Posted on 07/04/2009 5:33:14 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
New York, NY (AHN) - People will be able to climb to the Statue of Liberty's crown on the Fourth of July, for the first time since that portion of America's most famous symbol was closed to the public for safety reason shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
National Park Service officials had barred the public from visiting the crown out of concerns that it would be difficult to evacuate in case of an emergency because access is by a narrow 168-step double-helix spiral staircase.
Officials have made improvements by adding a public address system and will limit the number of visitors who can visit the crown to 280 per day in groups of 10, or 30 per day.
Tickets for the Fourth of July sold out by noon on June 13 when the reservations were first offered and tickets are sold out through winter.
The Statue of Liberty was given to the United States by France in June of 1885 in recognition of the friendship of the two nation's forged during the American Revolution. France was an important friend and ally to the American colonists in their war for independence from Britain. Lady Liberty was assembled and then dedicated on Oct. 28, 1886.
Proof that doctored photos were around long before Photoshop ...
Crown Ticket FAQs
How do I get tickets for the crown?
Beginning at 10 a.m. (EST) on June 13, 2009, crown reservations may be made through the Statue Cruises Web site at
www.statuecruises.com or by phone at 877- LADY-TIX (877-523-9849). Crown tickets may be reserved up to 1 year in
advance. (Example: Tickets for travel on September 1, 2010 will become available on-line or by phone starting at 10:00
a.m. EDT on September 1, 2009).
Are there any ticket restrictions?
Each customer may reserve a maximum of 4 tickets. Only one reservation is allowed during any 6 month period. Children
must be at least 4-feet tall. Names of all ticket users must be provided at the time of purchase to be printed on the tickets.
When presenting the tickets to access the Statue on Liberty Island, each ticket holder will be required to show photo ID
(except minors without ID) matching the name printed on the ticket.
How do I pick up the tickets?
Crown tickets must be picked up at the ticket office Will Call window (at either Liberty State Park embarkation site or
Castle Clinton in Manhattan) by the ticket purchaser. In order to pick up the tickets the purchaser must show photo ID
and the same credit card used to reserve the tickets. Crown tickets are for a specific date and time. The ticket will have the
time to enter the embarkation site security facility printed on the face.
Will I be able to use tickets I purchased prior to June 13, 2009, to access the crown?
Persons with current ticket reservations (with or without a monument pass) who wish to get crown tickets must use the
crown reservation system. If they are successful in acquiring a new boat/crown combined ticket, they must cancel their
existing ferry/monument reservation in order to receive a full refund.
Will there be a fee for crown access?
Crown tickets cost $3 each. That cost will be combined with and in addition to reserved ferry tickets, which are $12 for
adults, $10 for seniors and $5 for children.
How many people will be allowed into the crown?
For safety considerations, groups of no more than 10 people will visit the crown at a time. About 3 groups will ascend to
the crown per hour.
Will the crown be open every day?
Yes, if the park is open. However, the National Park Service reserves the right to cancel reservations at any time for
weather, safety, hazardous conditions or any other reason. If the Statue is closed, you may request a refund for your
crown passes. However, the ferry ticket price is not refundable once the ticket has been used.
How strenuous is the climb?
The climb to the crown is a strenuous journey that encompasses 354 steps in a cramped enclosed area with high
temperatures. The steps within the Statue are 19” wide, are shallow and taper at one end. Head clearance is 6 feet 2
inches. All crown visitors must be able to climb up and down the 354 steps unassisted.
Is it safe to go up the crown?
National Park Service rangers will be on site at all times to assist visitors. Since the statue is not air conditioned, interior
temperatures can be 20 degrees higher than the outside. On hot days visitors should drink water at least 30 minutes
prior to the climb. There are no rest rooms inside the statue itself. The climb is strenuous and not without risk, and the
National Park Service recommends that crown visitors have no significant physical or mental conditions that would
impair their ability to complete it, including, but not limited to: heart and respiratory conditions, mobility impairments,
claustrophobia (fear of confined spaces), acrophobia (fear of heights) or vertigo (dizziness).
I’m fairly certain that’s an authentic photo of the statue as it was being built in France.
The views were AMAZING! But one thing that was somewhat disconcerting (to me,at least)...while up there you could feel the statue sway a bit! ;-)
“...while up there you could feel the statue sway a bit!”
That’s actually a GOOD thing! :)
Only the crown? I want the torch!!!
I think that was more than 10 years ago, maybe 15 or 20!
It’s about time. Now they should focus their attention on Independence Hall in Philly. For anyone who hasn’t been there recently, you used to be able to walk right up to the building, touch it, and even have a picnic beneath it. Now they’ve setup these ugly municipal barriers that are normally used for street events and posted park service rangers all around the structure. If you want to get in, you have to get a ticket for a full tour. Worse, the whole thing is idiotic. If someone with a suicide bomb vest wanted to, they could jump the barriers, run across the yard, and detonate right in the middle of the crowd waiting to take the tour. On top of that, the street in front of Independence Hall is open for traffic. Any truck bomb could drive right up and take the whole thing out.
Last year I was walking through town past the monument, and someone had wire-tied a home-printed sign to one of the barriers. It read:
Looks Like They’ve Won
...I agree wholeheartedly.
Right when Premier Hussain is trying to extinguish her Flame.
Pray for America
Circa-1930 tourists peer out of the Statue of Liberty's crown at a photographer on the torch, which has been closed to the public since a 1916 explosion on a nearby island. From the flame's tip to the ground is 305 feet (93 meters).
A narrow, 40-foot-long (12-meter-long) ladder is the only way to the torch, the Statue of Liberty's highest point. The torch has been off-limits to visitors since the "Black Tom" explosion of July 30, 1916. Debris from the attack on U.S. ammunition supplies on nearby—and long since subsumed by landfill—Black Tom Island, New Jersey, pierced the statue.
OMG! That is terrifying!
IIRC, the staircase to the crown winds to the top ... think of the claustrophobia and if the person in front of you had burritos for lunch ..... ARGH!
If only most New Yorkers were worthy of all She stands for.
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