'Waterfall' wreaks havoc at Lightner

'Waterfall' wreaks havoc at Lightner
Second, third and fourth floors of museum sustain ceiling leaks
TIFFANY PAKKALA
tiffany.pakkala@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 06/03/07
Picture-perfect displays became a picture of disaster early Saturday when a massive section of the St. Augustine Lightner Museum's roof leaked.
Curator Barry Myers said he arrived just after 4 a.m. to find "a waterfall" gushing into the museum's Victorian Village, which is on the first floor.
The second, third and fourth floors also had leaks staining the ceilings and dripping onto the floors and artifacts.
Leaks are nothing new in the 1887 building, but Myers said Saturday's damages were the worst he's seen in his 18 years with the museum.
He said a roofing crew hired by the City of St. Augustine, which is responsible for the upkeep of the museum's exterior, had been working on the roof during the week. He suspected the damages would not have been so bad if the roofers had been better prepared for the storm.
"I wish (the City) hadn't gone with the lowest bidder. You get what you pay for," Myers said.
City Manager Bill Harriss said he couldn't speculate whether the roofers were negligent.
"I don't know what the deal was, if the contractors were deficient, if it was an act of God. We'll need to figure that out," he said.
The city just recently repaired the roof over the museum's pool section. Now it's working to repair the main roof, Harriss said, adding that the tough part is getting the funding to do it.
None of Saturday's rainstorms damaged the museum's artifacts beyond repair, but several water-logged ceiling tiles had to be removed.
Later in the day, when the museum would normally be busy with visitors, the hallways were instead crowded with industrial-sized fans. The majestic Francis the First statue, which is made of wood, was draped in protective plastic tarp. And the 17th century Cimon and Pera, the museum's oldest painting, was taken down, placed on the floor of another room while the wall dried.
Myers, who found out about the leaks when police notified him the museum's alarm was going off, said he was worried most about a $10,000 "shimmer" piece. The 19th century seashell sculpture, which is encased in glass, was directly below the gushing water when the curator came into the museum.
He removed the piece and stowed it away in his office. Soon, every corner of his office was crowded with pieces he feared would be damaged either by the water or the repair crews.
Within hours of finding the damages, Myers had assembled five museum employees, four city employees, four roofers, an electrician and seven repairmen from Mandarin's Servpro. Museum director Robert Harper was out of town, but he was in constant communication by telephone. The group worked throughout the day to dry the drenched museum and clean up the mess the leaks caused.
The museum was closed all day, and it's expected to be closed today as repairs continue. Myers said he hopes it can reopen by Monday, but he's unsure whether that will be possible.
He said he hopes the damages will make the public aware of how dire the museum's need for roof repairs is. He pointed out longtime water stains on the ceilings, buckets permanently used to catch water in storage areas, and sections of plaster peeling from the walls due to water damage.
Pam Haney, a merchant who runs the building's downstairs Forget-Me-Not Antiques shop, said merchants also deal with the problem.
"We're constantly mopping and putting out buckets so people don't get hurt," she said.
A longtime St. Augustine resident whose family has lived in the city for several generations, she said she worries most about the Lightner Museum and its artifacts.
"This is a part of our heritage. We love it, and this (damage) breaks our hearts. You can't replace any of it," she said.
Myers said he understands that it's a "huge undertaking" to replace the museum's clay tile roof, but he said it's been a long time coming.
"This has been a problem for so long, and it's been ignored too long." Click here to return to story:http://staugustine.com/stories/060307/news_4633602.shtml © The St. Augustine Record