Leak Temporarily Closes Portion of Traveling Smithsonian Exhibit

First of all, the ruby slippers are fine.

But things were touch-and-go for a while Tuesday morning after workers at the Smithsonian’s traveling road show discovered a leak in the air-conditioning unit, dripping near priceless artifacts that had been carted across the country for display at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Turns out the problem wasn’t serious, but it was enough to prompt officials to shut down a portion of the exhibit for part of the morning, giving hundreds of people who had waited an hour or more in line the option of coming back another day. Five hundred people took the offer.

“It’s like checking out a fender-bender,” said exhibit spokeswoman Beverly Jackson. “It could be nothing and backs up traffic for 20 miles. We were thankful there was no damage.”

There were, however, plenty of frayed nerves. While some would-be viewers left in exasperation, others waited for several hours to see the treasures.

Although the leak was plugged by noon, allowing officials to reopen the entire show, the glitch was the latest in a series of problems that have beset the exhibit since its Feb. 9 debut in Los Angeles, the first stop on a cross-country tour.

Lines to get in have been far longer than anyone anticipated, with nearly 10,000 people queuing up daily to view items such as Abraham Lincoln’s hat, a model of Washington, D.C.,’s famous Smithsonian castle and the ruby slippers Judy Garland wore in “The Wizard of Oz.”

Last Friday, officials announced they had sold out of advance tickets for the remainder of the show, which was scheduled to close on March 7. Jackson said organizers were hoping to keep the exhibit open through March 10. An announcement is expected today.