And, yes, it was worse this time.
The good news is that we (i.e. the staff) were here for this flood (the last flood happened on a Saturday), and we were, therefore, able to get everything off the floor and the bottom selves in the archives. Thus, we sustained absolutely NO collection damage this time around (thank goodness).
The bad news is that the water made it into each and every office (save two), our basement was re-submerged, our lecture hall (which had just been rewired after the August flood) sustained structural damage, and the potential for mold growth in our walls, carpets, closets -- EVERYWHERE -- is, again, a real possibility. Plus, our brand-new archives floor was scheduled to be completed this week, and...well...it is ruined again (although, if the guys working on the floor hadn't been here on Wednesday, we might not have been able to get everything off the lower shelves in time. They even joked, as they helped us relocate the various collection boxes to higher ground, about how installing the first floor was just, "much needed practice").
Not to mention the fact that the fans outside my office are slowly driving me crazy...
Anyway, I have never used my BLOG as a political soapbox before, but I do not think that I can resist the temptation this time around. So, here goes nothing...
(Note: The opinions expressed below are mine, and mine alone. They do not, in any way, reflect the opinions or beliefs of my employeer, my coworkers or the museum where I work. Just FYI...)
First off, if I were to run a business the way that the City of Dallas does, I would be out of business. Departments of the City of Dallas do not share information, and countless man hours are spent (and wasted) reporting the same information to two or three branches of the same organization. Essentially, the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing. This is especially frustrating when trying to get, say, a water main shut off...again.
For example, at the height of the flood waters on Wednesday, a representative from the City of Dallas (Department of Parks and Recreation) stopped by. When he saw how deep the water was inside the building, he shouted, "What is going on here?! I told [your building manager] during the last flood what to do when this happened again!"
Uh..."again"? I'm sorry, but why should a museum - and historic building - have to flood "again"? Instead of putting a band-aid on a compound fracture, why don't we just FIX THE PROBLEM THE FIRST TIME AROUND, HUH?! I mean, I'm not an accountant, but it has got to be cheaper (at least in the long run) to go in and actually REPAIR the root of the problem. You know, instead of paying to restore the building every four months or so (all while running the risk of having the problem occur AGAIN in the very near future). Call me crazy, but I'm already planning on wearing boots and waders on April 8th, you know, just as a precaution...
What really gets me is that on the day before our second building flood this year, it was announced that the City of Dallas is considering a nearly $50 million proposal to make improvements to the Cotton Bowl. $50 million dollars for a stadium that hosts approximately TWO GAMES in any given year (high-profile, that is).
Uh...right.
So, a stadium, which we were oh-so strongly considering tearing down a mere two years ago (so that Jerry Jones could build a new home for the Dallas Cowboys), is worth $50 million in improvements and renovations. However, a museum that is owned by the City of Dallas across the street (a museum, might I add, that houses a substantial amount of the city's and state's history AND educates almost 200,000 people about THAT history in any given year)...well, they will just have to deal with the fact that water mains break and flood their archives several times a year. I mean, really! Talk about prioritizing!
Last year, a problem with the building's air-conditioning system caused the roof to cave in on multiple occasions. The City has never attempted to, say, FIX the problem, however. Oh, no! It is (apparently) easier to just come out and repaint the ceiling each time it happens. Because, you know, that's logical?!
Also, our (historic) building is sinking - one side more than the other. The doorframes on the sinking side are literately pulling away from the walls, and leaving large gaps. When we called to report this problem, though, the City came out and simply nailed a wooden plank over the hole separating the doorframe from the ceiling. Apparently, if you cannot SEE the hole, it doesn't actually exist.
OBVIOUSLY!
So, when the flood happened on Wednesday, a substantial amount of water poured underneath the building. This had the temporary effect of raising up the sinking side of the museum. The result, you ask? The boards that the City had nailed up - errrrr...I mean, installed - were popped off.
Great...
Here, let me give you a visual. That way you can fully appreciate what I am telling you:
My point, you ask? The City's museums and historic buildings are slowly going to pot, and nothing is being done to improve the situation. Buildings, like the museum where I work, are part of our heritage and our history. Pretending like everything is okay isn't helping anyone (just like nailing a board over a gap, isn't fixing an ever-worsening foundation crisis). If something isn't done (and done soon) these buildings might not be around for our children and grandchildren to enjoy and appreciate.
I'm not saying that the Cotton Bowl is not important. It is as much a part of this city's history as the museum across the street. In fact, the Cotton Bowl (as a structure) is actually about four years OLDER than the building where I work, and the games played there are just as much about history and tradition as anything else that this city has to offer (and, no. I didn't go to either the University of Texas or Oklahoma University, thank you!).
I agree that something needs to be done to improve the Cotton Bowl, or it runs the risk of being demolished for the sake of something flashy and new.
It is just that this City has a history of waiting until the eleventh hour to do something that should have been done years ago. They've waited until the Texas/OU contract was almost up (again) to start SERIOUSLY thinking about improving the Cotton Bowl (it has literately taken the realistic threat having the Red River Shoot-Out at a place other than the Cotton Bowl to get anything done about this issue - and even THEN it was the State Fair of Texas, not the City of Dallas, who initiated the process).
Therefore, it stands to reason, that nothing will happen to improve the problems afflicting the museum where I work until it is (or nearly is) too late. By then, the foundation will be rotting, the walls will be supporting a new species of marble-consuming mold and all the museum employees will have trench-foot.
Awesome...
8 comments:
Deals, I am so angry about all of this. I am planning to start writing angry e-mails to the city reps and to everyone's favorite person, the mayor. Just as soon as finals are over.
Please, please, (oh) please write the City, the newspapers, your councilman, etc. Nothing will ever get accomplished unless people stand up and say something about it!
wow that is frustrating and well just plain stupid, if I lived in Big D I would get out my angry pen and start writing all kinds of letters but they may not care what a country-living girl from the north thinks
Stay Dry
Hear, hear, Deals!
(The above statement is my opinion and not necessarily the opinion of my employers or co-workers.) :)
I would tell you to move to Minnesota... but we have the same logic here.
Sorry about your dilemma.
NOT good.
Deals, after working in museums since college, one thing that I have come to understand is that people tend to view them as everlasting institutions with bottomless budgets. For example, I worked at a natural history museum in college, and as it was technically part of the University, people assumed that our budget was covered. In actuality, we had to raise more than half of our operating budget.
Hell, the building was constructed in 1910, it houses fragile collections, and it doesn't have a proper HVAC system. Read: no air conditioning. Imagine how easy it is to tour hundreds of second-graders around a sweltering exhibit hall and expecting them to pay attention.
Another thing that people do is treat museums differently. There is a LOT of money floating around Dallas, and I have no doubt that the percentage of donations to history and natural history museums PALES in comparison to those going to art museums. Art museums are considered "high culture" and are, therefore, worthy of philanthropy. Is this fair? No, but people would rather have their good names associated with paintings and sculptures than old fossils and crumbling papers. While we were sweating in the stairwells, the art museum on campus was enjoying a ten million dollar renovation.
Priorities are out of whack, as well. I'd bet that the majority of Americans would rather attend a sporting event than a museum exhibit - not that there anything wrong with that. You can't MAKE people like museums, but you can use your passion to try and increase their visibility and hopefully reach more potential visitors (and donors!).
Keep fighting and get your story out.
Thanks, Not Peaches! It is always good to hear from another disgruntled museum employee! :P
Man, that stinks. Thanks for putting it in perspective! Did you find any drowned rats? ewww.
And I loved the space above the doorjam. Almost as nice as seeing it in person!
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