Statue of Liberty Visits Coming Again Soon : Kathika Travel Website

By Amanda Kendle on May 22nd, 2009

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Since September 11, 2001, tourists have not been allowed to climb up to the crown of the Statue of Liberty in New York, but in just a few weeks that will all change again.

Statue of Liberty Climb Re-Opens

In the aftermath of 9/11, Liberty Island itself took several months to re-open and the Statue of Liberty monument didn’t open again until August of 2004, so everything’s been done in a cautious way – but finally, we’ll once more have the opportunity to climb to the top of the Statue of Liberty and get that famous view over New York City. While the closure seems clearly connected to the issue of terrorism, the previous government always insisted it was due to the fact that the structure violates several fire and safety codes – but now she’ll be open anyway.

This week, members of the press were invited to tour the Statue of Liberty and head up to the crown, and the media has been full of reports about the experience of climbing the statue. It has now been decided that to help celebrate the Fourth of July, the Statue of Liberty will properly reopen on this day and continue thereafter to receive visitors to the top.

Rules for the Statue of Liberty Climb

However, the re-opening comes with a fairly stringent set of rules, to ensure the fire and safety issues are taken care of, as the narrow staircase certainly presents some degree of hazard. There will be a maximum of ten people permitted in the crown of the Statue of Liberty at any one time, and generally for a maximum period of five minutes, and officials say this means that around 30 people per hour will visit the top.

There will be some kind of fair system established for people to gain the chance to climb into Liberty’s crown, although the exact details of this have not yet been revealed, but officials have said that despite early reports, it won’t be a lottery. Opening hours are also not yet clear, but perhaps will be limited in the initial phase of the re-opening – officials say that in the first year after re-opening, 50,000 people would be able to visit the crown, but in the second year, this number would rise to 100,000. This means our chances to get up there might be somewhat limited, but at least the chance is there.
photo credit: laverrue