Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery has been hit by a big drop in visitor numbers.
The free attraction in Chamberlain Square is losing more than 13,000 visitors a month.
The dramatic drop came to light in figures published by Visit England showing the most visited places in each region of the UK including the West Midlands.
The statistics revealed that BMAG had 909,935 visitors in 2015. That plunged by 17.5 per cent to 750,779 in 2016, a fall of 159,156 people going into the venue.
The reduction equates to more than 13,000 fewer visitors a month or just over 3,000 fewer every week.
BMAG bosses have blamed the Paradise redevelopment works.
Ellen McAdam, director of Birmingham Museums Trust, contacted the Birmingham Mail with a statement explaining the situation.
She said: "Our visitor figures have been growing since we became a charity in 2012. We experienced a surge in 2015 of 30 per cent following the opening of the Staffordshire Hoard gallery.
"With the inevitable impact of the library demolition and construction of the Paradise development on footfall, we were prepared for figures to fall back because of the reduced access.
"Overall we are still very pleased with BMAG’s performance, and we’re now looking forward to the next stage in the Paradise redevelopment and the new pedestrian routes which will help to increase footfall."
The museum's website advises visitors: "There is currently a detour in place to get to the Museum and Art Gallery via Victoria Square. Please access the museum via Edmund Street."
Despite the shocking fall in admissions, it's the second most visited free attraction in the region, beaten only by MAC Birmingham.
The £500 million Paradise redevelopment has affected many businesses in the city centre .
Mechu - a nightclub, bar and restaurant in Summer Row - closed in March after saying it was struggling because of disruption from the roadworks. It was replaced by M Club.
In the same street, Texan Roadhouse Sports Bar and Grill has replaced Apres Bar, which also closed earlier this year.
Visit England's survey did record a slight reduction in visitors for museums as a whole between 2015 and 2016 as part of its analysis of trends.
Heritage centres also saw a fall, though the biggest drop was for churches.
In contrast, zoos, theme parks, gardens, historic houses, castles, country parks and steam railways all saw a general boost in admission.
