Culture

Statue of Liberty Crown to Reopen July 4

by Jordan Yerman | May 8, 2009 at 08:57 am

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Statue of Liberty - New York City (April 2009)

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uploaded by GiacomoRoma

The Statue of Liberty's crown, which has been closed to the public since Sept 11, 2001, is reopening on July 4.

Admission will be by lottery, with only 30 people per hour allowed to ascend at first. According to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, that number will increase over time as they renovate the structure. In two years' time, the statue will close once again for a major overhaul.

Along with Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty National Monument is run by the National Park Service.

For those not wishing to queue, there's always the Staten Island Ferry, a delightfully old-school journey to the much-maligned fifth borough, home to a cool minor-league baseball stadium.

Salazar, acknowledging that standing in the crown this morning gave him "goose bumps," said Park Service employees are being trained on ways to usher selected visitors up and down the single narrow stairway inside the statue.

He acknowledged that this would entail "risks" but also said that everyone allowed inside would have undergone "double screening" for security purposes at a national monument whose pinnacle has been closed to the public since terrorists attacked the World Trade Center towers in New York with hijacked airliners

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JeffHuang

at 09:24 on May 8th, 2009

I didnt even know the crown was closed until I was actually there in 2006.

plupi

at 17:25 on May 8th, 2009

I am originally from the New York and New Jersey area. I have been living in Florida for half of my life now, but try to get to the New York area whenever I can. The last time I visited the area my family took a day trip to see the Great Lady. As I photographed this angle all I could think of is what my grandparents must have been thinking as they saw this same vision as I as they arrived from Italy about 100 years ago.

plupi has contributed a photo to this story.

A. Tran

at 09:55 on May 10th, 2009

Both Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty National Monument are great places for a visit.

Tomitheos Linardos

at 20:47 on May 10th, 2009

it will be an exciting day after all this time, hopefully no more unauthorized fly-overs to trigger an already high alert 4th of July celebrations day