Published: April 08, 2009 02:21 pm      

Stark Foundation picking up pieces

Most of downtown Orange was submerged under Ike’s fury and many of the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation facilities did not escape the storm’s wrath.

The W.H. Stark House and the Stark Museum of Art weathered the hurricane with minimal to no damage, but it was the Stark Foundation offices and the Carriage House, which is adjacent to the Stark House, which sustained the worst damage.



Stark House

According to Patsy Herrington, director of the W.H. Stark House and Carriage House, it could be many months before things return to pre-Ike conditions.

Herrington said the Carriage House was inundated with approximately 18-inches of water which caused considerable damage to the lower level structure.

Luckily, only a small portion of the lower level collections were damaged in the storm.

“We moved so much out of the building, prior to the storm, because of the threat of a storm surge,” Herrington said. “The damaged items of the collection we had was from a leak on the second floor and not from rising water.”

Apparently, a water leak worked its way into a display case and affected pieces of the display. Herrington said four pieces were needed to be sent to a conservator and all four were not permanently damaged. No collection pieces were lost as a result of the storm.

Th extent of the damage to the Carriage House was mostly structural, as as walls had water damage and, therefore, are in need of repairs. The Stark House office, which was originally located in the Carriage House, was devastated and is temporarily located in the Stark Museum of Art, which is where the tour guides are located and tour begins.

Despite this setback, the Stark House has been open for business for several months as it did not sustain any damage. According to Herrington, the basement of the Stark House, which was empty at the time of the flood, only had approximately 18-inches of water in it.

The water was pumped out and the house reopened for tours shortly after power and other utilities were restored.

“Our spring tours have slowed down a lot,” Herrington said. “We still have bus tours, but not as many as we usually do at the start of a typical spring season. We know a lot of people were affected by the storm, but we think it has a lot to do with the economy.”

Even though the Stark House is open for business, Herrington said it could be a while before the Carriage House re-opens.

“Right now we are just going over plans and gathering information on what we want to do,” Herrington said. “We know we will make some changes downstairs and do some major renovations, but it will probably be 15 months or more before the Carriage House opens again.”

The Stark House will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. Admission for tours is $5 for ages 18 to 65, $2 for seniors ages 65 and older, and $2 for children ages 10 to 17. All tour participants must be 10 years of age or older.

Special group pricing is available for group tours that are scheduled in advance. Call 409-883-0871 for details or visit www.whstarkhouse.org.



Stark Museum of Art

Like the Stark House, the Stark Museum of Art reopened on Nov. 4, but for different reasons.

The facility sustained no considerable damage, but chose to take advantage of the hurricane-forced closing and remodeled its public restrooms to meet accessibility guidelines.

The museum is open and offering tours. Call 409-886-ARTS or visit www.starkmuseum.org for more information.



Lutcher Theater

Despite Ike’s best efforts, the tremendous storm could not halt the 2008-2009 performance season inside the beautiful Lutcher Theater as the facility escaped with minimal damage.

Upcoming events include the Cirque Eloize and Teatro Sunil presentation “Nebbia,” which showcases acrobatic theater and modern circus on April 1 and April 2, and The Ten Tenors on April 10, who perform everything from arias to Abba.

Call the Lutcher Theater at 409-745-5535 or log on to www.lutcher.org for more information.