Why has the balcony been closed on the Statue of Liberty?

July 30, 1916 Dynamite and explosives set for the British and French war effort were detonated. That statue suffered some minor damage (mostly to the right arm and torch) and closed for ten days. For public safety reasons, the torch balcony has been closed ever since.



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While you can go all the way into the crown of Lady Liberty and look down on Upper New York Bay, visitors can no longer go into the torch balcony as they once could and the reason is fascinating.

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The statue was closed to the public after the September 11, 2001 attacks because of safety concerns. The museum gallery and observation deck at the landmark's base were reopened to the public in 2004, but access beyond that point remained prohibited.

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Crown tickets allow visitors to access the crown of the statue, which includes a walk up 162 steps from the feet of the statue to the crown. There is no elevator access to the crown.

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Each ticket provides a different level of access to the landmark. If you want to go inside the Statue of Liberty, you must buy a Pedestal Access or Crown Access ticket. General Admission tickets do not get you access inside the statue.

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The National Park Service had gradually opened parts of the Statue of Liberty throughout the pandemic. The observation deck on the statue's pedestal reopened in July 2021, but the crown had been kept off limits until Tuesday.

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Public access has been restricted since 1916, when a munitions explosion on what was then Black Tom Island, believed to have been triggered by German agents, caused $100,000 in damage to the monument.

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Statue of Liberty - a room inside the flame Yes, you read that right! There is a secret room here, which you unfortunately can't access. In 1916, the room in the torch had to be closed after an explosion (which was an act of sabotage committed by German agents during World War I).

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Anyone visiting the crown must be able to walk up at least 162 steps on a confined spiral staircase. There is not an minimum age for the crown access but instead a minimum height requirement. Children must be at least four (4) feet (1.2 meters) tall to visit the crown.

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Standing proud, exposed to the elements, the statue has to withstand around 600 lightning bolts every year and, in high winds, the torch can sway by about 5 inches side-to-side!

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In April 2021, Landsberg's sculpture was installed in Harlem's Morningside Park. A little over a year later, the work moved to Liberty State Park in Jersey City, where it rested with its back to the Lower Manhattan skyline. Nearby, tourists boarded the ferry to the real Statue of Liberty.

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Visitors to Liberty Island can tour the grounds and, with appropriate advanced tickets, visit the Statue's pedestal and crown. Visitors can also explore the Statue of Liberty Museum.

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It's worth the visit but you have to be fit to climb up those 315 steps, in a tiny staircase at the end. Just be aware of the security: they do not allow you to take anything with you except your tickets and your camera, if you go to the crown.

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It's made of copper, which has oxidised naturally to form a green patina coating which actually protects the copper underneath. It took about 20 years for the Statue of Liberty to change from copper coloured to green!

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The truss in statue's right shoulder had seriously weakened and was in danger of collapse. And almost half of the iron armature that supports the copper skin had corroded, in part because the statue had become, in effect, a giant battery.

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Copper Sheets This copper started out colored like regular copper, but over time the statue turned green as the copper aged. In all, about 62,000 pounds of copper was used in the creation of the statue, and with copper prices now over three dollars per pound, that comes to about $200,000 dollars.

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The Statue of Liberty holds a torch and a tablet. The tablet has the date of the American Declaration of Independence inscribed in Roman numerals, JULY IV MDCCLXXVI.

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There are two genuine statues and several lesser versions of the Statue of Liberty. The original and most famous is the one located on Liberty Island, a gift from the French to America. The second is located in Paris, France, and was a reciprocal gift from the United States in 1889.

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The water around the Statue of Liberty is 62 feet at its deepest point between Liberty Island and the island of Manhattan. The water in New York Harbor is relatively deep, as it is a major shipping port.

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Water fountains are located in the lobby of the Statue of Liberty near the restrooms. Speaking of restrooms, the lobby facilities are the only ones located inside as well. So plan accordingly before you climb!

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