“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.”

Read more at “Cerrito Theater Celebrates 75th in Style,” El Cerrito Patch, December 14, 2012″