Public Hearing Tonight: Altered Front of Cerrito Theater Proposed

The operator of the , Rialto Cinemas, wants to mount two large awnings with signs on the front of the building, in part to advertise its planned new wine bar called "Scene." The bar/restaurant will be in the same building but operate as a separate business.

Because the changes would significantly alter the front of the restored 1937 Art Deco landmark, the Design Review Commission is holding a public hearing at 7:30 p.m. tonight, Wednesday, on the proposal.

The awnings would be 11 feet wide, mounted 10 feet above the sidewalk, and extend three feet from the building. They would flank both sides of the main entrance, but since their respective signs would be of different colors, contain different words and have different types of lighting at night, the proposal will "introduce asymmetrical elements to the façade," according to a city staff report on the project.

The letters on each sign would be aluminum mounted on aluminum tubing affixed to the awnings. The sign to the north of the marquee will say, "Watch Eat Enjoy," and the sign south of the marquee, where the wine bar will be, will say "Scene."

The staff report says the signs will be notable for their size, color and lighting. On size, the report says:

The proposed signs will be smaller than the marquee and slightly larger than the changeable letters [on the marquee]. “Watch Eat Enjoy” letters will be seven inches (7”) wide, spaced at four inches (4”), will be approximately 13” in height, and will be nine feet (9’) wide. “Scene” letters will be ten inches (10”) wide, spaced at eight inches (8”), will be 13.5” in height and will be approximately 7’-5” wide.

On color, the staff report notes that the theater's current color motif is defined by the cobalt blue of the large "Cerrito" sign with yellow neon lettering and a marquee with changeable black letters. The proposed "Watch Eat Enjoy" sign would be orange, "a similar color to the Rialto branding color of orange," while "Scene" would be black and "tie in with the changeable letters on the movie title board," the report says.

Finally, the lighting of the two signs will "have a dramatic effect on the building’s 'evening glow' if implemented," the report says. The “Watch Eat Enjoy” sign will be lit by a fluorescent tube just below the letters, while “Scene” will be illuminated with flood lamps at the base of each letter that will cast shadows of the letters onto the building façade.

The new lighting effects will differ from the building's current lighting theme, which the report describes as:

The existing marquee sign has yellow neon tubing outlining the “Cerrito” letters, while the movie title reader board is internally illuminated with fluorescent lighting. Neon tubing (in yellow, dark blue and light blue) is also used to outline the Art Deco shape of the blade sign and marquee.

The theater operator chose a design that contrasts with the theater's current exterior in order to highlight the separate wine bar, the staff report says.

"By introducing a divergent design element to an otherwise consistent architectural theme, the new signs differ from the building’s overall composition," the report says. "The applicant felt strongly that the signage as proposed is needed to distinguish the bar/restaurant space as a separate business."

Normally, city staff make recommendations on proposed changes that go before the Design Review Board but have not done so in this case.

"Staff typically provides a recommendation for the Board to consider," the staff report says. "However, because the Theater is a public building with broad community support, and because the City/Redevelopment Agency went through a public process for previous changes, staff believes that it is important for discussions and recommendations regarding the building to be transparent and conducted under a publicly noticed meeting."

Review of the proposed changes are not officially tied to the at the July 18 City Council meeting that the city may be forced to sell the theater building because of the state move to dismantle local redevelopment agencies. The El Cerrito Redevelopment Agency bought the theater building in 2002 as part of a community initiative to resurrect the theater, decades after it closed in 1966.