Arkansas Arts Center officials are uncertain of the cost and extent of damage caused by heavy rains Wednesday night in Little Rock after water poured through the roof of the south side of the building, knocking down ceiling tiles and endangering artwork.
RELATED ARTICLES
http://www.arkansas…">Hard rains slam state, LR area, flood, rip streets
http://www.arkansas…">Second round of storms expected Thursday
Just before 7 p.m. Wednesday, Arts Center staff members were alerted to a leaking roof and flooded floors in the lecture hall and in the alcove where Arts Center Museum School student work is displayed. Staff first removed the artwork from the area. None of the artwork was damaged except for a paper frame that surrounded a painting.
Staff began mopping and squeegeeing the floors and gathered ruined tile that was falling from the ceiling as water poured in.
About 7:45 p.m., the fire alarm went off and museum school students were sent home. Workers found no fire and later determined that the alarm went off because water had leaked into a smoke detector and caused it to activate.
Arts Center Executive Director Todd Herman, surveying the damage, said the center has had roof leaks before but none of this magnitude.
"Obviously, this wasn't a minor rupture of the roof," he said. "This was something major."
Herman said just after 8 p.m. that he and his staff had checked the nearby Children's Theatre and other galleries in the museum and believed the damage was limited to the lecture hall and the areas near it on the first floor.
"It looks like no art is in danger," he said. "We've double-checked the galleries."
Facility manager John Pagan said later Wednesday night that the center's roof is flat and that it appeared a blocked drain created the problem. The blockage was cleared by 9:45 p.m., and he said officials didn't anticipate it being an issue the remainder of the night.
"It's going to happen," Pagan said. "We're fortunate that we caught it when we did."
Staff called roofers and mold and mildew workers to examine the scene, but Herman said he wasn't sure what anyone could do with the rain still falling. It was expected to fall throughout the rest of the night and during the day today.
In February, Little Rock voters approved bonds of up to $37.5 million for improvements to and expansion of the Arts Center and renovations to the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History. The bonds will be paid back through the collection of a city hotel room tax that started Jan. 1.
Herman said that roof repairs -- even before Wednesday night's flooding -- were likely going to be among the improvements to the Arts Center, which has replaced the roof already in several spots within the past five years. Herman said he couldn't remember whether the area that collapsed Wednesday night had been replaced within the past five years.
Metro on 03/31/2016