Illinois Titanic exhibit floods on sinking anniversary after storms

Storm water rushed into the Volo Museum’s Titanic exhibit just as the calendar reached the 114th anniversary of the ship’s sinking, forcing staff in Volo, Illinois, to move fast to protect a collection built around one of history’s most famous maritime disasters.

The flooding happened after intense thunderstorms swept through the Chicagoland area Tuesday night and was discovered Wednesday morning. Museum marketing director Jim Wojdyla said it was only the second time in more than 40 years that the building had taken on water. Inspectors found no cracks in the foundation, broken pipes, roof leaks or any other obvious point of entry, leaving no clear explanation for how the water got inside.

Wojdyla called the coincidence of a Titanic exhibit flooding on the exact anniversary of the ship’s sinking “more than ironic” and “almost paranormal.” The museum also leaned into that unsettling timing on social media, saying, “You can't even make this up… This is not staged. Last night, our Titanic Museum flooded for the second time in three years. Last night… on the exact anniversary of the Titanic sinking. What is going on???”

The stakes are real. The exhibit is the only permanent Titanic display in Illinois, and it is built around White Star Line pieces, period artifacts and Titanic-era fashion pieces. It also includes more than $6 million worth of vehicles once owned by Titanic-linked figures including John Jacob Astor, Benjamin Guggenheim and Lady Duff Gordon. Water intrusion in a room like that threatens both irreplaceable objects and the long-term preservation work needed to keep them on display.

The museum opened its Titanic experience in April 2023 as “A Tribute to the Tragedy.” It took more than a year to develop and cost about $5 million. The exhibit tells the stories of passengers aboard the liner, which struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean four days into its voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City.

About 2,200 passengers and crew were aboard the Titanic. More than 1,500 died, and the last living survivor died in 2009 at age 97. The museum has long said the property carries its own reputation for unexplained activity, and past paranormal claims there have drawn coverage from Discovery Channel’s Ghost Hunters and Travel Channel’s Paranormal Caught on Camera.