Butler’s Salem branch closed for repairs

By D.A. Wilkinson

The Butler hopes it can resume operations quickly.

SALEM — Orders will be filed by city officials to fix a damaged property that resulted in closing of the Salem branch of The Butler Institute of American Art.

The Butler, which is based in Youngstown, closed the Salem facility late last week. The building at 343 East State St. has housed the Salem branch since November 1991.

The Butler issued a statement that the building was “experiencing major leaks in its roof, and will be closed until the situation is remedied.”

The repairs to prevent more damage should occur in under three weeks, city Fire Chief Jeff Hughes said Tuesday.

It’s not clear how long it will take to repair the Salem Butler. The problem is with the building on the east side of the branch. Bricks have been falling from the west wall of the building that houses Fan-Tastic, 363 E. State St. and damaging the Butler’s roof.

Hughes said the building’s owner, Tim Smith of Salem, has been repairing the wall one day a week while working six days a week elsewhere.

Hughes said Smith will be told to cover the Butler roof within five days to avoid any more water damage. He’ll then have two weeks to fix the wall of his building.

Smith could not be reached.

The building that houses the tanning salon was damaged in 1993. Hughes and Mayor Jerry Wolford remember it because a microburst — a downward blast of air that spreads out — occurred during the city’s Jubilee celebration.

Repairs to the building at 363 E. State St. were not properly made at the time, and water continued to damage the bricks, Hughes said. Smith acquired the building after the storm.

Butler Director Dr. Louis Zona said that the bricks damaged the roof material, letting in the water. The roof has not collapsed, but ceiling plaster has fallen inside the branch, he said.

There has been no major water damage, but all the paintings, including those in storage, have been removed. Zona said he hoped the branch will reopen soon.

Mayor Jerry Wolford said, “We don’t want to lose the Butler.”

The Butler leases the building for $1 a year from the Salem Art Institute, which is an arm of the Salem Community Foundation. The foundation offers a yearly grant to the Butler to support the Salem museum’s operations and exhibitions.

In a statement, John E. Tonti, the foundation’s president, said he hoped the branch can resume operations this summer.

A retrospective of the work of Timothy Clark that was to open at Salem this month has been moved. It will run from June 19 through Aug. 3 at the Butler in Youngstown..

wilkinson@vindy.com