Park Ridge firefighters were able to put out a fire before it could destroy the historic Pickwick Theatre Monday morning.

Witnesses said the building that houses the Pickwick started to fill up with smoke Monday morning. 

"I went into the hallway and I smelled smoke, and as I was walking toward the office next to me, I smelled it more, and then I looked inside. I didn't see anything in the one door, and I felt the door. It didn't feel hot," said witness Danielle Soristo. "Then I went to the back door, and I smelled the smoke even more, and I touched the back door, and it was super-hot."

Soristo called 911 immediately. When firefighters arrived, they found flames in that office where the door was hot.

Firefighters quickly put out the fire. 

No one was injured, and the Pickwick Theatre was not damaged. Fire officials said a small fire originated in the corner of an office on the second floor. They were able to force the door open and extinguish the fire quickly before it spread. 

Fire officials said the damage was limited just to that office unit and there was no damage to the Pickwick or the stores on the first floor. 

In August 2022, the Pickwick Theatre was set up to look like it was on fire for the filming of an episode of the TV series "Chicago Fire." The flames seen along the roofline of the theater for the filming were real, but controlled, and the smoke was artificial. But as documented on social media at the time, some passersby thought the theater was really on fire.

The art-deco movie palace has been in operation since 1928 at 5 S. Prospect Ave.

According to Cinema Treasures, the Pickwick was designed by the firm Zook & McCaughey and opened as a vaudeville and movie house. Its "mega-theatre" features a 3/11 Wurlitzer theater pipe organ.

Three additional smaller screens were later added to the back building of the Pickwick in 1990, and one more was added in 2017.

The theater was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

In December 2022, Pickwick owner Dino Vlahakis said his family would close the theater the following month, but hoped to find a new operator to take over. The theater pulled through and remains open and beloved.