The Newseum in DC is closing at the end of the year. I’m not sure why…maybe rents or running costs. But I think it’s so important for this museum to continue someplace…I wonder if folks have any ideas.
I’ve reached out to a Medill grad (a prominent one) because maybe the NU campus and the journalism program there could do this.
Any other ideas??
That’s a shame - I don’t live in the area so no ideas at all but that was hands-down my favorite museum when we visited DC.
S1 and I were there this June — we made a trip to DC just to see it before Johns Hopkins takes over the space for its own purposes. The news coverage has said that Newseum will reinvent itself elsewhere in DC with lower overhead. I think in a city of so many free museums, they were just seen as too expensive (I think it was $25 admission).
There’s some really powerful exhibits and one-of-a-kind items, (the Unabomber’s cabin, 9/11 items) and we loved it. The view from the terrace is itself unbeatable. In this day and age, a museum devoted to the value of news, with a memorial to murdered journalists and those killed doing their job is an invaluable reminder of the fragility of free press.
Such a shame. Really great museum.
NOOOOOO! Could they relocate to a less expensive area?
This is a niche, but very very important, museum.
The Newseum used to be in Arlington in a much smaller setup. Took the guys when they were 7-9 (late 1990s) and they were utterly captured. I loved the place. Admission was free. The Newseum trustees decided to move downtown around 2008 to take advantage of being near the Smithsonian museums, and started charging admission.
Unfortunately this coincided with the Great Recession, which significantly affected their endowments on top of paying for a much larger space and reduced tourist traffic.
It’s hard to be an admission-charging museum in DC when so much is free. Their mission has been so important over the years.
We walked past this museum when we were there. There is sooo much to see in DC for free. How could this top any of the Smithsonians? Or the monuments? Or the Capitol, the Library of Congress, the Supreme Court? The displays outside made it seem as though most of the exhibits were newpaper headlines.
@TatinG it’s a fabulous museum. Chronicles the history of the news in our country. It really is amazing. The exhibits were very well done. And yes, I think it was worth the cost of admission.
But I completely understand why some folks might not want to pay the admission costs. But when everything else is free…what’s one admission?
It is about proritizing time in DC. Other sights seemed more interesting.
American University has a strong school of communication which incorporates journalism. Somebody should arrange some kind of partnership with them.
Sorry to hear this. I have to agree that with all the free venues those are chosen first over a (somewhat steep - especially for families) admission fee. May be well worth it, but gets left behind in a budget. I hope they can re-invent someway.
I know it’s not the same as being there in person… but perhaps they could get some of the info online at website, youtubes etc.
Really a great museum and sad to hear that it’s closing. I do agree, though, that the $25 price tag is high relative to all the area has to offer, particularly with so many of them free to visit. I do hope it’s able to find a new home.
True story–a couple months ago my boyfriend and I were in DC on our way to a ramen shop and then to the National Gallery and I asked if he wanted to check out the Newseum instead (we live close to DC and went a lot on weekends over the summer so had been to NGA before). We peeked into the window, saw the admission fee, and immediately went back to our original plan. Hopefully their holdings get moved somewhere where they can be seen… maybe the Museum of American History two doors down?
The Spy Museum is pretty expensive too. Is it still doing well?
The Newseum was hands down our favorite museum when we took the kids (maybe 2010?). It was pricey, but it was fascinating for all ages. I hope they find a new home!
Oh man, I thought they were moving someplace else in D.C. I guess that didn’t pan out.
I too loved this place. We actually went once to the old location and then to the new spot when it moved (I think we were there twice ). Last trip, I distinctly remember standing on the top balcony and looking at the to die for view of the mall and capital and thinking they need to be in a cheaper location - no wonder their admission is so high.
I’m hoping to go there next month if I end up in DC—plans are in progress.
Johns Hopkins needed a prime spot on Pennsylvania Ave for their their new DC campus. They want an even bigger presence in DC than their current DuPont Circle campus. Bloomberg’s billion dollar donation made it possible.
“ The university’s top ranking School of Advanced International Studies, which for decades has been on Massachusetts Avenue NW, will move to the Pennsylvania Avenue building after it is remodeled. So will other D.C.-based graduate programs in business, nursing, and arts and sciences. Hopkins said it has about 3,300 faculty, students and staff in the city, in addition to faculty at Johns Hopkins Sibley Memorial Hospital in Northwest Washington.”
When the building closes to the public at the end of the year, museum staff will remove the 1,100 objects on view. About a quarter are on loan from individuals and organizations, and those will be offered for return to their owners. The rest will be stored at a facility in Maryland as the museum plans for a new home. (The massive First Amendment tablet facing Pennsylvania Avenue is a museum asset, a Hopkins official said, and the Freedom Forum will retain ownership of it.)
Museum officials have not identified potential locations, but the next version of the Newseum will most likely be smaller.