Greek coins and medieval triptychs might not match the allure of Museum of Fine Arts-Boston's "blockbuster" exhibitions, but Harvard's art museums do have one thing that many area museums lack: a steady and increasing flow of visitors.

Faced with a 6 percent decline in museum attendance over the past two years, Boston has just scrapped plans to build a city history museum. Harvard recently hired an architect to draw plans for a new University museum.

Many Boston city museums have been especially hard-hit by the attendance drop--even as tourism has surged almost 10 percent in the last year.

The Children's Museum attendance is down almost a third since 1998. The Isabella Stewart Gardner museum has seen admissions decline 15 percent. Even the MFA has lost 8 percent of its yearly visitors.

But this year, four percent more people attended the Harvard art museums than in 1999.

University administrators say the difference lies in Harvard's immunity to Big Dig construction complications and its approach to special exhibits. Since the Harvard museums do not focus on changing exhibitions, they do not fall prey to the drastic swings in attendance that plague many of Boston's museums.

"People come to the museums for the permanent collection and we offer families a steady experience," says James Cuno, the Moors Cabot Director of Museums at Harvard.

Harvard's admissions fees are also much lower than the rest of the city's museums. Wednesdays and Saturday mornings are free to the general public and Harvard faculty, students and employees never have to pay.