I thought the Statue of Liberty totally reopened after the completion of the 1986 facelift (including crown and torch areas). I am just discovering the crown viewing area is JUST reopening on Oct 28, 2012. Furthermore, the National Park Service Facebook page says the pedestal and pedestal observation level are re-opening, as well.
Was I misinformed? Was the Statue closed this whole time from 1986-present??? And if so, why? Was 1986 a premature celebration just to align with the 100 yr anniversary, I believe?
I thought the head was shut down after 9/11 but I could be mistaken. The torch I thought was permanently closed to the public due to accessibility and safety concerns.
Yeah, it took some digging around, but eventually I hit on the same Wiki article. Apparently, there was also a mention of installing a second stairway? Can’t imagine how it would fit! (Maybe they installed a bat pole for quick egress?)
If you’re visiting, make sure you get a park service time-stamp pass. They book a month or so out & are the only way they’ll let you inside (although anyone can buy a ticket and take the boat to the island at any time). Think of it as booking matinee or an afternoon show on a specific day. And don’t forget the gift shop; its worth the trouble just for the T-shirts.
Yes, as has been pointed out, it was closed again from about a year ago for more restoration work. The wife and I visited Lady Liberty this past April and were disappointed not to be able to go inside, but we knew about it ahead of time. It was still worth the trip out to the statue. And don’t forget to check out Ellis Island while you’re out there.
I’ll never forget the family vacation where we missed out on the chance to go to the crown because one whining brat who didn’t want to walk up all those steps & insisted on getting his way. Thank’s alot Dad. That we ate lunch at Windows on the World still feels eery given what happened 6 weeks later.
Honestly, the crown isn’t that impressive. From various movies, I got the idea that the windows were large enough that you could stick your head out. But they’re not. The windows in the crown are tiny. And the platform up there is (or was about 25 years ago) only big enough for one or two people. So you can’t linger, because there are other people behind you.
I went up to the crown in the spring of 1993–I wasn’t that convinced I wanted to go–and the line was horrendous. The view was OK, the stairs were never-ending, and crowded (and I would have said the platform held 4 or 5) but whatever.
But when they closed the entire monument after 9/11, I was glad I’d gone when I had the chance.
Last fall, I was back in NYC, and we went to the Statue. We got our tickets the night before, and they took us only to the top of the pedestal. Which actually is kinda cool, even if we didn’t get to go up into the statue. But the “airline-style screening” was tedious. And my single biggest memory is how creepy it was to be so alone inside the pedestal. Tourists come by the hundreds to walk around the outside of the Monument, but the numbers they let inside are small enough to give you that creepy feeling of “do I really belong here?”
Although, having said that, if I didn’t have memories of being there before when it was more crowded, I might not have thought it was creepy.
I did it once. We went early, first boat of the day, and ran from the boat to the statute. We were the first visitors to the crown. There is room for 6 or more people. It is much smaller than you think. The floor in her head is near the top of her nose and the head is only about 7 or 8 feet above that. We were able to stay for a good ten minutes before it got crowded and we left.
I went up in September 2010, and considered myself lucky that I could: at the time you needed to have booked 6 months in advance and it so happened that was when we knew we were making a September NYC trip.
One advantage of this is that I didn’t have to deal with the long lines or crowds that people are complaining about, and consequently got to linger a little bit. It is true that it is cramped up there, but for me the coolest part was the interior and the awesome staircases. I think it was absolutely worth it, and if you do have a chance to plan ahead far enough you should totally do it.
That we ate lunch at Windows on the World still feels eery given what happened 6 weeks later.