkeley . Another plan to convert it into a live music venue was proposed in 2009 . David Mayeri and partners purchased the building and raved the UC " has great sight lines , great bones . It could fill the niche The Fillmore fills in San Francisco . " In 2014 , a $ 5 million conversion proposal was announced . The conversion was led by the Berkeley Music Group , a non-profit organization headed by Mayeri , and would result in accommodations for 800 to 1,400 patrons in front of an expanded stage , and a new restaurant and bar . The rebuild commenced on March 18 , 2015 , with plans to have the renovated UC open by the end of 2015 . The venue was officially renamed the '' ' UC Theatre Taube Family Music Hall ' '' after a major donor
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
UC Theatre