John Hinkel Park Amphitheater - Berkeley, CA
Posted by: 
DougK
N 37° 53.703 W 122° 16.364
10S E 563943 N 4194419
John Hinkel Park Amphitheater - Berkeley, CA
Waymark Code: WMCD08
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 08/23/2011
Views: 2
This amphitheater is located in
John Hinkel Park in Berkeley, California. The theater was built by the Civil Works Administration and was dedicated on 22 April 1934. The seats and steps of the amphitheater are made of rocks and the setting is completely surrounded by trees.
For 15 years beginning in 1974, the park was home to the California Shakespeare Theater, which staged 53 productions in the amphitheater. Among the actors who appeared here were Annette Bening, John Vickery, Douglas Sills, Julian Lopez-Morillas, and Lura Dolas. More recently,in 2011, the amphitheater has served as the summer stage of the Shotgun Players.
From the Hinkel Park History website:
The open-air theatre is part of the movement that combined architecture and nature. The theatre was used in the 1940’s for community gatherings, music and dance productions. In the 50’s and 60’s it was used for music and folk dances, barbershop quartets and piano. Most noteworthy, however, was its use by the Berkeley Shakespeare Festival from 1971-1991. The Festival attracted hundreds of viewers every year to enjoy the “hillside amphitheatre among trees, a cool breeze, a full moon… the dappled sunlight pouring through the greenery… and the incomparable magic of Shakespeare” as described by the San Francisco Chronicle in 1976 and 1977. Today the amphitheatre is used periodically, but it is in need of restoration.