Statue of Liberty to close for year-long upgrade
Source: Agencies |
August 12, 2011, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE Statue of Liberty will close for a year at the end of October as it undergoes a US$27.25 million renovation that will make the interior safer and more accessible.
The renovations are limited to the monument - Liberty Island will remain open and the statue itself will be mostly unobstructed from view, according to officials.
Tegan Firth, a spokeswoman for Statue Cruises, which on an average Saturday during the summer ferries about 18,000 people to Liberty Island, said the renovation will not have a significant impact on visits.
She said: "The entire experience of visiting these national landmarks in the US remains absolutely the same."
The National Park Service, which manages the Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island, said it will close the monument on October 28, the day after the 125th anniversary of its dedication.
Workers will install safer stairways and upgrade electrical and fire suppression systems, elevators and bathrooms.
The National Parks Service said last year it would be closing the statue's crown to upgrade the stairwells and improve safety. One reason, it said at the time, was that the latest fire regulations required escape routes that allow the statue to be evacuated within two hours, but current staircases on either side of the pedestal fail to meet the standards.
The statue was closed after the September 11 terror attacks in 2001 as a security precaution, but the base reopened in 2004 after a US$20 million security upgrade. The observation deck at the top of the crown was reopened on July 4, 2009.
The National Parks Service controls the number of visitors to the crown, saying about 240 people visit each day. About 3.5 million people visit the monument every year.
The statue, a gift from France, was erected in the 1880s.
The renovations are limited to the monument - Liberty Island will remain open and the statue itself will be mostly unobstructed from view, according to officials.
Tegan Firth, a spokeswoman for Statue Cruises, which on an average Saturday during the summer ferries about 18,000 people to Liberty Island, said the renovation will not have a significant impact on visits.
She said: "The entire experience of visiting these national landmarks in the US remains absolutely the same."
The National Park Service, which manages the Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island, said it will close the monument on October 28, the day after the 125th anniversary of its dedication.
Workers will install safer stairways and upgrade electrical and fire suppression systems, elevators and bathrooms.
The National Parks Service said last year it would be closing the statue's crown to upgrade the stairwells and improve safety. One reason, it said at the time, was that the latest fire regulations required escape routes that allow the statue to be evacuated within two hours, but current staircases on either side of the pedestal fail to meet the standards.
The statue was closed after the September 11 terror attacks in 2001 as a security precaution, but the base reopened in 2004 after a US$20 million security upgrade. The observation deck at the top of the crown was reopened on July 4, 2009.
The National Parks Service controls the number of visitors to the crown, saying about 240 people visit each day. About 3.5 million people visit the monument every year.
The statue, a gift from France, was erected in the 1880s.
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