What will it take to get Springer Opera House back to normal after flood? Millions.

Three and a half months after Springer Opera House employees came to work one morning to find the basement flooded with more than 40 inches of water, things are nearly back to normal at the 148-year-old theater.

The cost of all of the repairs has reached about $2 million so far and is expected to rise.

Paul Pierce, producing artistic director at the Springer, said Thursday that the only big item on his still to-do list is a new air conditioning system.

Six of eight air handlers for the previous system were completely destroyed, Pierce said, when water from a ruptured pipe in the street got into the basement of the Springer on Feb. 13.

A chain link fence outside the theater guards a temporary air handler system, and long blue tubes blow cool air into the building’s winding hallways and performance space.

While that system and a temporary portable generator were being set up, the theater moved its production “Evita” to Columbus State University’s Riverside Complex on March 8.

“Our staff just did a tremendous job adjusting to that,” Pierce said. “The show went well and CSU was a great community partner on that.”

The Springer and its employees were back in business at the end of March with a production of “Driving Miss Daisy,” followed by “Million Dollar Quartet” to end the season in May.

In the meantime, Pierce and his staff have been working to bring the basement back to its full former glory.

Surveying damage done

The first order of business after the flood was pumping out the water, and then removing the mud that the water had brought in, Pierce said.

“There are parts of the basement that are program areas like the orchestra pit, the trap room under the stage, the counterweight system, the boiler room and then a lot of other equipment that runs the sprinkler system and alarm systems and things like that,” Pierce said. “About two-thirds of it is just dirt, what you would see in a normal crawl space under a house.”

After the initial cleanup, the old air conditioning units had to be dismantled to be removed, Pierce said.

New disassembled units are being brought in and reassembled in the basement with the new system expected to be in place by July 1.

Also destroyed in the flood was the building’s main transformer, which also had to be dismantled to be removed and a new one installed.

Major damage was done to the electrical system and a lot of production equipment, including lighting, sound and musical instruments, Pierce said. Crews have been taking apart the instruments one by one to see what, if anything, can be salvaged.

On Thursday, workers were still wiping dried mud off gel sheets used to manipulate the color of stage lighting.

A mounting price tag for repairs

The total price tag of the cleanup and replacement of destroyed or damaged equipment is mounting— Pierce said Thursday the cost of the damage is north of $2 million.

“We don’t know the exact figure yet because just like any renovation, you do one thing and while you’re doing it you discover something new, you peel it back and there’s a new problem,” Pierce said. “So the story is still kind of unfolding.”

The theater does have insurance, Pierce said, but those claims are still being submitted. After that, the financial burden the Springer will be left with is unclear.

“We have a good insurance company and everything has been moving in the right direction, but we’ve still got a long way to go before those invoices are submitted and paid,” Pierce said. “There is a question mark about what the ultimate financial impact is going to be on the Springer Opera House.”

Looking forward to the next 100 years of productions

Pierce said he is thankful the historic fabric of the building was not touched.

“The plaster, the carpet, the Bradbury wallpapers, textiles, furnishings— none of that was touched in this,” he said. “So the fundamental fabric of the historic landmark is intact.”

He also said that because of the 1998 renovation, no one had been anticipating something as catastrophic as the flood.

“When we did the 1998 renovation, the things that people saw when it was over was all of the beautiful furnishings and the historic paints and wallpapers and all that...but the historic aspect of that renovation had to do with the roof and the foundation, because we knew that we were preparing this building for another 100 plus years of service, and this was a historic opportunity to protect the building long term,” Pierce said. “When we reopened in January of 1999, it was essentially a new building that had been built in 1871.”

The Springer will now have a water alarm system in place, so that if water begins to accumulate even an inch under the building, staff will be alerted.

The enemy to historic buildings of any kind is always moisture, Pierce said.

“This is not a 148-year-old building that hasn’t been protected. We’re in a lot better shape than a lot of historic buildings are in that regard,” he said. “But time passes, the wind blows, rain and tornadoes come through Columbus, and water wants in. That is an ongoing, forever threat.”

This story was originally published May 31, 2019 at 1:00 AM.