Aurora History Museum reopens after pipe burst
For many decades, the city of Aurora has collected all kinds of items from the community that represent the city and its diversity. From clothing to street signs, old medical equipment and even a 1913 trolley that went down the Colfax line. It's all on display - for free - at the Aurora History Museum.
"We are Aurora's only museum," said Scott Williams, the museum's director. "We serve Aurora's entire community to interpret and really foster pride in Aurora's story."
But the museum's story took a messy turn last month when Williams got a call just after Christmas.
"He said that a pipe burst," Williams told CBS News Colorado. "That's not what you want to hear anywhere, but especially at a museum."
Sometime between Dec. 24 and 27, when the museum closed for the holiday, a pipe burst on the second floor. It flooded parts of the building, including some offices and collection areas.
"You come in and it was a mess around here," Williams said.
While the exhibit spaces weren't affected, Williams said a team quickly responded to help clean up. Members of the Colorado Cultural and Historic Task Force also stepped in to help preserve all the artifacts that were damaged in a storage room.
"The good news is we received no total losses on any of our collections," said Williams.
More than two weeks later, the museum reopened to the public on Tuesday. However, some items are still tucked away and drying out, and some building repairs aren't yet finished.
"It was wonderful to get people back in who'd been wanting to, calling us, trying to get into see one of our newer exhibits," said Williams.
Exhibits continue to showcase Aurora's story, even the occasional messy chapters.
"We just dried out the museum, dried out the collections and now we're looking at some minor conservation treatments," Williams explained.
The Aurora History Museum always accepts donations and is hopeful the community will continue to pitch in to help support the If you'd like to do so, visit auroramuseum.org to donate.