Statue of Liberty to remain closed

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, February 03, 2004

Statue of Liberty to remain closed

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They are the most beloved 354 steps in America, for they lead to a view of the nation's greatest city through the eyes of the nation's greatest symbol. But visitors have not climbed the stairs in more than two years, and they may never climb them again.

The Statue of Liberty in New York has been closed since 9/11, longer than any time since its dedication in 1886. Although officials cite security and safety issues, they won't say exactly what they are, or just why they are dramatically different from those at other national landmarks that have reopened.

About $5 million is being raised privately for work that the National Park Service says probably will allow the monument's pedestal, which contains an immigration museum, to reopen to the public later this year. But there's also this startling possibility: The crown �� accessible only by a narrow spiral staircase from the top of the statue's pedestal �� might not reopen at all.

Officials say it may be too difficult to evacuate people in an emergency. Anyway, the trip to the crown "is not that vital to experiencing the statue," says Stephen Briganti, president of the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, which raises money for the statue. "You get the same views from the top of the pedestal."

But the walk to the crown is an American tradition. "Keep the people out and you will turn the statue into an international symbol of craven fear," declared a New York Daily News editorial. Otherwise, the newspaper says, the statue will have been "ceded to al-Qaeda."

Ken Burns, creator of a documentary film about the statue, says "it's a wonderful, playful, transcendent event when you make that huge climb with everyone else."

Although Liberty Island reopened to the public three months after the 2001 terror attacks, visits to the island are still down by at least 40%. Kim Wright, spokeswoman for the Circle Line ferry, says that's largely because people want to go inside the statue and up to the crown.

The Statue of Liberty is the only major national landmark not to reopen after 9/11. Visitors can ride up the Washington Monument, walk past the Liberty Bell, drive across the Hoover Dam and tour the White House.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says that as long as the statue is closed, "in some sense, the terrorists have won." On these winter days, standing outside the statue's huge bronze doors, it's hard to draw any other conclusion.

Source: Agencies

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