Guardianlv.com reports that the three-year old lawsuit, Saska v. Metropolitan Museum, challenged the facility’s long-standing admission policy that actually allowed patrons to pay what they wanted, but was not widely known. Under the original 1878 lease with New York City, the museum had no legal authority to charge any admission fee at either its original temporary facilities or the grand Beaux-Arts building on Fifth Avenue that it moved to in late 1902.
Faced with a severe budget deficit in the 1970s, the museum was permitted by the city to charge a suggested fee to help fund its operations.The key word was suggested fee. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the most visited museums in the U.S., if not the world. The iconic building on the east side of Central Park is a must-see for tourists – and locals. However, unlike museums in Los Angeles and other cities that are either free all the time or have free hours, the Met has no “free times.”
Many visitors felt they could not afford to go, even though admission could be gotten for one dollar or less. The museum Website currently emphasizes that, “To help cover the costs of exhibitions, we ask that you please pay the full recommended amount.”Under terms of the settlement, the signage in the lobby and info online will be changed to clearly advise people that the amounts posted are the “suggested admission” prices. The sentence “The amount you pay is up to you” will also appear prominently to make the Met’s policy more explicit.
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