The 9/11 Tribute Museum in New York, a small establishment created by relatives of the victims of the attack on the Twin Towers, will close its doors tomorrow, Wednesday, August 17, due to debts accumulated during the pandemic.
This museum is located not far from its larger counterpart, the National Museum – September 11 Memorial, the best known in New York, next to the memorial ponds built on the site where the Twin Towers were.
The gallery, in which you could see different objects and testimonies that told the lives of those who lost their lives in the attacks more than two decades ago, was founded by widows of workers from the Fire Department of the City of New York ( FDNY), an organization now known as the 9/11 Families Association.
Since it opened in 2006, the museum has received more than five million visitors.
Despite closing its doors, those interested will be able to access the museum’s information online with interactive material that includes video stories of the people affected.
“Financial difficulties, including loss of revenue caused by the pandemic, prevent us from generating sufficient funds to continue operating the physical museum,” said Jennifer Adams, co-founder and executive director of the museum, in statements collected by NBC.
The museum’s reliance on international tourism took its toll during the pandemic: Admissions to the Greenwich Street nonprofit – which ran it – fell to 26,000 last year, down 83% from its 150,000 visitors in 2019, according to notes The Wall Street Journal.
Before the pandemic, around 40% of the museum’s visitors came from abroad.
Much of the museum’s collection will move to the New York State Museum in Albany.