Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park ranks among the most popular museums in the world

London-based Art Newspaper says its worldwide survey of museum attendance shows the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids was one of the world's 100 most visited museums in 2009.

With a reported 504,488 visitors last year, the Gardens ranked 97 on the international list of institutions. In the Midwest, the big draw was the Art Institute of Chicago where attendance was 1.8 million last year.

According to excerpts from the story:

But Meijer Gardens drew more visitors last year than the St. Louis Art Museum with 409,585, the Indianapolis Museum of Art with 378,254, and the Detroit Institute of Arts with 377,645. Meijer Gardens, which opened in April 1995, expects to welcome its 6 millionth visitor overall in May.

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