Liberty Theater Roof Collapses

A screening of the movie "Captain America: Brave New World" at the Liberty Cinema in Wenatchee was suddenly halted when a portion of the building's roof collapsed on Tuesday night.

The Wenatchee Valley Fire Department says the collapse occurred at just after 8 p.m. when parts of the roof's interior structure fell onto the front three rows of the theater and its apron.

Get our free mobile app

Wenatchee Valley Fire Department Chief Brian Brett says two people were inside the theater at the time of the collapse.

"There were only two people in the main theater when an internal section of the roof collapsed and dropped, just one row away from where they were sitting. They had heard creaks and groans and tried to deduce if it was coming from the movie or the theater itself. They looked up and realized it was coming from the roof of the theater. One of those people was able to get a couple of steps away, while the other person did get hit by some debris but was not injured."

The owners of the Liberty Cinema, Sun Basin Theaters, say the Liberty will be closed until further notice while evaluations to the damage and structural integrity of the building are being made.

The Liberty was built in 1919 and has since been renovated several times to include eight separate screening areas. Tuesday's collapse occurred in the main screening area of the cinema.