Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 19, 1993 TAG: 9311190161
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
More than 750,000 people have been to the museum since April, and about 4,000 more arrive each day. Museum officials say both staff and structure are feeling the wear and tear.
Already, some parts of the brand-new building need repainting and new carpets. Bottlenecks form daily in the exhibits. Even after the end of the summer tourist season, crowds remain enormous.
"We certainly believe, as we said at our opening, that this museum has unique lessons for all Americans. We do invite everyone to visit - but not right now," Museum Director Jeshajahu Weinberg said at a news conference this week.
The museum tells the story of the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust and the millions of others who were victims of the Nazis. It uses such personal artifacts as toothbrushes and shoes of those who died, as well as films, photographs and eyewitness testimony, to make the Holocaust chillingly vivid.
Recently, the museum has been surveying its visitors. Of more than 600 polled in September, 94 percent described their experience as extremely favorable or very favorable.
About 72 percent of more than 3,000 people polled as they waited in line for tickets in August and September came from out of town. Of those, about 25 percent said they came to Washington primarily to see the museum.
Nearly half of all visitors surveyed had the same complaint: too crowded.
The museum already puts a cap on daily visits by requiring tickets to its permanent exhibition. About 4,000 tickets are used each day - half booked in advance and half handed out to those in early morning lines.
The extra staff and maintenance required to accommodate the crowds has put a strain on the budget too, said Elaine Heumann Gurian, the museum's deputy director. The museum expects at least a $12 million shortfall in basic operating funds this year.
Weinberg said he has spent a lot of time trying to explain the museum's great success. His best explanation: It is a "hot museum" that affects its visitors emotionally.
"Usually a museum is a cold place. It gives you aesthetic or informational input. But it does not drive up your blood pressure. This one does."
by CNB