Museum-goers line up to enter the Newseum |
Timing is everything, as this writer discovered earlier today at the Newseum on Pennsylvania Avenue. Internet pass in hand, my friend and I strolled up to the main entrance and walked right in... no hassles, no waiting. We each received two-day tickets for entry (normally $21.95 per ticket) and proceeded to take in one of the area's best museums... for free. An hour later, en route to a delicious lunch next door at Wolfgang Puck's The Source, the line wrapped around the block onto 6th Street. If I had to guess, I'd say there were at least 200 people in queue. Welcome to Museum Day Live!
The annual freebie allows DC residents and visitors alike, the opportunity to see museums that normally charge admission fees for entry. Similar lines could be found all day at the National Museum of Crime & Punishment, The Phillips Collection and other Smithsonian mainstays. Perfect weather likely accounted for even bigger crowds (and longer lines) but you can't take umbrage with the price.