Fifth Avenue Cinema temporarily closed after flooding

A construction oversight caused Portland State’s student-run Fifth Avenue Cinema to shut down until further notice after rainfall caused flooding and water damage to the building and film equipment on August 18.

The flooding occurred after a local contractor failed to properly cover a jobsite on the roof of the cinema, leaving the roof of the building exposed over the weekend, according to Caitline Porter, film committee coordinator for Fifth Avenue Cinema.

Porter said the contractor, Pioneer Waterproofing, had been drilling on the roof of the building for the last two weeks while resurfacing the parking lot to the Ondine housing building.

“The parking lot of the Ondine is on the roof of our building and they were re-doing it,” Porter said. “They ripped up the parking lot and left it even though the forecast was calling for rain.”

The weekend brought rain. Although she was not there, Porter’s coworkers contacted her after the roof began leaking.

“Saturday night, they said it was like it was raining inside,” said Porter. “When I got in Sunday morning, there were a couple of inches of standing water in both theaters. All the carpet was wet and squishy underfoot. All surfaces were covered in water.”

Charlene Lindsay, of PSU facilities and planning, said the contractor had been working on tearing off the parking deck material and replacing it with a new waterproof traffic coating for the Ondine parking lot. She was very surprised that the contractor had failed to cover the roof, she said.

“It’s very unlike them to drop the ball,” Lindsay said of the contractor.

Lindsay also said the contractor has been advised of an insurance claim against them. The contractor was not available for comment on Wednesday.

Porter said the cinema had just received $6,000 in booth equipment the previous week from American cinema equipment, a local supply company. Booth equipment is specialized machinery used in theaters, such as projectors and breakdown tables, used to handle celluloid film.

“It sucks. All the equipment we have is at least 20 years old,” Porter said. “This is the first equipment we’ve received since 2005.”

Porter said some tarps have been put down over the roof since Saturday. A list of damages to the cinema will be compiled and given to a campus risk management officer, who will oversee the cleanup and restoration process along with PSU facilities and Ondine housing personnel, she said.

Porter said that the damages to the cinema could keep them closed for some time, but she said she hopes they can still show their last film of the summer season, Rififi, on Aug. 31-Sept. 2. She said the university has been supportive toward restoration efforts.

“PSU wants to fix the situation,” she said. “We hope to get things up and running soon.”

The student group, the Film Committee, runs Fifth Avenue Cinemas, which is funded by student fees. The cinema shows about 10 films every term and is free to all PSU students.