Cut It Out

For many cultural destinations, budget cuts will make for a long summer

By Josh Sanburn Monday, June 27, 2011

    • Anytime state or city budget cuts are proposed, parks, museums and cultural institutions seem to be the first places threatened. As families go on vacations (or staycations) this summer, 2011 may be the worst year financially for a number of such destinations around the country. In California, 70 of the state's 278 parks will close by the fall. In Georgia, two halls of fame honoring sports and music figures will lose all their state funding by July 1. (In fact, the music hall has already closed.) And in New York City, the budgets of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York Aquarium and the Bronx Zoo will almost surely get axed.

    [The following text appears within a diagram. Please see hardcopy or PDF for actual diagram.]

    STATE AND CITY FUNDING CUTS TO U.S. CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS

    GEORGIA HALLS OF FAME (MUSIC AND SPORTS) 100%

    ATLANTA CITY PARKS* 15%

    CALIFORNIA STATE PARKS (Percentage of parks to permanently close) 25%

    MINNESOTA ZOO* 15%

    TRYON PALACE, NEW BERN, N.C.* 36%

    SACRAMENTO CITY PARKS 23%

    WASHINGTON STATE PARKS 100%

    METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART* 51%

    BRONX ZOO AND THE NEW YORK AQUARIUM* 53%

    *Proposed cuts