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Biltmore tops NC museum and historic attractions attendance for third straight year
Posted: 02-15-2007 : MATTHEWS, N.C.
MATTHEWS, N.C. -- With more than one million visitors in a single year for the first time ever, Asheville's Biltmore once again leads the list of North Carolina's most popular museum and historic attractions.
The survey of attendance at the state's 385 museums and historic attractions is conducted annually by Carolina Publishing Associates of Matthews, publishers of the Carolina Heritage Guide and Carolina Field Trips Magazine.
America's largest privately owned home in Asheville completed the year with 1,075,721 visitors in 2006. Morehead City's Fort Macon State Park finished second in popularity, with 704,810. More than 615,000 visitors enjoyed Charlotte's Discovery Place, earning it a third place ranking. The NC Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh and the Wright Brothers Memorial in Kitty Hawk completed the top five most visited sites. Rounding out the top 10 are the NC Museum of Art in Raleigh, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site in Manteo, the NC Museum of History in Raleigh, Durham's Museum of Life and Science and the NC Maritime Museum in Beaufort.
The appeal of North Carolina's museums and historic sites reflects North Carolina's diverse heritage. Military-related sites among the top 25 include the Battleship North Carolina and the Airborne Special Operations Museum in Fayetteville. Historic attractions included are the Roanoke Island Festival Park in Manteo, Historic Bethabra Park in Winston-Salem, the NC Transportation Museum in Spencer, Tryon Palace Historic Site and Gardens in New Bern, and Old Salem Museum and Gardens in Winston-Salem.
Grandfather Mountain and Linville Caverns both ranked in the top 25 most popular statewide attractions, as did the Mint Museum of Art and Craft Design in Charlotte, the Greensboro Children's Museum and SciWorks in Winston-Salem.
The enthusiasm for motorsports made a strong showing in the survey, with the Roush Racing Museum in Concord, RCR Racing Museum in Welcome and the NC Auto Racing Hall of Fame in Mooresville all ranked in the top 25.
The top 10 most popular museums and historic attractions, along with locations and attendance numbers, were:
- Biltmore, Asheville, 1,075,721
- Fort Macon State Park, Morehead City, 704,810
- Discovery Place, Charlotte, 615,000
- NC Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, 549,588
- Wright Brothers Memorial, Kill Devil Hills, 470,000
- NC Museum of Art, Raleigh, 368,020
- Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, Manteo, 399,776
- NC Museum of History, Raleigh, 287,468
- Museum of Life and Science, Durham, 285,724
- NC Maritime Museum, Beaufort, 267,822
More information can be found at http://www.carolina-fieldtrips.com
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