‘A stab in the heart’: Storm damage at Fair Park’s Hall of State put rare artifacts in peril
https://www.dallasnews.com/arts-entertainment/visual-arts/2021/02/26/a-stab-in-the-heart-storm-damage-at-fair-parks-hall-of-state-put-rare-artifacts-in-peril/...What transpired in the days since — repairing walls, floors, pipes, the HVAC system and more — is expected to cost at least $3 million at the Hall of State alone. That doesn’t include damage to the collection or the nearby Cotton Bowl, where repair estimates now exceed $2 million.
So far, rescuers from multiple agencies and private companies have managed to salvage or restore hundreds of documents, one being the historical society’s rarest, most significant item: the 1865 Juneteenth proclamation. It survived, Lill says, because it was locked in a safe. Others are being treated at a Fort Worth facility that specializes in restoring damaged documents.
The Dallas Office of Arts and Culture estimates it will cost $411,000 to repair its own damaged or threatened items, which are owned by the City of Dallas and housed in the Hall of State — murals, a fresco, the Orotone photographs, furniture and vitrines.
But the city’s estimate does not include damage to the historical society archives, whose repair costs have not been determined.
All involved say even more items would have been damaged, or destroyed, absent the immediate, widespread response that unfolded soon after Hazelip answered his iPhone at 4 a.m.
By 10 a.m. on Feb. 17, a crew that Lill describes as “a battalion, an army of construction workers†had been deployed. According to Karl Chiao, executive director of the Dallas Historical Society, they worked tirelessly until 9 that night and under the worst possible conditions. Workers were forced to tread carefully, so as not to incur a fatal footstep, because of the mixture of water and power.
“Plus,†Chiao says, “there was always the concern that the ceiling might collapse.â€...
