Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum Closes Indefinitely

On Monday, March 24, Walter V. Wendler, the President of West Texas A&M University (WTAMU) in Canyon, announced the closure of the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum (PPHM).

Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum

In a letter addressed to university faculty, staff, and students, Mr. Wendler cited fire and life safety concerns following a recent Texas State Fire Marshal’s Office (SFMO) inspection. He explained, “The violations pose significant safety risks and must be addressed promptly. I have spoken with the Texas State Fire Marshal’s Office several times about the ongoing violations and problems with the existing museum structures. My decision to close the museum while corrective action is taken is in accordance with the Texas State Fire Marshal’s Office recommendation.”

Mr. Wendler noted that some of the issues have already been corrected, but others will require major renovations. The Plainview Herald reported that these issues include things like “eliminating dead-end hallways and ensuring that all building areas have immediately accessible exits.”

Glasstire reached out to WTAMU to inquire about the frequency of fire marshal inspections and if these safety risks were new developments. A spokesperson shared that in the last decade, the building has been inspected twice, once in 2015 and now in 2025. They also confirmed that this is not the first time these building issues have been raised, which calls into question why the museum is closing now if these issues have been longstanding.

When asked about Mr. Wendler’s decision to close the building, the spokesperson explained, “The Fire Marshal told the University the life and safety issues must be addressed. We hired an engineering firm to provide cost estimates which came back at $40 million to fix code violations and another $60 million to bring the facilities up to code and repair other deferred maintenance.”

A letter from the SFMO notes that “These violations pose significant safety risks and must be addressed promptly. The SFMO also requests that the building remain closed to the public until the violations are resolved or an approved plan of action is in place.”

Regarding the decision to close the museum, Mr. Wendler told Glasstire, “Having weighed the options and keeping public safety as the highest priority, I made the tough decision to close the museum in accordance with the state fire marshal’s recommendation. Since my arrival nine years ago as president of [WTAMU], I have worked to find solutions to the museum building issues. Unfortunately, my attempts thus far to secure funding to address the issues have not succeeded. I plan to continue trying.”

Though the building is owned by WTAMU, the museum’s collection is managed by the nonprofit entity, the Panhandle-Plains Historical Society (PPHS). WTAMU provides approximately 35% of the museum’s total budget, and museum staff are technically university faculty. According to a WTAMU spokesperson, despite the closure, employees “will remain at the university.” However, the closure has had rippling effects for students and faculty.

West Texas A&M University students complete work on a mural at the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum. Photo: Jon Revett

Jon Revett, Professor of Art and the Art Program Director at WTAMU, explained to Glasstire, “The [university’s] statement about closure of PPHM, says that it ‘…currently is not used as a University classroom facility’ but that is not correct. The [WTAMU] Art Program has held an art history class there almost every semester for a decade because the museum’s collection made the course content come alive by showing students how it connects to our regional history.”

He continued, “We also have built the museum into the curricula of many of our art courses. For beginners, it was the greatest collections of still life objects one could ever draw. For advanced students, it provided the conceptual seeds to grow ideas into mature work. The museum’s art collection was the first place many encountered a visual survey of the multiple ways one can make.”

Mr. Revett noted that the collection has also been personally influential to his artistic practice and spoke of collaborating with museum staff, who taught students about the professional opportunities in the museum world. He added, “The abrupt closure forced the art faculty to pivot and alter our courses that relied on the museum. It deprives my students of one of the best classrooms that we had. There seems to be a lot of anger and confusion about PPHM’s closure but at the end of the day, I am sad about the loss of a building where myself, my friends, my children, and my students learned about who we are.”

Dr. Alex Hunt, the Vincent/Haley Endowed Professor of Western Studies at WTAMU and Director of the Center for the Study of the American West (CSAW), noted that the closure has significantly disrupted CSAW’s operations. He told Glasstire, “We currently have three faculty and six interns who keep hours in that office. We have now moved into a small faculty office and are mostly working remotely. More seriously, several interns are engaged in research, including externally-funded research, in the archives; we are seeking solutions to this problem.”

Mr. Hunt continued, “CSAW gives research grants to [WTAMU] and external researchers using the archive, but under the circumstances we will not be awarding these grants. As for myself, I am trying to finish a book currently under contract, and I need access to the archive to complete the manuscript. In general, the lack of consideration given to the PPHM staff and this venerable and important institution was shocking. The disregard for the scholarly work of CSAW and various faculty is demoralizing. It is a very sad moment in WTAMU and PPHM history.”

The closure comes on the heels of two bills, directly related to PPHM, being introduced to the Texas State Legislature. On March 13, 2025, SB2641 was introduced in the Senate and on March 14, 2025, HB5554 was introduced to the House of Representatives. The bills have similar language which seeks to establish a PPHM fund, supported by admissions and sales revenue as well as donations, and to authorize the Texas Historical Commission (THC) to contract with WTAMU in support of “construction, renovation, expansion, maintenance, or management of museum facilities” and to contract with PPHS “for the operation and management of the museum.” The Amarillo Globe-News reported that if HB5554 is passed, museum staff would transition from university employees to fall under the purview of THC.

When asked about the duration of the closure, a WTAMU spokesperson stated, “We don’t know at this time.”

In light of the indefinite closure, the museum plans to continue supporting the community with pop-up exhibitions in the local area, traveling exhibitions, and offsite programming. Heather Friemel, Interim Executive Director of PPHM, told Glasstire, “While our physical space is temporarily unavailable, our mission remains the same — we will continue sharing the stories and history of the Panhandle-Plains region through alternative programming and exhibitions, in order to build community, enhance learning, and nurture creativity.”

March 31, 2025: This article has been updated to reflect that Jon Revett is a Professor of Art, not an Associate Professor of Art as previously reported.