World

Smithsonian Roof Collapse At Museum Support Centre In Baltimore

by amyellensoden | February 10, 2010 at 10:42 am

1492 views | 0 Recommendations | 2 comments

The Smithsonian Museum Support Centre's roof was found to have collapsed his morning. The Support Centre is located at a warehouse in Maryland and contains artifacts from the National Air and Space Museum.

The incident was discovered this morning with the roof and one wall having collapsed. The roof was housing valuable artifacts. The specific location was warehouse #21 of the Garber Facility.

The collapse was discovered early Wednesday at the Garber Facility in Suitland, which houses artifacts from the National Air and Space Museum.

Smithsonian spokeswoman Linda St. Thomas said the collections are safe in a sealed container inside the building.

Firefighters shut off electricity and gas in the Smithsonian warehouse this morning. They arrived at the scene around 7:00am to investigate the damage. Some of the Garber Facility buildings are from the 1950's and set for demolition.

While none of the Smithsonian Museum Support Centre's artifacts are damaged, emergency crews have classified the building as unstable for the time being. This means it would be too dangerous for people to go in and retrieve any of the artifacts for now. The Smithsonian will be closing all of its premises today due to the incident.

The institute said all Smithsonian museums, including the National Air and Space Museum on the National Mall and the Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA will be closed Wednesday, February 10.

0 See all footage | View Slideshow

Share: email story | add to any | | facebook | stumbleupon

recommend This comment thread is now closed

Been There (not verified)

at 16:13 on February 10th, 2010

The Garber facility is located in Suitland, MD not Baltimore, MD and "iicident" is spelled "incident".

M McDonald (not verified)

at 09:20 on February 11th, 2010

I was there as well and you are correct, the S. storage warehouse is in Suitland, MD. Please tell me that the Mona Lia was moved to a safer place. I flew on this aircraft in 1929. Anyone with classified credentials can tell us this much, more info please. No "s" in Lisa like "s" in John"s"Thank "s" for reporting