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.