The Texas Historical Commission meets Oct. 30 in El Paso to vote on a staff report recommending that a closed Houston air terminal museum be added to the state’s historic sites system — a decision that arrives about two months before the agency’s temporary lease on the building runs out.
The 1940 Air Terminal Museum occupies Houston’s first purpose-built passenger terminal, an Art Deco building by architect Joseph Finger at what is now Hobby Airport. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019. The nonprofit that restored and ran it, the Houston Aeronautical Heritage Society, announced an abrupt closure in March and began selling off artifacts. The commission then signed a six-month lease effective July 1 that halted the sales and gave the state time to weigh the building’s deferred maintenance.
Executive director Joseph Bell said in July that there was no guarantee the museum would reopen as a state site. A commission assessment in September 2025 had already found it met all eight criteria for the program. Two things still stand between the recommendation and a reopening: the building belongs to the city of Houston, so any transfer needs the city as well as the state, and the society has said it carries outstanding debts. No Phase III report appears on the agency’s meetings page, and the agenda sets no date for a handover. The agency’s agenda spells the museum’s name with an s; the museum does not.
Members also take up this year’s awards from the Texas Preservation Trust Fund, a 1989 endowment whose investment earnings pay for restoration, survey and heritage education work. The agency received 41 applications in February against $330,000 in general money, plus pools earmarked for the Texas Panhandle and the city of Dallas. Other votes: approval and rejection of this year’s official historical marker topics, revised marker policies, a name change for the Military Heritage Center state site, interpretive plans for Presidio La Bahía and the Port Isabel Lighthouse, and a nine-item consent agenda.
The meeting streams one-way on the agency’s YouTube channel. Anyone wanting to speak must register in person at the hotel; the notice gives no remote option. Members close with a report from counsel on pending legal matters, and set their 2027 meeting dates.
Meeting at a glance
- When
- 8:30 AM, Friday, October 30, 2026. TRD 2026006336 was filed October 23 at 4:27 p.m. The agency’s own posted schedule for the quarter gives the start as 9 a.m.; the notice governs.
- Where
- Hotel Paso Del Norte, Salon A&B, 10 Henry Trost Ct., El Paso. Committees met at the same hotel Oct. 29.
- Governing body & chair
- Texas Historical Commission — 15 citizen members appointed by the governor to six-year terms; 14 seats are filled. John L. Nau III of Houston chairs; Garrett Donnelly of Midland is vice chair.
- Format
- Eighteen numbered items, nine on a consent agenda that passes in one vote unless a member pulls one. In-person public comment; the chairman may limit time.
- Live video
- Livestream at youtube.com/@TxHistComm. The notice says the feed does not allow two-way communication.
- Full agenda
- Secretary of State Open Meeting Viewer · THC quarterly meetings page
Commission members
- John L. Nau, III — chair; Houston; beverage distribution executive.
- Garrett Donnelly — vice chair; Midland; oil company vice president.
- Catherine McKnight — secretary; Dallas; retired health care attorney.
- Fritz Duda — Dallas; real estate investment builder.
- Lilia “Marisa” Garcia — Raymondville; rancher and history lecturer.
- David A. Gravelle — Dallas; branding consultant; commissioner 2000–2013.
- Michael W. “Mike” Hagee — Fredericksburg; retired Marine Corps commandant.
- Kay Hindes — Pleasanton; archaeologist; former San Antonio city archaeologist.
- Ted Houghton — El Paso; former Texas Transportation Commission chair.
- Robert M. “Bobby” Lee — Amarillo; co-owner, Big Texan Steak Ranch.
- Laurie E. Limbacher — Austin; architect.
- Gilbert E. “Pete” Peterson, III — Alpine; bank investments officer.
- James H.C. “Jamey” Steen — Houston; resources partnership partner.
- Robert D. “Dick” Tips — San Antonio; funeral services chairman.
Names, cities and the chair, vice chair and secretary designations are from the agency’s commissioners page, read October 26, cross-checked against the governor’s appointment releases of June 18, 2025, November 21, 2025 and April 16, 2026. The page says the body has 15 members and lists 14; the Texas State Directory shows one position open. John W. Crain of Dallas, a commissioner as recently as the agency’s June 2026 strategic plan, is no longer listed, and no announcement of his departure was found in the governor’s releases or the agency’s news page. Joseph Bell has been executive director since 2024. Meeting contact: admin@thc.texas.gov, (512) 463-6100.