January 23, 2009
Statue of Liberty crown may reopen on limited basis
Update: It’s official: Statue of Liberty crown will reopen July 4, 2009
For the first time September 11, 2001, the crown of the Statue of Liberty may reopen to the public on a limited basis, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar is expected to announce today, NBCNewYork is reporting.
Update: Not so fast. NBCNewYork now reports:He said a study is underway on whether to open the crown to the public and that the review should be complete in April.
“Opening the crown “is very important to me,” said Salazar, but he added that any such plan must include the safety of the public.”
Since the monument reopened in August 2004, visitors have been unable to go higher than the pedestal and exterior observation decks. Even so, a ticketing system allows only a small percentage of the day’s visitors to get near the statue at all; many tourists arrive to the island livid to find out they should a have gotten one of the limited free monument passes before boarding the boat.
The National Parks Service, which operates the statue, has maintained that the reason public access has been prohibited to the crown was because of fire safety issues, not terrorism ears. In fact, in interviews with NewYorkology, two different NPS officials have referred to the Statue of Liberty as a “firetrap” because the only way up and down the statue is via a central double-helix stairwell.
Access to the torch has been closed to public since 1916, shortly after a massive explosion at Black Tom’s, which was widely assumed to have been the work of German saboteurs.
Salazar is touring the monument today at the request of U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, who during Salazar’s recent confirmation hearings, elicited the secretary’s pledge to “commit to coming with you to New Jersey and New York and visiting those sites and understanding more about why those restrictions were put into place.”
To get to the Statue of Liberty, you must book a ferry ticket with Statue Cruises. On January 1, 2008, Statue Cruises replaced Circle Line as the only way to get to Liberty and Ellis islands. The ferry ticket costs $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $5 for children and covers the trip to both islands. (You’re also crazy if you don’t advance book the free monument pass, which is the only way to get into the museum and up to the observation decks of the Statue of Liberty.)
Earlier: Statue of Liberty’s crown may re-open under Obama
NewYorkology Basics: Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island
January 23, 2009 12:37 PM in Architecture, Downtown, Sightsology
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