The Leonardo is closed for repairs, and officials at the Salt Lake City arts-and-science museum are giving no indication when it will reopen.
The closure leaves Ken Sanders, the legendary Utah bookstore owner who moved his namesake shop into The Leonardo in 2023, frustrated. Mounting building issues are taking a toll on his business — and his resolve.
“I feel like I’m trapped in here with all these issues that I cannot control and I cannot fix,” Sanders said.
Ken Sanders Rare Books, which offers a wide array of new, rare and collectible books, will remain open during its usual hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. But deteriorating infrastructure — including broken elevators that limit ADA access — continues to hurt foot traffic and sales, Sanders said.
The museum sent an announcement to patrons last week, saying it was closing for the foreseeable future.
Lisa Davis, who chairs The Leonardo’s board, wrote in an email that the building at 209 E. 500 South, the former home of the Salt Lake City Library, is in need of repairs.
“Like any aging structure, The Leonardo building, now 61 years old, is facing significant challenges,” Davis wrote. “The escalators and elevators, which are original to the building and more than 30 years past their expiration (or “best use”) dates, require urgent attention.”
Davis added that the decision to close was also intended to “maintain operational efficiency” while continuing to provide “essential services,” such as summer camps and field trips. Those services will continue as scheduled, according to the closure notice on The Leonardo’s website.
The museum also is still offering private tours of the multimedia immersive exhibition “MOSAICO: Italian Code of a Timeless Art,” which opened in February, the notice states.
The closure came “unexpectedly” on June 16, Sanders said.
“I was informed that the board of Leonardo had determined to furlough the vast majority of its employees to restructure and get some long-standing repairs and conflicts with the city done, and would reopen in September,” Sanders said Friday in an interview.
Davis did not say when The Leonardo will reopen, but noted that the organization is committed to reopening with improved facilities.
When asked whether any staff museum members had been furloughed or laid off due to the temporary closure, Davis wrote, “during this period, we have streamlined our staff to focus on educational roles.”
Malfunctioning elevators have limited access to exhibits and programs on the second and third floors, Davis wrote, making it difficult for the museum to generate revenue from events.
“The city, which owns the building and manages repairs, is working with a vendor to address the elevator,” Davis wrote. “We are optimistic that these repairs will be completed soon and look forward to working with the City to resolve other necessary building repairs.”
Andrew Wittenberg, a spokesperson for the Mayor’s office, wrote in a statement that the city is continuing to work with the museum’s board to address repairs “desperately needed at the facility.”
“Due to maintenance needs that have not been resolved by the tenant as part of the lease agreement, certain systems have failed and now require sustained attention,” Wittenberg wrote. “We are working collaboratively to fulfill those needs and meet ADA requirements that allow for a safe environment for everyone.”
A bookstore caught in the middle
When Sanders moved his antiquarian bookstore inside The Leonardo, he was optimistic the move would be mutually beneficial. He envisioned a natural synergy — book lovers would discover the museum, and museum visitors, many of whom he assumed would appreciate culture and ideas, would be drawn to the offerings of an independent bookstore.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Ken Sanders in the new Children's Reading Room of his' bookstore at the Leonardo in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022.
But after 2½ years operating his store inside the museum, Sanders said the building’s maintenance issues — compounded with large-scale events that block traffic and restrict access to his shop — are further straining the business he has operated since 1990.
The building’s main passenger elevator has been out of service for more than a year, he said. Recently, the service elevator broke down with employees stuck inside, he added.
However, Sanders said he was told by city and The Leonardo officials that the passenger elevator will be repaired Monday.
“This is like the most exciting news I’ve had in 2½ years, because we were able to use the service elevator to kind of do a workaround for ADA, but now I’m in violation of ADA, and that’s just not kosher,” he said.
Since moving his shop from the longtime spot at 268 S. 200 East, Sanders said it’s been bittersweet. He loves the old library building and fondly remembers coming there as a kid to check out books — and even turning the pages of an edition of Audubon’s Double Elephant Folio of “The Birds of America,” which is now housed on the other side of Library Square in the Salt Lake City Library’s main branch.
Despite his fondness for the structure, Sanders said it’s aging. The building was dedicated as the main branch of the Salt Lake City Library on Oct. 30, 1964.
“I’m turning 74 years old, and I need help, and what I get is barriers and conflicts, whether it is festivals closing down the surrounding parking and access to my building, or issues like elevators,” he said.
(Steve Griffin | Salt Lake Tribune file photo) The Leonardo moves a piece of a C-131 military transport plane into the museum in 2016, as part of its exhibit "Flight."
The Leo’s rocky start
When The Leonardo opened in 2011, city leaders questioned its long-term viability but said they hoped it would strengthen the city’s role as Utah’s cultural hub.
The Leonardo secured a deal with the city to pay just $1 a month in rent while taking on responsibility for maintenance and utilities. But the museum fell behind on payments and, according to city officials, was issued a default notice in 2019 for owing more than $600,000.
The Leonardo, meanwhile, said the building has had ongoing issues that the city has been slow to address, including a leaky roof that damaged a sculpture that cost $900,000 to repair.
The nonprofit has long struggled with debt and unreliable revenue from traveling exhibits, complicating long-term planning. From the start, the museum — envisioned as a fusion of science and art in the spirit of Leonardo da Vinci — opened to lower-than-expected attendance and wrestled with how to define itself.
It was still finding its footing as it tried to establish a place among the city’s more prominent institutions, including the Clark Planetarium, the Natural History Museum of Utah, the Utah Museum of Fine Arts and the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art.
After the default notice was served, museum officials told The Tribune at the time they were done operating in the red and were in the black.
Tax filings, though, tell a different story.
The Leonardo reported $2.05 million more in liabilities than assets as of June 30, 2023, according to its most recent Form 990, published by ProPublica. The year before, that deficit was $2.14 million. And in 2021, it stood at $2.13 million.
This pattern predates the pandemic, with reported deficits of $1.96 million in 2018 and $1.65 million in 2019, tax filings show.
As The Leonardo undergoes repairs, Davis asked for the “community’s support and understanding” during this transition.
