Not Only Is It A $500 Million Memorial . . .

It will also cost $55 million a year to run; no one knows how they’ll pay for it:

The foundation that manages the memorial and museum has raised $412 million from private donors and hopes to collect an additional $17 million by the end of the year. Joseph C. Daniels, the president and chief executive of the memorial, said that sum should cover all costs through the end of 2012.

That calculation, however, does not account for $150 million that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey wants from the foundation as its share of underground construction work. The foundation has so far refused to pay that amount, Port Authority officials say.

But beyond next year, the costs of running the museum and maintaining and protecting the memorial plaza, with its pair of deep, granite-lined pools and grove of swamp white oak trees, will be at least $55 million annually, Mr. Daniels said. He has been lobbying in Washington for federal financing to cover part, if not most, of those expenses.

Meanwhile, the Post reports that New York’s Senators have proposed a bill to have the federal government partially fund the operating costs of the memorial and museum, but only $20 million a year, meaning that there will likely be an admission, only less than the $20-$25 officials are anticipating.