Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
9/11 Memorial And Museum Will Charge $20-25 Admission Fee
By
Ben Yakas
Published May 4, 2013
Modified May 4, 2013
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Ben Yakas
Published May 4, 2013
Modified May 4, 2013
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The 9/11 Museum and Memorial will have a new motto when it opens in April 2014: Never Forget To Pay Admission. Museum officials announced on Friday that visitors will have to pay a mandatory $20-25 admission fee to enter the museum (the memorial will remain free). “We’re still in the process of considering how much, but it will be in the range of $20 to $25,” Anthony Guido, a spokesman for the museum said. “It will be a set fee.” As you can imagine, 9/11 relatives are decidedly split about the decision.
“It’s ridiculous,” retired FDNY Deputy Chief Jim Riches told the News. Riches lost his firefighter son Jimmy on 9/11. “We asked for a memorial and they’ve turned this into a P.T. Barnum production. These people are trying to make money off the worst day in American history.” Debra Burlingame, a 9/11 relative who took part in planning the museum, said “the idea of charging admission is not something we ever wanted to do,” but added “I don’t think people realize the enormous costs of building something like this, in a location like this."
And there's no doubt that it is costing an enormous amount. The 9/11 Foundation that runs the site has gotten more than $425 million from state and federal levels, and more than $450 million from private donations. The museum is expected to cost about $700 million altogether, and the operational costs are estimated at $60 million a year. “As a nonprofit organization that relies on the support of the public, not city, state or federal funding for our operations, we are charging an admission fee in line with other comparable institutions,” said spokesman Michael Frazier. However, there will be exceptions for relatives: "In our case, 9/11 family members won’t pay. And we will have time dedicated for the public to enter for free.”
However, this still doesn't seem right to some. Sally Regenhard, whose firefighter son also died on 9/11, wrote an op-ed today claiming that the museum is making families "pay to grieve."
None of the 9/11 family members that I have worked with ever wanted a billion-dollar money pit; all we hoped for was a simple, uplifting, honorable and patriotic memorial for all who were lost that terrible September day. Instead, we have a “money is no object” monstrosity inflicted upon us — a design we did not choose, and which we bear no responsibility for — that was incredibly expensive to build and even more logic-defying to maintain.
The memorial is already charging a $2 service fee for people who make reservations for their visit online or by phone. It's worth noting there have been several instances of tourists and kids trashing the memorial, or treating it like a Disney tour.
Tagged
9/11 memorial
9/11 museum
lower manhattan
september 11
tourists
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Tompkins Square Park is getting a makeover. Some say it's too much.
Some regulars at the East Village park want to preserve its not-so-fancy offerings.
By
Willow Higgins
Published Oct 17, 2026 at 7:00 a.m. ET
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
News
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
By
Samantha Max
Inside the plan to fix the nearly collapsed Pfizer Building, 1/64th of an inch at a time
By
David Brand
School bus carrying autistic students got lost in Brooklyn for 4 hours last year
By
Jessica Gould
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .