Statue of Liberty's Crowning Glory Well Guarded
Trip to see American icon becomes study in post-9/11 security.
Aug. 13, 2009— -- She's one imposing lady, the Statue of Liberty.
As kind of a guardian of all things American, just the sight of her can make even hardened native New Yorkers coo "Oh look! There's the Statue of Liberty!"
Like much of New York, daily life in an around the Statue of Liberty changed on Sept. 11, 2001. Liberty Island, where the statue stands, and nearby Ellis Island closed that day along with the rest of Manhattan.
While the islands themselves reopened that December, visitors weren't allowed back into the actual monument until 2004 and even then just the base, or pedestal, was opened.
It took nearly eight years after the attacks to get the rest of the statue cleared for visitors. Opening the crown on July 4 became an event. News stations carried live shots and enthusiasts scrambled to get online tickets -- the only way to get there-- once they went on sale in early June.
I was one of the lucky who managed to score a pair of summer tickets, climbing up the tiny enclosed space to reach the crown. But it wasn't just the view of New York City that intrigued. It was the high-tech security measures that aren't seen even in some of the country's most prominent airports.
We're not just talking X-ray machines and some bored security guard poking through my purse. We're talking those puffer machines that spurt out high powered shots of air to detect any explosives a person might be carrying.
It was a strange sensation. I called it being "floofed." But it was just one of several changes to the Statue of Liberty in the last eight years not just for security, officials said, but for a more efficient visit for guests.
To ascend to the crown, about the only thing you can bring along is a camera, and to get a locker to stowe backpacks you need to leave behind a fingerprint.
Darren Boch, a New York-based spokesman for the National Park Service, noted that the statue is arguably one of the most recognizable monuments to symbolize what America stands for.
"It's the Statue of Liberty that in and of itself makes it a high-value target for someone looking to make a statement," he told ABCNews.com.
When I signed online to buy tickets the day after they went on sale, I immediately had trouble finding a summer date that didn't involve standing in line at Battery Park at 8 a.m. on a Saturday.
But I found a few remaining slots at 2 p.m. on Aug. 8. They were surprisingly inexpensive -- a regular trip to the monument costs $12. Permission to climb the 354 steps to the crown was just an additional $3.
Boch said there was an "enormous" interest in the crown tickets, which are now sold out through November. A ranger stationed in the crown that day told me they were selling into January.
So I bought two tickets for myself and my mother -- who was enthusiastic until she heard about the 354 stairs part. In what amounts to a huge copper tube. In August. With no air-conditioning.
We hadn't been to Liberty Island for more than 20 years, since I was 8 years old and my mom was ... err... nevermind.
And what a change there was.
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