Infamous Sinkhole Incident Helped the National Corvette Museum Soar to Fame

Much like a celebrity might, the National Corvette Museum was able to capitalize on tragedy by embracing it rather than shunning it. 

It may seem hard to some to believe, but the National Corvette Museum is celebrating 30 years of operation in 2024 after originally opening back in 1994 – roughly four decades after the car it celebrates came to be. The museum has a pretty big celebration lined up for this coming August, as one would expect, which makes it the perfect time to take a look back at how this very special place came to be. Luckily for us, Hagerty recently caught up with National Corvette Museum president and CEO Sharon Brawner, who was happy to talk about not only the good times the Bowling Green-based site has enjoyed over the last three decades, but also one major low, too.

That low is, of course, the great sinkhole disaster of 2014, which we can now attribute to a flawed geological survey that leaned on ages-old technology to come to the conclusion that the museum’s current site was sufficient. As such, it didn’t detect the limestone formations that resided underneath what would become the Skydome, which ultimately led to the destruction of a handful of special Corvettes. However, as Brawner points out, the sinkhole disaster wasn’t exactly all bad, as it helped make the National Corvette Museum famous – much the same way negative press can help a celebrity gain followers these days.

“There are folks who still always ask about [the sinkhole], or [the sinkhole is] how they know about the National Corvette Museum,” Brawner said. “It’s kind of a double-edged sword. It’s one thing that [the sinkhole] put this museum and Bowling Green on an international stage. On one hand, that’s a benefit. On the other, it’s obviously a negative, too. Tragedy, unfortunately, does seek attention.”

“The museum tried to do everything that it could at the time to allow people to learn more about this museum and our collection and what we do here, even in the face of a tragedy,” Brawner added. “The [staff] did a tremendous job not letting it define us, but at the same time, taking advantage of it.”

After Brawner took over as president and CEO of the National Corvette Museum in 2021, she aimed to help tell this story in a new light. That’s set to happen with a new limited-time exhibit called “Ground to Sky: The Sinkhole Reimagined,” which is slated to open up on June 14 and run through the summer, focusing on how the museum has changed since that infamous incident occurred a decade ago. It’s worth noting that Brawner has since moved on from her position after taking the reins in 2021, but she remains adamant that the Corvette and the museum that celebrates it both have a bright future.

“I’m not privy to anything more than the general public is as far as how [the Corvette] will continue to evolve,” she said. “I think that, from a historical perspective, how the car continues to develop in its engineering and design prowess is exciting for us as we make sure that we’re marking these historical moments, that [the museum] will allow our guests to understand what it means when these things happen with this car.”

Photos: National Corvette Museum

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