Many people spent the morning at the National September 11 Memorial Museum on Thursday, the first day that the museum, after a week of previews and sponsored free admission, was open for paying customers.
The NY Times reports that most had heard the continuing stream of complaints: The admission price of as much as $24; the inclusion of a shop and cafe inside; the location of victims’ unidentified remains at the site; the decision to host a gathering there on Tuesday night for donors.
“It was well worth our time and money,” said Ms. Dupre, who paid the $18 admission fee for seniors.
Unlike the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the National Gallery in Washington, which offer free admission, the Sept. 11 museum receives no federal financing to cover any of its estimated $63 million yearly operating budget, said Michael Frazier, a museum spokesman, reports the Times.
Nor does it receive money from the state or the city. The museum does get bills, however. Utilities are expected to run about $7.5 million a year; security costs $10 million, while nearly $4 million is earmarked for the collections and exhibitions. Private fund-raising is expected to cover about 30 percent of the total; the rest must be earned from ticket and retail sales, according to Mr. Frazier.
A fee of $24 for adults and $15 for students 7 through 17 is not out of line with what other museums in New York and elsewhere charge. Read more at the NY Times.
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