Statue of Liberty's crown to reopen to public on U.S. Independence Day

NEW YORK, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Starting July 4, the Independence Day of the Unite States, visitors to the Statue of Liberty will once again be allowed to visit her crown.

File photo taken on April 12, 2009 shows the Statue of Liberty in New York.  Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said on May 8 the crown of the Statue of  Liberty will reopen July 4. The statue was closed to the public after  the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks because of security concerns.  (Xinhua/Shen Hong)

This is the first time the statue's crown will be open since the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

However, only 30 visitors will be given access to the crown every hour, and they will need to climb 168 steps on a narrow, spiral staircase to reach it.

The statue sees as many as 15,000 visitors every day, most of whom, if without a crown-access ticket that can be reserved online as early as one year in advance, will have to be content with a circle around the statue's pedestal.

Tickets for the first-day opening sold out within hours, local media reported earlier.

The Statue of Liberty is a monument that was presented by the people of France to the United States of America in 1886 to celebrate its centennial. The crown visit, which provides a broad view of the New York Harbor through 25 windows, was available for the public prior to Sept. 11, 2001.