National Corvette Museum Holds Ribbon Cutting for Skydome Post Sinkhole Construction

Milestone 1-Millionth Corvette Unveiled as Part of the Ceremony

It’s official! A year and a half after a large sinkhole formed in the Skydome of the National Corvette Museum, the 13 story iconic landmark is back, better than ever, with all eight “sinkhole Corvettes” returned to display. Though the Skydome re-opened to visitors on July 6, a ceremonial ribbon cutting (or rather, caution tape cutting) was held as part of the Museum’s 21st Anniversary Celebration.

What could have been a major road block for the Museum became more of a speed bump as the sinkhole is credited with the 67% increase in visitors for 2014. Instead of immediately filling the sinkhole and restoring the Corvettes, the Museum “made lemonade” and embraced the international news-making occurrence, putting nature’s handiwork on display for most of 2014.

“The success of the sinkhole saga could not have been possible without the help and support of several key players,” said Katie Frassinelli, Museum spokesperson, at the dedication event. Frassinelli stressed how fortunate the Museum was that no one was in the building when the collapse occurred while thanking the construction crew and insurance company for also embracing the new attraction. “They have entertained our crazy requests – from saving sinkhole boulders for our landscaping, to salvaging dirt and rock that we bottled for sale in the Corvette Store,” she said. Frassinelli also commented that much of the Museum’s positive outcome from the sinkhole collapse is a result of being able to release video footage of the collapse as it occurred, and later allowing visitors to stand mere feet from the sinkhole to get an up close view.

“There is one chapter left to our story,” Frassinelli said. “Late this fall we are excited to welcome a special exhibit called Corvette Cave-In: The Skydome Sinkhole Experience. Visitors will learn the particulars of sinkholes, karst landscapes, and caves as well as what happened, why it happened, details on the eight Corvettes and how they were recovered and restored, and how the building was structurally repaired. The tour ends as the cave they are visiting virtually collapses over their heads to reveal their location underneath the Museum.”

The ceremony concluded with the caution tape cutting before rolling into a seminar on the restoration of the 1992 “1-millionth” Corvette. After more than four months and 1,200 man-hours of painstaking craftsmanship by the GM team, the restoration of the milestone car is complete, and the Corvette was unveiled in the Skydome.

The 1-millionth Corvette was one of the eight cars that fell victim to the February 12, 2014 sinkhole. And Chevrolet quickly came forward and pledged to restore it. After being rescued from the sinkhole, the 1-millionth Corvette was moved from the Museum to the Design Center on GM’s Technical Center campus in Warren, Mich., for restoration.

“As the one and only 1-millionth Corvette, its preservation was important to us as the designers of the vehicle – and as Corvette enthusiasts,” said Ed Welburn, vice president of GM Global Design. “The damage was significant in many ways; however we have one of the most highly skilled specialty shops and team of people in the industry, so they were fully prepared to take on the challenge.”

“Chevrolet is proud to have helped restore this extremely significant car in Corvette's long, storied history," said Mark Reuss, GM executive vice president, Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain. "When we disassembled it, we found that each employee involved in building it had signed a part of the car, which was fantastic and moving to see. It brought the history to life, and reinforced the importance of the project."

Despite extensive damage, GM’s team vowed to preserve and repair as many original components as possible – a decision that involved posterity as much as history, in order to preserve those signatures of the Bowling Green Assembly workers who built the car.

Only two signed components couldn’t be saved, so the team had the autographs scanned, reproduced as transfers and placed on the replacement parts.

One component with a single signature from Bowling Green Assembly employee Angela Lamb was too damaged to save or even accurately scan for her autograph. Lamb joined event attendees for the big reveal, signing her name on the replacement part. The 1-millionth Corvette is now historically accurate down to the last signature.

Among the parts replaced were the hood, front fascia and the lower panels between the front wheels and doors, as well as a number of ancillary supporting components under the hood. The replacements came from a vehicle of the same vintage and color, ensuring authenticity of the parts and materials involved with the restoration.

A few other components, such as the rear fascia and front exhaust system, would have probably been replaced in almost any other restoration project, but the team repaired them because they were also covered in signatures.

Additional highlights from the restoration:

• The front sub-frame was damaged in the fall into the sinkhole and required straightening
• The wheels were damaged, but reconditioned, with the original Goodyear Eagle GS-C tires
• Rather than replace the scuffed and scratched pad on the instrument panel, its soft cover was carefully removed and replaced to preserve the employee-signed structure beneath it
• The red leather seats, featuring one-off “1,000,000th Corvette” embroidery on the headrests were damaged but deemed irreplaceable, so they were restored, including a few replacement patches of carefully matched hide
• The 5.7L LT1 engine, transmission and other drivetrain components were inspected and found to be damage-free

Surprisingly, the one component the team didn’t have to replace was the crushed windshield header. When the car first rolled into the shop, an overhead crane was used to raise it enough to make the car drivable, but the frame pulled up surprisingly close to the original position, encouraging the team to save it.

“The header restoration was a wonderful surprise for what everyone assumed would be the toughest aspect of the restoration,” said Bolognino. “With access to the original specifications, we got it spot-on – and even the new windshield glass dropped in perfectly.”

The final touch was replacing the unique “1,000,000th” windshield banner it wore when it rolled off the assembly line 23 years ago. The computer graphic file used for the original was still available, allowing creation of an identical banner.

The 1-millionth Corvette is the second sinkhole-damaged Corvette that Chevrolet has restored. The first, a 2009 Corvette ZR1 prototype known as the Blue Devil, was only lightly damaged and was returned to its original condition last fall.

The National Corvette Museum’s new Maintenance and Preservation Department will restore the third car, a 1962 Corvette. The five additional Corvettes swallowed by the sinkhole will remain in their as-recovered state to preserve the historical significance of the cars.

FAST FACT: The 1-Millionth Corvette rolled off the assembly line as a convertible with a white exterior and a red interior - just like the first Corvette produced in 1953.

First Sinkhole Corvette Restored

 

Corvette ZR1 ‘Blue Devil’ debuts at SEMA Show on way back to museum 

LAS VEGAS – Chevrolet today unveiled the restored 2009 Corvette ZR1 that was damaged earlier this year when a sinkhole developed beneath the National Corvette Museum. It’s on display this week at the SEMA Show, before heading back to the museum in Bowling Green, Ky.

The ZR1, nicknamed the “Blue Devil,” is the first of the eight cars swallowed by the sinkhole to be restored. One of two show cars used to introduce the all-new Corvette ZR1 in January 2008, the car was on loan from Chevrolet to the National Corvette Museum when the sinkhole developed. 

Museum personnel were alerted about motion detectors going off in the Skydome area of the facility on the morning of Wednesday, Feb. 12. They arrived to find a sinkhole measuring about 45 feet wide, 60 feet long and up to 30 feet deep – and it had swallowed eight Corvettes. 

Three weeks later, the ZR1 was pulled out of the sinkhole. Despite falling nearly 30 feet, it started and drove out of the Skydome under its own power. 

“After that unprecedented event, the ZR1 was the first car to be lifted out of the sinkhole,” said Jim Campbell, U.S. vice president, performance vehicles and motorsports. “It was great to recover it, bring it back to Chevrolet and begin the restoration of this significant Corvette.” 

The ZR1 remained on display at the museum until September, when it was returned to Chevrolet for restoration. The damage included:
* Cracked carbon-fiber ground effects and a broken passenger-side rocker panel 
* Damaged passenger front fender, as well as cracks in both doors
* Cracked windshield, hood window glass and passenger headlamp assembly 
* Bent rear control arms on the driver’s side 
* Cracked oil lines to the supercharged LS9 engine’s dry-sump oiling system. 

Six weeks after work began, the restored ZR1 was started for the first time at the General Motors Heritage Center. 

Two other cars will be restored next year – the 1-millionth Corvette and a 1962 Corvette – while the other five will remain in their as-recovered state to preserve their historical significance. They will become part of a future display at the museum.

Join the social conversation at #CHEVYSEMA.



Museum Sinkhole Remediation Plan Outlined, Construction Starts November 10

Corvette Museum Skydome Sinkhole Viewing Ending Soon

National Corvette Museum officials met on Wednesday with construction personnel and engineers to review the plan, process and timeline for remediating the sinkhole and repairing the Skydome building.  Construction is slated to begin on Monday, November 10 and if everything goes according to schedule, the project will be completed by July, 2015.

The team reviewed the step-by-step process of filling the sinkhole beginning with the removal of boulders.  Late November through December the team will then install sheet piling to block the cave openings.  The hole will then be filled with about 4,000 tons of fist-sized #2 stone, taking place late December through mid-January, 2015. The remaining concrete slab flooring in the room will be removed in mid-January.  At that time, electrical, water and HVAC  repair work will occur through mid-February.

A quantity of 46 micropiles as well as grade beams will be installed mid-February through late March. The micropiles will be spaced 15-20 feet apart at an average depth of 141 feet based on the structural engineering design.  This design will ensure that if another collapse were to occur, the floor would remain intact.  Following this process will be the installation of additional stone as well as a new concrete slab floor (anticipated to take until late April to complete).  The final two months of construction will include the rebuilding of a new entrance with garage door and emergency exit doors, other repairs, repainting, installing new lighting fixtures, a thorough cleaning and other final touch ups.

Changes to the room will include a one-level natural color polished concrete floor without stairs and ramps like the current room has; the new garage door to allow for easy display car access as well as the ability to have an open-air entry for after-hours facility rentals; a redesigned drainage system; and 12 foot paved perimeter around the Skydome.  The cost of the project is just over $3.2 million.

While the Skydome web cams will be removed during the construction process, the Plexiglas viewing window will remain so that Museum guests can watch the on-going work.

The Museum team has received numerous ideas and suggestions on ways to tell the story of what happened on February 12, 2014 and provide interesting and entertaining aspects for visitors.  The Museum is currently exploring several options that include the opportunity to see down into the caves and 3D art.

The Museum plans to display the three restored Corvettes and five unrestored Corvettes in the Skydome once work has completed.

“We appreciate all of the support, feedback, ideas and prayers throughout this very interesting time in our history,” said Wendell Strode, Museum Executive Director.  “Sunday, November 9 will be the very last day to see the sinkhole up close and in person – so if you’ve been wanting to check it out for yourself you have just over three weeks to do so.”

Currently six of the eight “sinkhole Corvettes” are on display in the Skydome: the 1962 Tuxedo Black Corvette, 1984 PPG Pace Car, 1993 ZR-1 Spyder, 1993 40^th Anniversary Ruby Red Corvette, 2001 “Mallet Hammer” Z06 and 2009 “1.5 Millionth” Corvette.  After November 9^th the Museum will move as many of the cars as possible into other public viewing areas until the Skydome re-opens in July, 2015.

The National Corvette Museum is located at I-65 exit 28 in Bowling Green, Kentucky and is open seven days a week, from 8am until 5pm Central Time. Museum admission is $10 for adults, $5 for kids age 6 to 16, $8 for seniors or $25 family admission. Children age 5 and under are free, but are not allowed in the Skydome building. For more information on the Museum, visit www.corvettemuseum.org or download their free app on iTunes or Google Play, or call 800-538-3883.

Museum Board Finalizes Decision on Sinkhole, Great 8 Corvettes

The National Corvette Museum Board of Directors held their quarterly meeting and finalized plans for repair of the Museum’s Skydome building, and the eight Corvettes affected by the February 12, 2014 sinkhole collapse.

After careful review of additional information and revised plans with price quotes from the construction company, the board voted to completely fill in the sinkhole.

“We really wanted to preserve a portion of the hole so that guests for years to come could see a little bit of what it was like, but after receiving more detailed pricing, the cost outweighs the benefit,” said Museum Executive Director Wendell Strode. “At the June board meeting, the information available at that time indicated a cost of around $500,000 more to keep the hole, but after incorporating additional safety features and vapor barriers for humidity control, the price tag rose to $1 million more than the cost to put the Skydome back how it was.”

Keeping even a portion of the sinkhole would require 35 foot retaining walls to be built inside of the sinkhole, additional micro piling, visible steel beams running through the hole, and soil nailing. All of these additional structural features are to ensure the safety of the sinkhole and prevent cracking and breaking of the sides in the future, which could result in stability issues, but take away from the natural look of the original sinkhole. The board also considered future maintenance issues that could arise if the hole was kept and the possibility that the hole wouldn’t look like a naturally occurring sinkhole any longer.

“The interest in our new attraction has been phenomenal so we do plan to leave it ‘as-is’ through our Vets ‘n Vettes event November 6-8, 2014, after which time we will begin the process of remediating and filling the hole,” Strode added.

Chevrolet and the National Corvette Museum will restore three of the Corvettes that were damaged when they were swallowed up by the sinkhole.

Chevrolet will restore the 2009 Corvette ZR1 prototype, known as the Blue Devil, and the 1-millionth Corvette produced – a white 1992 convertible. The GM Heritage Center will oversee this process. In addition, the restoration of the 1962 Corvette will be funded by Chevrolet, but will be handled by the National Corvette Museum. A restoration shop has not yet been determined. The remaining five cars were determined to be too badly damaged to warrant restoration. They will remain in their as-recovered state to preserve the historical significance of the cars and what happened on February 12, 2014. They will become part of a future display at the Museum.

In total, General Motors will provide nearly $250,000 in support to help the Museum recover from the sinkhole. The National Corvette Museum celebrates its 20th anniversary this weekend as it welcomes the Corvette enthusiasts nationwide who have helped expand and support the non-profit Museum.

“Our goal was to help the National Corvette Museum recover from a terrible natural disaster by restoring all eight cars,” said Mark Reuss, GM Executive Vice President, Global Product Development. “However, as the cars were recovered, it became clear that restoration would be impractical because so little was left to repair. And, frankly, there is some historical value in leaving those cars to be viewed as they are.”

It’s a sentiment echoed by Corvette enthusiasts from around the globe.

“There has been an outpouring of messages from enthusiasts the world over, asking us not to restore all of the cars,” said Wendell Strode, executive director for the National Corvette Museum. “For Corvette enthusiasts, the damage to the cars is part of their history, and part narrative of the National Corvette Museum. Restoring them all would negate the significance of what happened.”
Timelines for the start and projected completion dates for the three Corvettes’ restorations have not been established. They will be announced later.

Sinkhole summary

On Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014, at 5:44 a.m., National Corvette Museum (NCM) personnel received a notification from their security company about motion detectors going off in the Skydome area of the museum. When those personnel arrived on site, a sinkhole was discovered, eventually measuring about 45 feet wide, 60 feet long and up to 30 feet deep.

Security camera footage showing the Skydome floor’s collapse has been viewed nearly 8.3 million times on YouTube.

The sinkhole swallowed eight historic Corvettes – two on loan from GM and six owned by the museum:

• 1993 ZR-1 Spyder (on loan)
• 2009 ZR1 “Blue Devil” prototype (on loan)
• 1962 Corvette
• 1984 PPG Pace Car
• 1992 1-millionth Corvette
• 1993 40th Anniversary Corvette
• 2001 “Mallett Hammer” Z06
• 2009 1.5-millionth Corvette.

On March 3, the 2009 Blue Devil was the first car recovered and despite significant damage was started and driven out of the Skydome. The 1.5-millionth Corvette and Mallett Corvette were the last cars pulled from the sinkhole, on April 3 and April 9, respectively – after workers were initially unable to find them amid the collapsed earth.

All eight cars were placed in a special display, fueling a nearly 70-percent jump in museum visitor traffic in the months after the sinkhole appeared.

Construction is expected to take approximately 6 months to complete. The Museum will remain open during the process, and the work in the Skydome will be viewable via a Plexiglas wall.
The Museum plans to create a meaningful sinkhole exhibit within the Skydome, featuring the cars involved, 3D interactive images of the sinkhole, videos, photos and more.

The Museum is located at I-65, exit 28 in Bowling Green, KY - just one hour north of Nashville, TN and less than two hours south of Louisville, KY. Open daily, 8am-5pm CT, admission to the Museum is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors age 65 and over, $5 for kids age 6-16 and children age 5 and under are free. Access to view the sinkhole is included with regular admission. Guests who enter the Skydome to view the sinkhole must be age 8 or older. For more information on the Museum, visit their website at www.corvettemuseum.org or call 800-538-3883.

National Corvette Museum Sinkhole Viewing Offered This Summer

Guests offered opportunity to enter Skydome for close look at sinkhole

February 12 the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, KY was handed a lemon... a 40' wide by 60' deep lemon to be exact. What the Museum did, in turn, was even more unexpected than the sinkhole itself. The Museum turned the misfortune into a tourist attraction.

"We started with a Plexiglas viewing window so guests could see the construction going on inside the Skydome, and eventually the recovery of the Corvettes," said Katie Frassinelli, Marketing and Communications Manager at the Museum. "We always had one web cam available inside the Skydome, and due to the growing interest and popularity we added two more so our online visitors could get additional angles to view what was going on."

The interest in the damaged Corvettes continued to grow as did the Museum's attendance, so much so that the Museum decided to leave the sinkhole for the summer, and delay construction until after their 20th Anniversary Celebration August 27-30. "We have about 6,500 Corvette enthusiasts from all over the world pre-registered for our event so far, and many of them have expressed an interest in seeing the damaged cars as well as the sinkhole. Determining the best method for repairing it and getting bids on the construction work has been a time consuming process also. In the grand scheme of things, we felt it would be best to delay construction a few months to give all of our visitors the opportunity to see it."

Attendance at the Museum since February has been up nearly 50% over the same time period in 2013. Many guests have expressed that while they came to see the sinkhole and damaged cars, they were pleasantly surprised by the rest of the facility and Corvette displays.

"Driving up I-65, I saw the sign for the museum and decided to make a stop but had fairly low expectations given it was a roadside attraction. I was pleasantly surprised by the facility; it was very modern, well themed, professional staff, and it was much larger than I expected with a gift shop and restaurant," wrote Mark Byrn of Orlando, Florida in a Trip Advisor review. "Even more impressive was the fact that the museum suffered extensive damage from a sinkhole, and they turned a negative into a positive by making the sinkhole into an attraction of sorts and displayed the Corvettes that were heavily damaged. Overall I was very happy to have made the stop."

The Museum is awaiting price estimates on the various options to repair the Skydome, from keeping all of the sinkhole, to leaving just a small portion of it, to restoring the building to the way it was before. The Museum's board of directors is scheduled to convene on June 25 to review the proposals and options on both the building and the "Great 8" Corvettes, and make a decision on the plans moving forward.

The Corvettes that are not restored will be kept on display in the Museum's Skydome, as part of preserving and telling the story of the February 12th sinkhole collapse.

Given the recent boost in attendance, the Museum is expected to hit its 3 millionth visitor within the coming days. As of May 31, 2014 the Museum has recorded 2,995,655 visitors since its Grand Opening September 1994. In celebration of the milestone, the Museum will be awarding their 3 millionth visitor with a special "Walk of Fame" engraved sidewalk brick with their name, one-year membership to the Museum, $10 Corvette Cafe gift certificate, $50 Corvette Store gift card, Flint Brick and article in the Museum's membership magazine, "America's Sports Car."

The Museum is located at I-65, exit 28 in Bowling Green, KY - just one hour north of Nashville, TN and less than two hours south of Louisville, KY. Open daily, 8am-5pm CT, admission to the Museum is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors age 65 and over, $5 for kids age 6-16 and children age 5 and under are free. Access to view the sinkhole is included with regular admission. Guests who enter the Skydome to view the sinkhole must be age 8 or older. For more information on the Museum, visit their website at www.corvettemuseum.org or call 800-538-3883.