LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Muhammad Ali Center will now be closed "until further notice" after a fire in the parking garage early Wednesday morning.
Officials originally planned to have the downtown Louisville museum closed for the days as crews worked to repair a damaged HVAC system. However, in an update hours later the center shared it would take much more time to fix the damage.
The fire started around 2 a.m. in an adjacent paring structure attached to the Muhammad Ali Center, according to the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD).
Police said a large number of tiles stored for the building's exterior had somehow caught fire on the garage's second floor.
Louisville Fire was able to put out the blaze in roughly 30 minutes, police added.
According to the Muhammad Ali Center, the HVAC system was heavily damaged and some smoke was able to get inside the building. The museum's interior and artifacts inside were unharmed by the fire, however.
"We are especially thankful to Louisville fire, PARC, LMPD, and our vendors for their quick, professional response that prevented this fire from doing more harm than it did," officials said on social media. "The perseveration of Muhammad's physical legacy is due to the diligent work of our curation team and a testament to the necessity of their work."
The center is working on a plan to fully reopen, but the building will remain closed to the public for some time.
Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.
