The revamped and restored Harris Museum, Art Gallery and Library is booming since reopening, new figures show.
Preston City Council has released visitor numbers which are more than doubling the average pre-closure weekly usage.
In the first eight weeks since the grade-I listed building reopened more than 100,000 visits have been made.
Read more: Nick Park leads joyful grand reopening of The Harris in Preston
The Harris says they have seen both the shop and café operating at double the forecasted level.
More than £19million was spent on refurbishing the museum, galleries and library in a project which over-ran by a year and doubled in cost, but has been defended by council chiefs as money very well spent as they march towards their target of 450,000 visits in the first year.
Cabinet member for culture and arts at the Labour-run city council, councillor Anna Hindle, said: “The Harris reopening has got off to a phenomenal start, with figures far surpassing our original projections. The feedback from visitors has been overwhelmingly positive with many people enjoying all aspects of The Harris including the exhibitions, the new reimagined library and display areas and of course, the Wallace & Gromit in A Case at the Museum exhibition.
“If you haven’t already managed to visit the exhibition, I urge you to have a family day out over the upcoming Christmas holidays as it is well worth a trip and only here until 4 January.”
Funding for the restoration and revamp project came in part from a significant contribution by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Director of England, North, Helen Featherstone said: “We are thrilled and very proud to have been able to support the amazing transformation of The Harris thanks to money raised by National Lottery players. It’s fantastic to see the positive reaction to the regeneration of this much-loved museum and increased footfall from visitors who have been discovering the captivating heritage The Harris has to offer.”
The average weekly visitor numbers are currently running at 14,500 for the Harris against an average pre-closure of 6,730 per week.
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