Butler Institute files lawsuit over damage at Salem branch

The branch was used for a number of purposes.

BY D.A. WILKINSON

VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU

SALEM — The old saying goes “The show must go on,” but not at the Salem branch of the Butler Institute of American Art.

The institute on Thursday filed a lawsuit in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court seeking damages from an adjoining property owner.

The lawsuit came a year after the branch at 343 E. State St. closed because of damage.

The institute and the Cincinnati Insurance Co. are seeking $57,115 from Timothy and Debbie Smith of Salem. They could not be reached Friday.

Court records contend that water and debris from the Smiths’ building at 363 E. State St. fell on the Butler building May 29, 2008. The debris damaged the Butler roof, resulting in water damage.

At the time, Butler Director Dr. Louis Zona said he hoped the facility would reopen soon.

Zona could not be reached Friday.

Last year, Salem Fire Chief Jeff Hughes ordered the Smiths to make repairs immediately. Hughes was unavailable Friday to say if the work had been completed.

The Butler leases the building for $1 a year from the Salem Art Institute, which is an arm of the Salem Community Foundation.

The lawsuit includes the insurance claim to Cincinnati that was made by John E. Tonti, who has served as the foundation’s president. He did not return a call.

In a previous statement, Tonti said he had hoped the building could be reopened this summer.

Zona had hoped for a reopening earlier this year and had planned for a special retrospective of some of the works of the late Clyde Singer.

Singer’s works had been displayed in concurrent, but different exhibitions at the Butler and the Canton Museum of Art. Zona had planned a special show of Singer’s works at the Salem Branch to wrap up the two larger shows.

All the paintings at the Salem branch have been removed.

The Salem branch also had been used for a variety of uses, such as one of the venues for events during the city’s annual New Year’s Eve festival and civic gatherings. Children also took art lessons at the building.

wilkinson@vindy.com