One of the most popular cultural institutions of the Big Apple, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, partially abandons its standard policy of paying entrance fees, in which visitors pay as much as they see fit.

Despite the fact that such a system made the Metropolitan Museum an indispensable place to visit all those who would like to immerse themselves in the cultural life of the Big Apple without spending expensive tickets, from March 1 for acquaintance with art to adult museum visitors who are not residents of New York, York, have to pay $ 25. The New York Times reports that New Yorkers will need to show documents that show the address of their registration.

The head of the museum, Denis Weiss, said on Thursday that the installation of a fixed entry fee would help raise the funds needed to maintain the cultural center. Currently, it spends $ 305 million annually. The Metropolitan Museum receives about 26 million dollars from the city authorities, with $ 15 million going to the cost of heat and light.

Entry will remain free for all children under the age of 12 years, and for students in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, he will continue to be paid at will.

In addition, the museum management notes that the $ 25 fee will allow visitors to visit the museum and its branches Met Breuer and Cloisters for three days in a row instead of one, so the total cost of tickets is not so high.

Fixed-board installation marks a change in the official policy of the museum for the first time in 50 years. This decision was made because the number of people voluntarily paying the proposed amount of donations fell sharply from 63 to 17 percent, while the attendance rate increased from 4.7 to 7 million in 13 years.