MUSIC BOX BUILDING FIRE

On April 30th, 1963, a group of movie-goers at Tacoma’s beloved Music Box Theatre, which once stood where you're currently standing, were evacuated from a matinee showing of Alfred Hitchcock’s film “The Birds” when the theater suddenly filled with smoke.

A fire broke out due to an electrical issue and required the help of nearly 300 firefighters, emergency personnel, and other volunteers to extinguish the blaze. Everyone managed to escape the fiery inferno, but the iconic landmark theater was demolished later that summer after sustaining irrecoverable damage. 

The Music Box Theatre, originally named the Tacoma Theatre, opened just before the turn of the century in 1890 and hosted many famous public figures including Mark Twain, Harry Houdini, Ronald Regan, and more. 

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