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Following a two-and-a-half-year closure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the crown portion of the Statue of Liberty has officially re-opened to the public this week.
If you've been trying to visit the destination since March of 2020, though, you might have to wait a tad bit longer: tickets to access the crown are basically sold out through October. Make sure to reserve your pass for a future date right here.
According to CNN, the National Park Service, which manages the landmark, "was attempting to hold a soft reopening without too much advertisement in late October to celebrate the 136th anniversary of the statue's dedication in 1886."
Alas, folks got so excited about the announcement that those in charge had no choice but to work on a full-fledged opening this month.
"We had to hire people and get them up to speed to effectively run crown operations," Jerry Willis, a spokesperson for Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island, said to CNN.
Why was the Statue of Liberty crown closed?
On March 16, 2020, the National Park Service shuttered all operations at the Statue of Liberty in reaction to the pandemic.
Since then, although portions of the monument started welcoming visitors once more (the pedestal deck, for example, has been operating since July of 2021), the crown itself remained closed.
Willis told CNN that a variety of factors contributed to the delayed re-opening, including "state and federal pandemic restrictions [...] and dealing with a record-low hiring pool."
How do I get to the Statue of Liberty crown?
Would-be visitors need to buy tickets in advance, which include a round-trip ferry ride to Liberty Island and (usually) a pit stop at the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration as well (certainly a must-see in-and-of-itself!).
The passes will also grant you access to the Liberty National Monument, the pedestal and the crown of the monument, the Statue of Liberty Museum with its three interactive galleries and the grounds of Liberty Island and Ellis Island.
Once on premise, you'll have to climb 10 stories (that's 215 stairs, to be precise) to reach the statue's pedestal and another 162 stairs to actually get to the crown. In case you were wondering, there is an elevator but it peaks at the pedestal portion of the monument. Needless to say, the extra work out to climb all the way to the top is absolutely worth it.