Monday, December 20 1999 | ||||||||
Ringling makes plans to protect art By ROBERTA NELSON Herald Features Writer
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SARASOTA - They're making dry runs preparing for summer's wet storms at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. Hurricane preparations take place regularly at the museum, said Director David Ebitz. "When I worked at the (J. Paul) Getty (Museum, in California), we had a very well-developed disaster preparedness plan, so I made that a priority when I came here," Ebitz said. "Of course, there the disasters are earthquakes and forest fires. Here, we have gone through the whole process and shut down the museum three times." The Ringling Museum has three buildings on its waterfront complex, 5401 Bay Shore Road. The main art museum was built by John Ringling in 1926 on high ground, but the smaller circus museum, built 50 years ago, is on a flood plain. The former Ringling home, Ca'd'Zan, also built in the 1920s, is perhaps the most vulnerable, set at the water's edge on Sarasota Bay. In addition to the valuable historic buildings with precious exterior features, the galleries and storerooms hold millions of dollars' worth of European art, antique furniture and the circus museum collection. The last time large pieces of art were moved was in 1992 because of Hurricane Andrew. Besides named hurricanes, museum officials worry about the "no-name" storms that come with short warning. If artwork is to be moved, it must be done during a hurricane's "yellow alert phase," the 72 to 96 hours between the beginning of a hurricane and expected landfall. The museum's emergency plan calls for Ebitz or his designee to decide whether to move works of art, whether to allow the public access to the museum grounds and what steps to take to protect the buildings. Artwork cannot be moved once a hurricane warning has been issued and Sarasota County has ordered evacuations. The museum's plan calls this the "red-alert phase." "Once we are in red alert, it is too late," said Michelle Scalera, the museum's conservator. "The rains are coming and the winds are too high, and one of the things we won't do is move large works of art." At greater peril are the circus museum collection and Ca'd'Zan. "The circus museum is the biggest problem," Scalera said. "It is not really an 'official' building, and has a tin roof, and big doorways for the (circus) wagons. So the doors get sandbagged, and if there are leaks - there have been leaks in the past - we pull the conservation team, the curatorial staff and everyone we can get to help (circus curator) Debbie Walk cover the costumes." Protecting Ca'd'Zan is what worries Ebitz and Scalera most. "There are two hand-chased lions (on the terrace)," Scalera said. "Ron (McCarty, of the conservation staff) and I are afraid they might break if there is swirling, hurling debris about. They are so vulnerable. They could even get hit with a palm frond, and those can be lethal. Next week, when I meet with the team, my questions will be about making some sort of boxed padded protection for those lions." Ebitz worries about the historic mansion if there are hurricane-force winds. "We have had discussion on how to design a system, which would probably work best with exterior Lexan or reinforced panels mounted on the house (over the windows), but even there, if wind worked its way behind the panels, the change in air pressure would blow out a lot of the house," he said. "So, in my opinion, there is almost nothing you could do that would guarantee an airtight seal." Ebitz said he has been making inquiries about a giant protective mesh dropped from the roof line that would protect windows from windblown debris. Everyone hopes there will not be a hurricane that puts life and property at risk, but preparing for a big storm has its positive side, Scalera said.
"I have to tell you, the happiest times are when we all pitch in together. Everybody forgets issues and moves on with what is at hand, and those are wonderful times," she said.
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