CHICAGO MUSEUM ATTENDANCE DECLINES FOR FOURTH YEAR RUNNING

Attendance at Chicago’s top ten museums fell for the fourth year in a row, although the pace of the decline slowed enough that museum officials expect a turnaround this year, Sandra Jones reports in Crain’s Chicago Business. In 2004, 7.48 million people visited at least one of the museums, down 1 percent from 7.57 million in 2003, according to a report released Monday from the Museums in the Park, a coalition of the ten museums located on Chicago Park District property. “We are looking at growth mirroring what’s happening in tourism in general,” says Jacqueline Atkins, executive director of the Museums in the Park, adding that the group of museums contribute about $500,000 a year to the local economy. “It’s really important to look at these institutions’ contribution to the vitality of the city.”