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It’s not every day that you hear about a museum sinking into the ground. An unfortunate car disappearing into a sinkhole, sure. But not a museum. However, that was the case for the National Corvette Museum just 10 years ago. That’s right, a massive sinkhole swallowed up eight near-priceless Chevrolet Corvettes, and the National Corvette Museum is excited to celebrate a decade of bounce-back. 

10 years ago, a sinkhole opened up under the National Corvette Museum and claimed eight of its exhibition cars

On February 12, 2014, the ground underneath part of the National Corvette Museum (NCM) gave way. Fortunately for the NCM’s many daily visitors, the sinkhole struck in the early morning, before the staff opened its doors. 

Tragically, the perimeter and depth of the cave-in were enough to claim eight of the museum’s prized Chevrolet Corvettes. Now, while the Kentucky-based NCM is just over a mile from the GM Bowling Green Assembly plant, these weren’t just any models that a series of C8s could replace. No, these were historic exhibits, including the one-millionth Corvette.

A row of Chevrolet Corvettes at the National Corvette Museum.
Corvettes at the NCM | Erik Sherman, MotorBiscuit

However, despite the sinkhole’s dastardly attempt to destroy the museum, the damage was far from total. Moreover, the NCM is celebrating its progress following the event. 

Today, the NCM celebrates a decade of progress after the disaster threatened the museum

The National Corvette Museum refused to let the sinkhole destroy its cultural value. In fact, the NCM will unveil an exhibit called “Ground to Sky: The Sinkhole Reimagined,” to the public tomorrow.

“The National Corvette Museum captured the attention of the world a decade ago, and we’ve spent the last decade turning misfortunes into hard-fought and well-earned triumphs,” said Kaye Wagner, NCM Board Chair. To celebrate, the NCM will showcase two of the historic Corvettes that sank into the hole, namely a 2009 ZR1 and the one-millionth model, a white C4.