Visits to Museums Down, Layoffs Up

Museums and other cultural attractions around the country are reeling from a drop in air travel and tourism and some are laying off employees.

In Washington, the Smithsonian Institution is getting less than half the usual number of visitors. About 32,000 people visited on Sunday, down from more than 70,000 on the same Sunday a year ago. Shop and restaurant owners at the museums reported layoffs.

At Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium, attendance was down 65% during the first two weeks of September compared with the same period a year ago. The Shedd has regained only 90% of its normal business and said it is cutting 44 of its 267 full-time jobs.

At Philadelphia’s Independence National Historical Park, home of the Liberty Bell, attendance was at 66,459 people last month, compared with 121,045 in September 2000.