Earlier this week a devastating sinkhole opened up in Bowling Green, Kentucky, directly under National Corvette Museum, Luckily, no one was reported injured and no fatalities were claimed.
A very detailed press release from the museum explains the situation:
We received a call at 5:44am from our security company alerting us of our motion detectors going off in our Skydome area of the Museum. Upon arrival it was discovered that a sinkhole had collapsed within the Museum. No one was in or around the Museum at the time. The Bowling Green Fire Department arrived on the scene and secured the area. The Fire Department has estimated the size of the hole is 40 feet across and 25-30 feet deep.
It is with heavy hearts that we report that eight Corvettes were affected by this incident. Those cars include:
1993 ZR-1 Spyder on loan from General Motors
2009 ZR1 “Blue Devil” on loan from General Motors
The other six vehicles were owned by the National Corvette Museum including:1962 Black Corvette
1984 PPG Pace Car
1992 White 1 Millionth Corvette
1993 Ruby Red 40th Anniversary Corvette
2001 Mallett Hammer Z06 Corvette
2009 White 1.5 Millionth CorvetteNone of the cars affected were on loan from individuals. The Skydome exhibit area of the Museum is a separate structure connected to the main Museum. A structural engineer is now on-site to assess the existing damage and stability of the surrounding areas. The Museum is closed to the public for the day to allow us to carefully assess the situation. We will keep everyone informed as we know more.
With the 20th Anniversary celebration, Grand Opening of the NCM Motorsports Park, and the National Corvette Caravan coming August 27-30, we’ve got a lot to be excited about in 2014, and look forward to getting the Skydome repaired and reopened very soon.**
It will be interesting to see how the sinkhole is repaired and how the insurance carriers for the property and cars respond, but it is clear that the Museum wants to get the Skydome repaired promptly.
Corvettes are very special cars to so many people. My Grandpa Larry loved his treasured 1965 Corvette Stingray. As the original owner of the beaut he realized just a few years ago that it was time to share the love and sold it to a good friend of the family. Now the Vett lives in a happy home here in Florida with Tad and Vickie Balzer who have given lots of love to this treasure, as shown below.
Since February is the month of love, here is a classic song from George Jones that all Corvette enthusiasts should enjoy.
//www.youtube.com/embed/N1RaLL_g4g0?rel=0
Interested in learning more about the Musuem? The National Corvette Museum is the ‘Gateway to All Things Corvette’ and a member-driven, 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation. Weekly news on the latest Corvette developments, racing updates, event features and raffles are available by subscribing to “NCM eNews” at: corvettemuseum.org/subscribe. Dedicated to the mission of celebration, education and preservation, the Museum is open seven days a week, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT – located at Exit 28 on I-65 in Bowling Green, Kentucky.