A $45,000 donation from Dayton Foundation was recently given to the Dayton Art Institute for roof repairs for the 80 year old building.
Michael Roediger, executive director for the museum said “the foundation grant will fix the leaks and part of the museum roof.” He went on to say that the staff has closely monitored the leaks and have removed any artwork near the water leaks so no pieces have been damaged.
The museum is using creative ways to come up with more money to repair plaster damage caused by the roof leaks and repair a leak in the lower gallery due to drainage problems in the Italian Cloister.
Maintenance Problems Wait
Roediger said “it’s not easy to run a historic building and when funds are tight, maintenance issues get put aside.”
The Berry Family Foundation has contributed a $75,000 challenge grant and the Rip and Denise Hale Family has made a contribution to help repair the Italian Cloister.
Certain areas will be closed during repairs but previously scheduled events will still proceed. Records indicate that the museum receives more than 130,000 annual visitors.
They are hoping to have the roof repairs completed by this summer and then they can return the artwork to the walls. The estimated repairs for the rest of the museum will be $460,000 for interior and exterior work.
