With its industries hard hit for 20 years and a local economy made worse by the recession, the so-called Motor City is home to one of America's finest art institutions. Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) has recently struggled to stay afloat---until now.

One of the few publicly funded museums in the U.S., the DIA has been saved by taxpayers in three Michigan counties who voted for a new property tax — called a millage — that will raise an estimated $23 million dollars for the beleaguered museum.

In 2009, the DIA had to lay off 20 percent of its staff and the endowment reportedly only covered 16 percent of operating costs. Donations to the museum, the first in the U.S. to acquire works by Matisse and Van Gogh, have steeply dropped since the recession began in 2007.

Taxpayers have provided the turnaround. When the millage expires, reports the New York Times, the DIA may put away $400 milllion.