The Roseway Theatre in Portland, Oregon has closed after an extensive fire ripped through the building the morning of August 6, 2022.

Update: According to an article published by Oregon Public Broadcasting on November 16, 2022 (see list below), the theater is being demolished after the owner found that rebuilding the theater was not feasible.

Located on Sandy Boulevard about five miles northeast of downtown Portland, the single-screen movie theater dates back to 1925. According to a press release from Portland Fire & Rescue, more than 80 people worked to contain the fire:

This morning at 5:48 AM Portland Firefighters were called to a fire at the Roseway Theater. When firefighters arrived they found a building filled with dark black smoke. Command immediately called for a second alarm. Fire crews forced entry into the building and began searching for the fire, however the floor began to collapse and fire began burning through the roof. This forced command to pull crews back outside and to fight the fire from the exterior or defensively.

Firefighters used aerial ladder trucks to pour water into the building in an effort to extinguish the fire and to keep it from spreading to adjoining businesses. In order to ensure adequate resources were available fire commanders called for a third alarm. At its peak there were over 80 fire personnel working on this fire. PGE and NW Natural were called to the scene to make fire affected utilities safe. There were no reports of injuries associated with this fire.

At this time the fire is under control, but firefighters are continuing to cool hot spots. Fire investigators are on scene, but must wait for the scene to stabilize before they are able to dig through the fire debris in search of a cause. Crews will likely be on scene throughout the day and the investigation will likely take several days at least. 

City crews were called to mitigate the water runoff caused by the firefighting efforts.

Events like these force us to further stretch our firefighting resources and the public is asked to be especially vigilant as todays weather poses a significant risk for fires to start and spread quickly. In short the summer fire season is here and were busy, so please help us by being fire safe.

Update: On August 22, 2022, Portland Fire & Rescue followed up with another announcement that the fire was accidental and electrical in nature, and arson has been ruled out.

Moviegoers in the area will need to visit one of the other nearby theaters, including the Hollywood Theatre, the Academy Theater, and the McMenamins Kennedy School Theatre in Portland.

Related News Articles

• Crews start demolishing Portland’s historic Roseway Theater -- Oregon Public Broadcasting [Nov 16, 2022]
• Fire at Northeast Portland’s historic Roseway Theater was electrical, investigators say -- Oregon Public Broadcasting [Aug. 23, 2022]
• Officials investigating fire at Roseway Theater -- Fox 12 Oregon [Aug 8, 2022]
• Fire engulfs Roseway Theater in NE Portland -- The Oregonian [Aug 6, 2022]
• Three-Alarm Fire Devastates the Roseway Theater -- Williamette Week [Aug 6, 2022]
• Roseway Theater heavily damaged by three-alarm fire -- Portland Tribune [Aug 6, 2022]
• Historic theater partially collapses in 3-alarm fire in NE Portland -- Fox 12 Oregon [Aug 6, 2022]