The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York has confirmed that routine testing found Legionella bacteria in one of its cooling towers, as city health officials continue monitoring an Upper East Side outbreak.
Museum officials said the building remains open and safe for visitors and staff. They added that the cooling tower is limited to facilities personnel and that the required remediation was completed promptly under city guidance.
Legionnaires' disease spreads through inhaled water droplets containing Legionella bacteria and does not pass from person to person. The museum also informed employees who work near the tower and said appropriate precautions are in place.
According to the museum, it follows New York City rules for cooling towers and has been told no additional action is needed at this stage. The tower will be retested next week to confirm whether further treatment is necessary.
The update comes as health teams inspect cooling towers across the neighborhood while tracing the source of the outbreak. For cultural institutions, this kind of rapid response highlights how science, maintenance, and public safety increasingly work together to protect shared spaces. In the future, smarter building systems may help cities detect and address such issues even faster.