DETROIT – The basement and bottom of the elevator shaft inside the Motown Museum flooded from recent rainfall, forcing them to close indoor tours earlier than anticipated.
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The water had damaged the motherboard of the museum’s elevator.
“It’s the elevator that is so central to our servicing customers and our patrons from around the world,” said CEO Robin Terry. “Not having a functioning and operational elevator is a challenge. So until that is repaired -- which is about 60-90 days -- then the museum just has to pause on its tours.”
The Motown Museum, located on Grand Boulevard in Detroit, had already planned to pause its indoor tours in September when the next phase of its expansion was set to begin. That closure would continue through summer 2022.
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For Terry, being forced to close early is bittersweet.
“It’s bitter because we were looking forward to welcoming all of our guests over the summer,” Terry said. “The summer, that’s a peak period for our museum and we have a lot of enthusiastic patrons who were ready for their tours who unfortunately won’t be able to enjoy those indoors.”
None of the artifacts that fans flock to Hitsville to see were impacted by the floods. Terry said their team is looking forward to welcoming visitors inside the building next summer.
“The damage is minimal to the building. The museum is fine, it’s safe,” Terry said. “Our artifacts are fine, they’re safe.”
Terry said they are working with their insurance company.
You can watch Evrod Cassimy’s full story in the video above.