INDIANAPOLIS -- A YMCA downtown is about to reopen, more than a week and a half after a crane accident that damaged the historic building that houses it.

The Y at the Athenaeum will be open to the public again on Friday. It had been closed because of safety reasons and to dry out after a crane struck the building on Aug. 23, 6News' Julie Pursley reported.

Slideshow: Athenaeum Damage

Crews completed temporary structural repairs, working 24 hours a day at some points, so that the YMCA could open again.

"There was water coming down the ceilings and the walls from everywhere, and we were walking in water," said Karin Ogden, executive director of the YMCA branch. "Between then and now, it's been so funny. It's been like a science fiction movie. There have been industrial strength dryers in here."

The accident happened when a crew working on a project outside the building dropped a large bucket on the roof, causing the 60,000 pound, 90-foot crane to topple into a wall.

The accident caused a fire line to the sprinkler system to rupture, which caused most of the damage inside.

Cassie Stockamp, president of the Athenaeum Foundation, was about 50 feet away from the spot where the bucket struck the roof.

"It sounded like the building was coming down," she said.

Aside from the Y, foundation offices and the Rathskeller restaurant inside were damaged.

Staff members were pleased that initial repairs were completed and that the structure was given an all-clear by structural engineers and the city.

"We were able to get the Rathskeller open on the second day, and this is as fast as we could get the Y open, because we had drying units in here until Sunday," Stockamp said. "It has taken this long to come back and just get everything cleaned up and come get the drywall buttoned up so it was safe."

Maintenance crews were brought in to check workout equipment. Initial repairs from the Crane accident are expected to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Stockamp said permanent repairs will begin later this month. The YMCA was already planning a renovation project.