Starting next year, the 9/11 museum will have a mandatory fee for visitors. The museum and memorial, which is located on the site of Ground Zero, has become a popular attraction for those visiting New York City, many of whom visit to pay their respects to those who were lost that day. According to abcnews.com this fee could be up to $20 or $25 dollars. However despite proposals and estimations for the amount of money to be charged, no price has yet been officially decided. Museum officials claim that this fee is necessary in order to cover the cost of upkeep to the museum, but this statement has been met with a great deal of backlash.
This backlash is due to the fact that this museum also serves as a memorial for those who lost their lives on that tragic day in 2001 and their family members are not pleased at their loved ones’ memories being used for profit. Also, many have complained that if a fee is instated, it should be much lower. It seems as thought there is conflict over the nature of the museum and memorial and the differing purposes of those two words. Those who see the primary purpose of the space as a memorial do not want it to become desecrated in the name of tourism. However, those who favor the role of the place as a museum understand that amount of work and money that must be involved in the upkeep.
Currently, the memorial plaza is open to the public, but because of funding issues, but the museum is not set to open until 2014. No one denies the importance of this Memorial Museum, but currently the way in which the goal of repercussions of that day will be carried out is undecided. We will see if the interests of the Memorial and the Museum portion of the space have interests which are too different, or whether they can find a way to unite under a common goal of respect and remembrance.
