December 18, 2008
Statue of Liberty's crown may re-open under Obama
Update: It’s official: Statue of Liberty crown will reopen July 4, 2009
Once President-Elect Barack Obama is sworn into office, there’s a good chance the Statue of Liberty’s crown will reopen to the public, the Daily News argues in an editorial today.
Obama’s Wednesday appointment of Sen. Ken Salazar as Secretary of the Interior is a step in that direction.
 Post-September 11, the Statue of Liberty first reopened in August 2004 but the public was allowed no further up than almost toe-level with the statue. But even then as now, only a fraction of visitors to Liberty Island are allowed there or into the museum because a limited number of passes are given out each day.
The National Park Service, which operates the monument, has argued that allowing visitors back would re-create the “firetrap” possibilities that were in place up until September 10, 2001, with hundreds of visitors crammed onto the double-helix stairway to the crown.
But Rep. Anthony Weiner, (D-Brooklyn and Queens,) and others have argued “the reason that the Statue of Liberty is still closed is the lack of imagination and will on the part of the Park Service.” He and others have called for a feasibility study that would allow the crown to reopen.
From the Daily News:Of course it’s feasible. If necessary, through limited daily tickets. If necessary, by requiring visitors to sign liability waivers.
Salazar gets the picture. On Sept. 21, 2006, he submitted the following amendment:“SEC. 778. PUBLIC ACCESS TO THE STATUE OF LIBERTY.
“Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall ensure that all persons who satisfy reasonable and appropriate security measures shall have full access to the public areas of the Statue of Liberty, including the crown and the stairs leading thereto.” Obama was a co-sponsor.
 Even higher up is the torch, but access there hasn’t even been up for debate. The torch has been closed to public since 1916, shortly after a massive explosion nearby at Black Tom’s, which was widely assumed to have been the work of German saboteurs to prevent the delivery of 2 million pounds of U.S. ammunition headed for WWI battlefields.
The Summer 2007 edition of Seaport magazine paints a vivid picture of the explosion’s impact on Liberty Island, which was then still known as Bedloe’s Island.Buildings on Bedloe’s Island suffered serious damage. The shore was covered with cases of powder, pieces of iron, torn fragments of brass cylinders (to fit the shells of three-inch gund) and shrapnel. The Statue of Liberty itself escaped serious damage, although three bullet holes are said to have punctured the drapery near her waist. The blast did have a far-reaching effect, however: It was the deciding factor in closing off the visitor access to the statue’s raised (and already structurally weakened) right arm.
Picture credits: Amy Langfield/NewYorkology
Earlier:
Statue Cruises settling in to new Statue of Liberty route (2008)
Statue of Liberty: long lines, mondo security, big payoff (2007)
Fire safety keeping Statue of Liberty’s top closed (2006)
New York Basics: Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island
December 18, 2008 9:45 AM in Architecture, Downtown, History, Kids, Museums, Out of Manhattan, Sightsology, Tours
Comments (0)
®Copyright 2004 - 2009, All Rights Reserved
|
