–
Louisville, KyA major water supply pipe burst today at Metro Hall, severely flooding the Mayor’s Office and the offices of many of his staff, who rushed to save valuable artwork and historic furniture.
The pipe burst on the sixth floor of the building, at the studios of Metro TV. The water then cascaded to the fourth floor Mayor’s suite and second floor communications suite. Metro Hall will be open for normal business hours next week, but staff will need to be relocated for up to two weeks while repair and restoration work is underway. The Jefferson County Clerk’s office, located in Metro Hall, was not impacted.
Ellen Hesen, the Mayor’s Chief of Staff, discovered the flooding about 2 p.m. today when she stopped by the office. City crews aren’t certain what caused the pipe to burst, but believe it could be connected to the underground electrical explosion that occurred early Saturday morning downtown.
The Mayor’s suite had recently been renovated, thanks to a donation from Bittners design firm, and the Speed Museum had artwork on loan and placed throughout the Mayor’s suite and lobby. An official from the Speed was onsite within two hours to survey damage and take the artwork off site. No artwork appeared to be significantly harmed.
Paul Davis Restoration is on site handling the cleanup work.