The Dana Thomas House in Springfield is still drying out, after it was closed because of flooding last Thursday. It's a short-term problem that raises a longer-term concern.
The site's manager, Justin Blandford, says the Frank Lloyd Wright designed home is back open to visitors -- though the tours that resumed on Sunday did not go through the basement.
Blandford says the home is in a "drying out" period.
The situation raises broader concerns about what can be done to better protect and preserve the historic home. Blandford says improvements are needed.
"It's a little too early to tell exactly what those changes -- we could say improvements -- will be," Blandford said. "We're trying to gather more information about the way water moves around the outside of the site, whether that be into the sewer, or for example at the Dana House, in the courtyard, in a way that we can help move that water away from the site property to make sure that the home and its articfacts, on all levels, are safe. So we're trying to collect a lot of information, and then take that data and make an informed decision about what's the best decision for the house for the long term."
Blandford says water is a potential hazard on three fronts:
-high rainfall that causes water to leak in through thresholds
-the lack of a waterproof barrier, allowing water to seep in through the foundation
-and overflow from city sewer lines.
On this, particular occasion, though Blandord says the flooding is not expected to have caused any permanent damage. Nature isn't the only thing that has made it hard for visitors to tour the Dana Thomas House; it's operating on reduced hours because of state funding cuts.
