Lady Liberty’s Crown to Reopen to Public

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced on NBC’s “Today Show” that the Statue of Liberty’s crown will reopen to the public for the first time since September 11, 2001. Mr. Salazar made the announcement from inside the crown, which will remain open for two years before closing for further refurbishments.

Salazar said that 30 visitors will be allowed in at a time and will be chosen by a lottery system. “We’re going to do it in a fair way,” he said. “Everybody will have a chance to get up to the crown.”

The number of visitors per group will eventually increase. Salazar estimates that 100,000 people per year will be able to climb up to the crown after the safety renovations which begin in 2011.