The costs of charging admission

It might usher in an era of rich expansion.

Or it might set loose a Pandora's Box of problems.

The fact is, the opening of the expanded National Museum of American Jewish History on Independence Mall is helping to establish something to which Philadelphia will have to adjust: Admissions charges for major museums in the historic district.

Can such institutions survive over the long haul?

Already the National Constitution Center, which opened in 2003, squats on the northernmost block of Independence Mall. Adult visitors shell out $12 to get in; for special exhibitions, they must pay more - $20 for the recent "Ancient Rome and America," which closed Aug. 1.

The Jewish history museum, a block and a half south of the Constitution Center, is also charging a regular adult admission of $12.

At some point in the not too distant future, the American Revolution Center plans to open in a new facility at Third and Chestnut Streets. No regular ticket prices have been set yet, but they are likely to be similar to those of the Constitution Center and the Jewish museum.

The historic district is known as a family tourism area, which means parents will be hit in the pocketbook if they want to visit anything other than free sites run by the National Park Service. For a family of four, costs are going to get serious.

Is anyone worried?

Already the Constitution Center, whose annual operating budget will top $18 million in 2011, has been stretching its constitutional message to include special exhibitions such as "Diana: A Celebration" and "Napoleon." Museum officials have said such shows aim to bring in new visitors, invite return trips, and expand thinking about constitutional topics and American history.

Attendance has remained above one million a year since 2006, said center officials, who declined to provide attendance or revenue figures for special exhibitions. President and chief executive David Eisner claimed to have no worries about the new fee-based business model emerging in the district.

"I believe the single most important objective that we at the Constitution Center have is to make the mall more than a half-day trip," he said. "The goal is to get more people here and to spend . . . more than a day. The mall needs to exert more of a gravitational pull on tourism. This [Jewish history museum opening] can't be other than a positive thing for us."

Michael Rosenzweig, president and chief executive of the American Jewish history museum, noted that his institution, the Constitution Center, and the American Revolution Center will target "slightly different audiences, so the potential for cannibalism is less threatening."

The institutions, in other words, will not poach on each other's visitor pool.

"I don't see it as a problem," he said.

Nor does Bruce Cole, head of the yet-to-be built American Revolution Center.

"Am I not going to go to Chicago or New York or London because there are too many institutions that charge admission?" Cole wondered rhetorically. "The answer is of course I go."

The Jewish history museum will have a $9 million annual operating budget and will not charge for special exhibitions. Sources of revenue will include admissions, memberships, a shop, facility rentals, and a cafe. These will cover about half the operating budget; the rest is expected to come from contributions.

"At the end of the day all will rely on earned income, so we have to make it work," Rosenzweig said.

Gregory T. Rowe, director of culture initiatives and deputy director of the Philadelphia program for the Pew Charitable Trusts, said that "quality will drive demand."

Rowe said it was uncertain what would happen with institutions just starting up in the historic district, and he emphasized that he has done no specific study of the area's institutional ecology. But, in general, Pew has pushed cultural organizations to take a businesslike approach to financial issues.

Rowe ticked off a list of questions: Has an organization planned for worst-case scenarios? Is it prepared for a drop in demand? Has it built capital reserves? Does it have a curatorial vision that will bring people back? Will it be able to sustain that vision? Is its business plan sound?

Many times, he said, organizations have pictured rosy scenarios and "the scenarios didn't happen."

Grantmakers in the Arts, a national association of funders, launched what it terms a National Capitalization Project this year to look at issues related to funding in the nonprofit cultural arena.

For one thing, project participants - large regional and national funders - wondered whether chronic financial problems in the cultural sector could be traced in part to an increasing number of arts and cultural organizations competing for a finite or even shrinking audience.

The funders made no determination on that point, but began to map out financial practices that would help cultural organizations strengthen themselves for gloomy possibilities, not just sunny ones.

"Is it reasonable for there to be three significant museum attractions all charging in the historic district?" wondered Tom Kaiden, head of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. "A lot depends on the quality of the experience relative to the cost."

Kaiden said he was confident the Jewish history museum would prove a national attraction. People will leave the institution, he predicted, "going, 'Wow!' "

Moreover, he said, when the American Revolution Center opens sometime in the next several years, "if you put all three admissions together, visitors will still be spending less than they would for a day at Williamsburg. I'd put the [Philadelphia] experience up against any history experience in the country."

Beyond that, Kaiden said he did not believe the historic district would be "overbuilt" and glutted with "historic product." The presence of the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, both free, gives the area powerful pulls for visitors; once there, they will encounter the emerging museums.

The trick, he said, was revitalizing the experience while not exceeding demand: "You try to find the right balance between keeping it fresh and not delivering too much product."