Crown Of Statue Of Liberty To Reopen

Visitors to the Statue of Liberty will be able to hike up to the crown again beginning on July 4th.

The Statue of Liberty’s crown, which was closed after the 9/11 attacks, will reopen to the public on July 4, the White House announced on Friday morning. The decision, by the Obama administration, is a reversal of the previous policy. Under the Bush administration, the Interior Department, which includes the National Park Service, had insisted that visitors could not be permitted because the crown — reachable only by a very narrow, 12-story-high spiral staircase with a low guardrail — did not meet modern fire, building and safety codes.

No improvements have been made to the 12-story staircase, which personal experience allows me to tell you can be rather claustrophobic - there's no way to go back if you change your mind. But hey, now you can get a GREAT view of Air Force One next time it zooms by at eye-level.