The Centennial Botanical Conservatory is set to reopen Wednesday after spending the weekend closed for safety precautions.
The conservatory was closed last Friday after a couple of panels on the roof near vents had broken, leaving shards of glass dangling directly over a path.
While the safety net was in place to catch any falling glass from the ceiling, city parks’ manager Paul Fayrick said safety was paramount.
“It was right above the walkway so we couldn’t take a chance,” Fayrick said. “Perhaps if it had been in an area above a planting area we might have left the facility open and kept an eye on things, but this was right above a walkway.”
The city had spent $76,000 to install the safety net. The conservatory, which was built in 1966, was reopened in February after spending nearly a year closed.
So far, it appears the broken panels were caused by the roof vents.
“They’re mechanical and we’ve had some difficulty with them opening and closing over the years. We think that what happened is the roof vent buckled a little bit and caused the panels to break.”
Fayrick said the city would continue to monitor the facility to keep on track of any further potential problems. He added the city anticipates seeing increased attendance for the conservatory once winter arrives.
Nobody was injured as a result of Friday’s incident.
