Crown of Statue of Liberty opens: Take the virtual tour

Posted on The White House Blog by Katelyn Sabochik - July 3, 2009

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar will officially reopen the crown of the Statue of Liberty to the public on July 4, 2009.

July 4th marks the first time visitors can tour the crown since it was closed following the 9/11 attacks.

About 20 lucky visitors will be among the first to climb the 354 steps to the crown on Saturday morning, but thanks to the power of technology, everyone can join in the celebration.

The public can view photos of the day’s events on Flickr and follow Lady Liberty on Twitter.

About 240 visitors per day will be able to tour the crown, but you can visit the Statue of Liberty anytime, from home, by taking the new Statue of Liberty National Monument virtual tour at http://www.nps.gov/stli/photosmultimedia/virtualtour.htm

[Editor's note: I climbed to the top of the Statue of Liberty in 1996 - and spent some time in the crown, watching a helicopter buzz by. It took me - and about 100 other people - more than 2 hours to make it to the top in a single-file staircase. It was the most claustrophobic experience of my life, and I spent maybe one minute gazing from the portals in the crown - but it was worth it. You can get a sense of what this was like when you visit the virtual tour - and view the page with a video clip of looking out through the crown. - Brenda ]

Posted July 3, 2009