Planned as a concert and performance hall for a local 'community' that could guarantee patrons for its 3,500 seat auditorium and 600 seat Little Theatre, the Berkeley Community Theatre was dedicated in 1950 after a long construction period interrupted by World War II. A rotunda-shaped main building whose walls are tall slabs of concrete carefully angled to form a circle, the Theatre boasts excellent acoustics and has been a popular venue for rock performances since the 1970s.