| HILO PALACE THEATER FLOOD DAMAGE 25 MAY 2006 |
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| Above: Water can be seen up to the sixth step of the stairway leading to the under-stage basement where the second blower (former Waikiki) is installed and hundreds of pieces of organ equipment were stored. Thanks to the quick response of the Hawaii County Fire Department, most of the estimated 15,000 gallons of water was pumped out in about two hours. Volunteers spent the rest of the day removing the remaining four inches of standing water. Among the parts stored in the basement were five Morton T-chests (Carlstadt chests) and various tremulants. The T-chests had been purchased and were received the day before the flood. They were all floating when the damage was discovered. They cannot be opened for inspection until the wood is completely dry. If opened while still damp, the wood parts could warp out of shape. The former Waikiki blower, which is being connected to the Solo chamber, was partially submerged. |
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| These two photos were copied from the print edition of the Hawaii Tribune-Herald article on 25 May 2006 |
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| The sprinkler head that burst was in the right/center of the auditorium ceiling, directly over the orchestra seating area, near the stage. Most of the water sprayed onto the seats below and flooded the floor, flowing into the orchestra pit and ending up in the basement. The organ console and piano were hit by the outer edge of the spray. The console is on a platform, so was not in danger of sitting in water. The water from the spray was enough to soak the felt bushing of the keys. The bushings are swollen. The keysticks were damp on the surface. Fans were used for two days in the initial drying process. Dampp-Chaser heating rods have now been placed under each manual to dry out the felt bushings. |
| HELP SAVE THE PALACE PIPE ORGAN! Tax deductible donations may be sent to: HTOS Palace Organ Project c/o Palace Theater 38 Haili Street Hilo, Hawaii 96720 |
| Secure online donations may be made using major credit cards through PAYPAL: |
| Friday, May 26, 2006 9:06 AM HST
Landmark Hilo theater will be closed for repairs by Alan Schnepf , Hawaii Tribune-Herald Staff Writer A sprinkler system malfunction at Hilo's historic Palace Theater Thursday morning caused thousands of dollars worth of flood damage and forced the theater to shutter its doors at least through the weekend. It is unclear what caused the single sprinkler to start dumping water from the ceiling near the stage, but dump it did. By the time the theater's office manager stopped by the theater around 7 a.m. Thursday, about four feet of water had accumulated underneath the stage. In the basement beneath the stage, a bass drum was afloat in water. Cheryl "Quack" Moore, president of the theater's board of directors, said an estimated 15,000 of gallons of water fell on the floor. Because the floor is sloped toward the stage, most of the water parked itself there and in the basement. Moore was still optimistic about the theater's prospects. "It survived the tsunamis," she said of the 80-year-old theater. By Thursday afternoon the Hawaii County Fire Department had pumped most of the water out of the building and theater volunteers had torn out carpet in the orchestra pit seating near the stage. The equipment under the stage was destroyed and is going to be removed, but Moore said the theater would function fine without it. The theater's expensive DVD projector and antique 35 mm projector both sat unharmed in a booth at the back of the theater, far away from the water damage. "If that equipment was damaged, we'd be closed," Moore said. The theater has made incremental improvements to itself since being resurrected from a boarded-up eyesore in the 1990s. Several more capital projects are needed for a return to its splendor of the 1920s, but theater organizers have done what they can with grants and donations, Moore said. "Now we'll have to raise $5,000 or $6,000 right off the bat just to get back to where we were," she said. The theater's pipe organ did not fare as well, but it may be salvageable. The water damage caused its keys to stick. Volunteers placed fans by the organ to dry its electronic components, the condition of which had not been tested. Wooden components for the organ that had just arrived Wednesday were stored in the basement and were soaked. Bob Alder, who was instrumental in reviving the theater in the 1990s, said the pieces would be dried out, but he was worried the components would become warped. John Massey, owner of All-Out Carpet Care in Kona, said Thursday that the bill for cleaning up the remaining water damage would cost "in the low thousands." He planned to seal the basement and the area beneath the stage and dehumidify both. The area inside the theater is going to be tougher to deal with. Massey said the building is too porous to seal off and that its roughly 136,000-cubic-foot volume was still holding moist air. "Knocking the humidity level down in here is going to be a bear because it's so huge," he said. Where that money will come from is unknown, however. Although it was covered for liability, the theater did not have insurance for flooding or fire damage. Moore said the decision to forego fire insurance was an easy one. "You can't rebuild the Palace," Moore said. "If it goes, it goes." Moore and Office Manager Kimberly Bright were optimistic the theater will be able to open on Monday. Until the sprinkler system is functioning again, the theater must have a "fire watch" to open to the public, however. That entails paying county firemen overtime to physically look out for fires, making it very expensive. Hawaii County Fire Prevention Capt. Jack Pacleb suspects a faulty sprinkler head caused the malfunction. Such a head only costs $100, but having a sprinkler installer with the means to reach the theater's tall ceiling may be difficult, he said. In the meantime, Pacleb hopes Hawaii County will step in with emergency funding to pay for the fire watches until the sprinkler system can be repaired. CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS |
| FLOOD DAMAGE UPDATE, 1 OCTOBER 2006: Things are looking much brighter. The four keyboards have been rebuilt and reinstalled in the organ console. Several local businesses and individuals generously donated over $4,000 to help repair the damage and restore the organ to playing condition. The good news is that the organ is playing again. |