Lindsborg tourist attraction at risk of collapse closes for repairs
LINDSBORG, Kan. (KSNW) — The historic World’s Fair Swedish Pavilion in Lindsborg has closed for safety reasons. Officials are concerned it could collapse.
Last week, the Board of Directors of the Lindsborg Old Mill and Swedish Heritage Museum voted to close the building to the public until the structure can be stabilized.
The problem
A structural engineer determined that the 120-year-old Swedish Pavilion is leaning westward by up to two degrees.
“Two degrees might not sound like a lot, but you take those degrees across several dozen feet, and that means multiple inches of lean in that direction,” Adam Pracht, the museum’s marketing and communications director, said.
He said even untrained observers can see the problem.
“If unaddressed, the structural issues threaten a catastrophic collapse of the historic treasure, should the wrong set of windy weather conditions occur,” he said. “Given this small – but very real – risk of a dangerous structural collapse, the museum’s board voted unanimously to close the building to the public to ensure safety.”
When did the problem start?
The pavilion was built to last for one event – the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis.
“It’s really a remarkable testament to (Ferdinand) Boberg’s work that it’s 120 years old this year,” Pracht said. “That makes it really a rare treasure that something from that long ago is still here and such a central part of Swedish culture.”
Boberg was one of Sweden’s premier architects. He designed the pavilion to resemble a traditional Swedish manor house.
The Swedish Pavilion has been built and taken apart a couple of times. First, it was prefabricated in Sweden, then dismantled and shipped to Baltimore. From there, it was taken by train to St. Louis, where it was rebuilt for the World’s Fair.
After the fair, the pavilion was dismantled and taken by train to Lindsborg. It was rebuilt and presented to Bethany College. It served as a college classroom until 1969.
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“In 1969, the college outgrew the pavilion, but it was such a rare historical artifact that they did not want to just tear it down,” Pracht said. “They moved it by a flatbed truck over to the campus of the Old Mill here in 1969, and that is where it has stood ever since.”
He said the structural engineer compared historic photos of the pavilion being built in 1904 to the current building. The engineer said some cross braces in the 1904 structure are missing in the current building.
Pracht said it is impossible to tell when the braces disappeared.
“The damage could’ve happened when it moved over from Bethany to here, to the museum campus. It could’ve happened between St. Louis and Bethany,” he said.
He also doesn’t know when the pavilion started to lean.
“It’s quite likely that there’s been some risk that we were unaware of for a while,” Pracht said. “It stood for a very long time, and it’s just impossible to know what set of circumstances precisely would lead to that sort of catastrophic failure.”
The solution
The Swedish Pavilion means a lot to the community.
“We have people coming from all over the Midwest, from both coasts and even internationally, just to see the pavilion,” Pracht said. “It’s one of these places that the history is so rare, in a single word, it is irreplaceable. We don’t get a second shot at this.”
The museum board of directors decided to take action to save the building.
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“It’s an anxiety-inducing time,” Pracht said. “You don’t want it to be on your watch that something this rare gets lost, and so we’re doing our absolute best to make sure that we can preserve it as soon as possible.”
The Phase 1 cost of stabilizing the building is estimated at $181,000. The museum is applying for grants to help with the cost. The hope is that contractors can begin the repairs in August and reopen the pavilion in time for Heritage Christmas.
But it will be closed during some popular Lindsborg spring events, including the museum’s annual Millfest for Kids on Friday, May 3, Millfest on Saturday, May 4, and Midsummer’s Festival on Saturday, June 15.
The portion of those events that are usually held inside the pavilion will be moved outside.
The museum says the pavilion will be safe again after Phase 1 of the repair is complete.
Pracht says there will be a Phase 2 to strengthen the structure further, but officials do not have a cost or timeline.
If you would like to help the museum pay for the repair, you can donate in person at the museum from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. You can also donate using a credit or debit card over the phone at 785-227-3595. You can donate online via PayPal at www.paypal.com/paypalme/lindsborgoldmill and indicate in the memo area that the donation is for Swedish Pavilion preservation.
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