How Philadelphia's museum prices stack up
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Philadelphia's top art museums have some of the priciest tickets among prestigious institutions across the country.
The big picture: High prices can wall off public access for certain people to some of the world's greatest collections of art and artifacts.
State of play: The going rate to visit both the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) and the Barnes Foundation is $30 for adults — a high mark for the city.
- That's in line with New York City's Museum of Modern Art and San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art.
Flashback: PMA has hiked admission prices twice since 2019.
- And in 2021, it unveiled a major $233 million renovation that boosted public and gallery spaces.
- The Barnes, meanwhile, tried a dynamic pricing model pre-pandemic before settling on a set admission price.
Zoom out: Adult ticket prices to other popular Philly museums and institutions aren't as steep:
- ⚡ Franklin Institute: $29
- 🚢 Independence Seaport Museum: $23
- 💀 Mütter Museum: $20
- 🏺 Penn Museum: $18
- 🖌️ Academy of Fine Arts: $18
- ✋🏿 African American Museum: $14
Between the lines: Philly is the nation's poorest large city, so high prices can be a deterrent for a large swath of residents.
🆓 The other side: The city has plenty of freebie museums and attractions to check out, including: