Perhaps this is because the privately owned museums did not have the luxury of government financial support and started increasing admission fees and focusing on endowments for income generation earlier than the publicly funded institutions which are now "playing catchup." When I was a kid growing up in San Francisco in the 1950's and 60's, all the museums in town were completely free, save for a very occasional touring exhibition. Now they all have very hefty admission fees, although they do have children's and seniors' discounts and occasional reduced rate days. For example, the Academy of Sciences, which has the aquarium, all the stuffed animals, the planetarium, and so on, now charges adults $49.00 USD to get in and you have to buy reserved admission tickets well in advance. The Maritime Museum and the J.Porter Shaw Library at the National Maritime Historic Park in San Francisco are still free, but their hours have be drastically curtailed. To get onto the Hyde Street Pier where the museum vessels are berthed (It's presently closed for rebuilding.) will set you back $15.00 USD per adult.
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Perhaps this is because the privately owned museums did not have the luxury of government financial support and started increasing admission fees and focusing on endowments for income generation earlier than the publicly funded institutions which are now "playing catchup." When I was a kid growing up in San Francisco in the 1950's and 60's, all the museums in town were completely free, save for a very occasional touring exhibition. Now they all have very hefty admission fees, although they do have children's and seniors' discounts and occasional reduced rate days. For example, the Academy of Sciences, which has the aquarium, all the stuffed animals, the planetarium, and so on, now charges adults $49.00 USD to get in and you have to buy reserved admission tickets well in advance. The Maritime Museum and the J.Porter Shaw Library at the National Maritime Historic Park in San Francisco are still free, but their hours have be drastically curtailed. To get onto the Hyde Street Pier where the museum vessels are berthed (It's presently closed for rebuilding.) will set you back $15.00 USD per adult.
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I suspect that there’s nothing that they can do to get the tourists to come. Next, dancing girls in sailor garb?
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Most British museums were historically free to enter until Thatcher removed all subsidies and made everyone pay. Thankfully that's been reversed since her demise.
I was shocked to see the British Museum is charging £33 for an adult to see the upcoming exhibition of the Bayeux Tapestry. It's actually embroidery.
Again, the bigger 'National' museums charge a fortune to visit their occasional travelling exhibits.
Another example of 'Rip-off Britain'.
Well, it's to be expected of the French that they'd be looking to make a few francs off the deal. Isn't it?
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Whatever is right or wrong about the French, I don't understand why Americans seem to hate them.Well, it's to be expected of the French that they'd be looking to make a few francs off the deal. Isn't it?
If it hadn't been for the help of the French, your war of Independence wouldn't have been won so quickly. Read your history properly.
BTW as a Brit, I'm glad you succeeded.
Not "won so quickly," but rather, "won at all!"
"U.S. Americans" are characteristically ignorant of history, quite possibly because we have so little of it compared to the rest of the world. And over a geographic third of the U.S.A.'s history until 1848 is Mexican history. We aren't even the only "United States" in America. We share that distinction with Mexico also.
We don't hate the French particularly. We're just ungrateful bastards and we make fun of everybody but ourselves. Sadly, at the moment, U.S. American democracy is looking at spending a generation or two with our heads bowed making amends to most of the rest of the world for our bad behavior, France included. "Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it."
