The infamous sinkhole at the National Corvette Museum reaches 10-year anniversary
BOWLING GREEN, Ky.- In 2014, a natural disaster in Bowling Green fueled a global conversation about the National Corvette Museum and a little-known fact about our unique landscape in south central Kentucky.
James Polk, director of the Center for Geo-environmental Studies at Western Kentucky University, says “We are in a karst area, which means we have lots of caves, lots of sinkholes, lots of underground streams, it’s a very dynamic landscape. So, that means things are constantly happening underground, beneath our feet that you might not see, and that includes the potential development for sinkholes, pretty much anywhere you are in this part of the world and south central Kentucky.”
The sinkhole heard and seen around the world was a geography lesson for the masses.
Ten years ago, during the early morning hours of Feb. 12, the earth opened up in the Museum’s SkyDome and swallowed eight vintage Corvettes from the museum’s multi-million-dollar collection.
Bob Bubnis, former director of collections at the National Corvette Museum, experienced the unparalleled attention of the disaster first-hand.
He says, “The Corvette Museum became the epicenter of Corvette history. Anybody, whoever had a Corvette, loved Corvettes, ever wished they had one, which pretty much includes almost everybody, heard that story and it got their attention.”
The news went viral, and the world was watching the drama of the infamous sinkhole unfold, and the Corvette community was invested in recovering what they loved the most.
Bob Bubnis says, “There was one woman who saw the 40th-anniversary car nose-deep in the dirt, and she called and donated her car to replace it. I thought right at that moment, we just saw the Corvette community and the city of Bowling Green just rally behind us to turn this thing into a very positive experience for all of us.”
It was an experience and piece of history fitting for the museum, whose officials at the time capitalized on the collapse and curated an exhibit of its own. Over the last decade, the sinkhole exhibit has brought tens of thousands of curious spectators.
Robert Maxhimer, current director of collections and exhibitions at the National Corvette Museum, says, “I am stopped every time I am in here, and asked, ‘Where are the cars from the sinkhole?’ It is still such a big part of the history of this museum, and people talk about it every single day.”
Museum officials have a new plan for the sinkhole exhibit, but the story and video of that fateful morning will live forever.
Corvette lovers now have something exciting to look forward to – for the 10th anniversary, the National Corvette Museum reveals an upcoming exhibit, “Ground to Sky: The Sinkhole Reimagined,” which is set to open on June 14 of this year.
