Yellowstone Gateway Museum board recommends temporary closure after flood, cites unsafe building systems

Mark Brown, museum staff, told the Yellowstone Gateway Museum Board on Feb. 25 that the museum is facing “significant structural and environmental challenges” after a recent flood and years of deferred maintenance and recommended a temporary closure to the public.

Brown said a water pipe burst the morning of Tuesday the 19th, flooding lower-level collections and utility spaces, and that the building’s outdated electrical system has limited restoration work. “Given the significant health and safety risks to visitors, staff, and the museum’s collection, I strongly advocate for the temporary closure of the museum to the public,” Brown said.

The board’s discussion centered on immediate safety, preserving artifacts and next steps. Brown described plumbing that mixes multiple pipe materials, a hole under a public restroom sink that channels water beneath the building, and climate-control failures that produce temperature differences he said can “exceed[] 70 degrees” between spaces. He said about 6 inches of standing water was present in some rooms after the pipe burst,…