Fantasy Studios, the legendary Bay Area facility where John Fogerty, Green Day, Santana, Journey, En Vogue, Joan Baez and numerous other marquee acts recorded, is set to close.

The news was delivered via an email sent out by the Berkeley-based studio.

“We are sad to inform you that the Berkeley building at 2600 Tenth Street in which we operate is being sold, and that Fantasy Recording Studios will be closing effective September 15th, 2018,” the email reads. “We wish to thank you for your patronage and for the privilege of working with you on the incredible projects you have completed at Fantasy. We are grateful and proud that your works of art will represent us forever.”

What’s specifically in store for the building wasn’t disclosed. But the current owners, Wareham Development, is best known for renting and developing biotech office property.

Bay Area music fans will remember Fantasy as the home of significant recordings by a number of local artists. It’s where Green Day recorded its 1994 album “Dookie,” which launched the East Bay band into stardom and went on to sell more than 20 million copies, making it the biggest punk album of all time. Also, Santana recorded the 1999 multi-Grammy-winner “Supernatural,” which totaled over 30 million in sales, at Fantasy as well as the Record Plant in Sausalito.

Fantasy’s record in the film world is just as impressive. Work was done on such Oscar-winning films “The English Patient,” “Amadeus,” “Apocalypse Now” and, most famously, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” at the Berkeley studio.

As news of Fantasy’s impending closure spread, people took to social media to voice their unhappiness.

“The end of an era. Beyond depressing. Music history would not be what it is without Fantasy Studios,” read a tweet from Bay Area online music magazine Innerviews.

The end of an era. Beyond depressing. Music history would not be what it is without Fantasy Studios. https://t.co/mRnBOxrNWS — Innerviews (@Innerviews) July 30, 2018

“Sad to hear Fantasy Studios in Berkeley is closing. I worked on a few @GratefulDead projects there 2001-2003 when our studio was too busy. Wonderful facility, top notch staff,” tweeted David Lemieux‏, Grateful Dead archivist known for the popular “Dave’s Picks” series of Grateful Dead concert recordings.

Sad to hear Fantasy Studios in Berkeley is closing. I worked on a few @GratefulDead projects there 2001-2003 when our studio was too busy. Wonderful facility, top notch staff. pic.twitter.com/T7qdPplIYI — David Lemieux (@lemieuxdavid) July 28, 2018

“Utterly sad and shocking. I’ve recorded a few albums there myself, let alone the albums I grew up with that have come out of this beautiful and legendary studio building,” tweeted local rock guitarist Steve Smyth, who has performed in Testament and other groups. “Rest In Peace Fantasy Studios.”

Utterly sad and shocking. I’ve recorded a few albums there myself, let alone the albums I grew up with that have come out of this beautiful and legendary studio building.

Rest In Peace Fantasy Studios. 😥 https://t.co/oljG06dQoa — Steve Smyth (@stevesmyth01) July 28, 2018

“Saddened to hear the news of Fantasy Studios closing up shop soon. Not many historic bay area studios left and another one bites the dust,” says Los Angeles-based record producer-engineer Johnnie Burik.

Saddened to hear the news of Fantasy Studios closing up shop soon. Not many historic bay area studios left and another one bites the dust. — Johnnie Burik (@riv3th3ad) July 28, 2018

“Sad to hear that Berkeley’s legendary Fantasy Studios is shutting down, home of so many great records were cut there, including @toddrundgren’s Nearly Human, most Creedence Clearwater Revival sides, stuff by Green Day, Journey, Santana, a ton of Jazz, and film soundtracks,” says San Francisco indie-rock artist Paul Myers.

Sad to hear that Berkeley’s legendary Fantasy Studios is shutting down, home of so many great records were cut there, including @toddrundgren’s Nearly Human, most Creedence Clearwater Revival sides, stuff by Green Day, Journey, Santana, a ton of Jazz, and film soundtracks. https://t.co/1Vh6zDSO95 — Paul Myers (@pulmyears) July 28, 2018

“I’m told the famous Fantasy Records Studio in Berkeley will shut down on Sept. 15. If this happens it will be the end of one of the most historic sites in recording history. Among the artists who recorded here: Mingus, B.B.King, B. Evans, T. Bennett, D. Bowie, S. Rollins, etc,” says Ted Gioia, author of “The History of Jazz.”

I’m told the famous Fantasy Records Studio in Berkeley will shut down on Sept. 15. If this happens it will be the end of one of the most historic sites in recording history. Among the artists who recorded here: Mingus, B.B.King, B. Evans, T. Bennett, D. Bowie, S. Rollins, etc. pic.twitter.com/opQYACXKFC — Ted Gioia (@tedgioia) July 27, 2018

Fantasy’s origins date back to 1949, when Max and Sol Weiss started Fantasy Records in San Francisco and began issuing Dave Brubeck records. The initial focus was on jazz music, recording such greats as Chet Baker and Cal Tjader, but the label also did comedy, spoken word, poetry and more.

Saul Zaentz acquired the label in 1967 and soon after struck gold with the signing of El Cerrito’s own Creedence Clearwater Revival, whose success would catapult Fantasy into the forefront of pop/rock music and provide Fantasy with the money necessary to move into what would be its home for nearly five decades.

“The extraordinary success of Creedence in the late ’60s led to Fantasy’s expansion on several fronts, including the construction of a new two-story building at the corner of Tenth and Parker in Berkeley. Containing three recording studios (A, B, and C) and a mastering room as well as offices and a spacious warehouse, the facility opened in February 1971,” according to the history page on the label’s website.

Although Fantasy in many ways lived up to the nickname “The House That Creedence Built,” its primary focus remained on jazz. Such celebrated artists as McCoy Tyner, Sonny Rollins, Bill Evans, Tony Bennett, Flora Purim and Ron Carter recorded there in the ’70s. Fantasy also acquired the significant Prestige and Riverside catalogs in the early ’70s making it one of the biggest jazz operations on the planet.

Helping guide the ship was Riverside co-founder Orrin Keepnews, the legendary producer who became Fantasy’s director of jazz A&R.

“It turned out that I was still spending most of my working hours, day and night, in one recording studio or another,” Keepnews is quoted as saying on Fantasy’s history page on its website.

Around the same time, Zaentz got involved with filmmaking and one of his first productions was the vastly acclaimed and successful “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” which went on to win five Oscars, including for best picture.

“The immense success achieved by ‘Cuckoo’s Nest,’ which was produced by Saul Zaentz (with Michael Douglas), prompted another round of expansion in both the film and recording spheres,” according to the Fantasy history page. The studio grew to a seven-story facility that housed dubbing and film- and sound-editing centers, as well as additional recording facilities.

The new complex was dubbed the Zaentz Media Center and, in 1980, it was opened to the public, allowing musicians and filmmakers from around the globe to utilize its state-of-the-art facilities.

The Fantasy label was sold to the Concord Music Group in 2004, with the sale of the building to local real estate developer Wareham Development came three years later. Zaentz passed away in 2014. And while the music and film business has evolved steadily in recent years, Fantasy is still being used by musicians, filmmakers, game-makers and others. The studio said much of this work will continue with technicians and engineers at Fantasy that have arrangements with other studios.

“Wareham is in the very early stages of marketing 2600 Tenth St. for sale,” said Andrew Neilly, company spokesman. “After owning the building for the last 11 and a half years and investing significantly into the building — including supporting the studio operation — it’s necessary to focus our time and attention on our core assets and expertise, namely being one of the largest privately-held developers and owners of life science and medical technology buildings in the Bay Area.”

“As an integral part of the Zaentz Media Center, we provide services for the music, film, video, and game communities,” according to the Fantasy website. “Fantasy continues to be one of the most requested recording studios on the West Coast with an extensive selection of microphones, outboard gear, instruments, and natural echo chambers.”