Statue of Liberty's Crowning Glory Well Guarded

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.

Heightened Security for America's 'Icon Parks'

While there has always been some level of security at the Statue of Liberty for decades, Boch said it was only in the post 9/11 world that visitors starting being subjected to airport-style security measures, including sophisticated X-ray machines and the walk-through structure that scans for explosives.

Jody Lyle, an NPS spokeswoman based in Washington D.C., told ABCNews that Liberty and Ellis islands were among a half-dozen or so "icon parks" that were outfitted with a variety of increased security measures that included high-tech visitor screening and hidden security cameras.

Other icon parks include the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, the USS Constitution in Boston and, in Washington D.C., the Washington Monument and the White House.

She declined to say which security measures were in each specific park, citing national security concerns. The Statue of Liberty, she said, was also one of the monuments that saw an increase in U.S. Park Police -- a federally-tasked law enforcement force that was given to certain "icon parks."

Because the crown tickets are special and can't be purchased day-of, we had to pick up the physical, souvenir-worthy tickets the day of. And get in a line for the ferry -- a long line. A long line that ended with signs indicating we were about to pass through what would be the first of two airport-style security checks.

New York Park Service rangers watched everyone with an eagle eye -- cameras and recorders were to be turned off before entering the security tent, drinks must be tossed, watches removed.

Crown ticket basically ensures the holders a VIP experience. Once off the ferry and on Liberty Island, there was no waiting in line with the commoners who are just going into the statue's base. No, we were taken immediately into yet another security area, but only before being told we were only allowed up with the clothes on our back, one camera each and lifesaving medication.

That's when the biggest surprise of the day happened . I was asked for a fingerprint in exchange for a locker in which to store my bag and other belongings while I was inside the statue.

It didn't upset me, but did cause an eyebrow to be raised along with an internal "hm."

To be perfectly honest I was a bit distracted trying to wedge my way in between a chotchke stand and the guy whose butt was invading my space as he bent over to cram something into his own fingerprint-approved locker.

But Udi Ofer, an attorney with the New York Civil Liberties Union, said what I had done was a very big deal -- and I was not alone in not recognizing what he said was a significant step in government tracking of lawful citizens.

"I think there are a lot of questions here," he told ABCNews.com. "A big problem that the Civil Liberties Union has ... is the mass databases that give information on Americans lawful activities."

Locker Operator Argues in Favor of Fingerprint Technology

The owner of the lockers -- and the fingerprinting machine -- said they are not in the businesses of gathering government information.

Bradford Hill is the president of Evelyn Hill, Inc., which has been providing concessions on Liberty Island since 1931. They have been contracted by the NPS to not only operate food stands and the like, but to provide lockers for visitors.

Hill told ABCNews.com that the 170 lockers, manufactured by Smarte-Carte, were installed in 2004 at the request of the National Park Service.

"They didn't want large bags , food or liquids ... going into the Statue of Liberty," Hill said.

And the company explored a number of options for those lockers, but ultimately decided to go with the fingerprinting system, deciding that the traditional key access lockers would cause too much of a headache when visitors inevitably lost the keys.

"This was new technology back then that had been used at a few airports," he said, adding that they cost Evelyn Hill more than $40,000.

He denies that his company is infringing on peoples' privacy in requesting visitors to use the fingerprinting system. The machine doesn't even capture a full fingerprint, Hill said, but rather a five-point scan that is used in an algorithim to lock and then unlock the lockers.

"It's not kept beyond the time they get their goods," Hill said, a statement Boch at the NPS backed up. He also countered that the Civil Liberties Union should know about the fingerprint access on the lockers because they were heavily publicized in the media when they were debuted.

But Ofer said private entities are required by law to have some sort of legal proof that such personal and unique information is not being stored or shared.

"For decades people were allowed use lockers without leaving a digital fingerprint," Ofer said. "I'm not satisfied by the National Park Service saying they're not stored."

Finding a Needle in an Ever-Expanding Haystack

Ofer said it was not uncommon for some private corporations to work with the government to collect data on private citizens, a trend he said was popularized by the Bush adminstration.

"It's not adequate to just have someone promise not to do something," he said.

Ofer noted that many modern security cameras have the ability to take a digital scan that can be used in facial recognition software.

Looking at the larger picture of data-gathering, Hill said, many national security experts have agreed that the government's ability to track its citizens is counter-productive to the ultimate goal of watching terrorist activity. He likened finding terrorists to searching for a needle in a haystack.

"If that haystack gets too big," he said," that needle gets harder to find."

While the fingerprint lockers were certainly the most eyebrowing raising aspect of the trip -- that and the point where the stairs inside the statue shrunk to a size that didn't even accomadate a full 7 1/2 shoe size -- other seemingly high-security requirements weren't actually for security's sake.

The rule about only bringing clothes, a camera and medication up to the crown? I figured it was to prevent anything terroristic from sneaking into the ole girl, much like the restrictions put on airline travelers.

Boch insists that the requirement was put in place not for security, but for time efficiency. Because only three groups of 10 people are allowed to ascend to the crown per hour, park rangers can move people through the secondary checkpoint faster if they aren't bogged down by purses, camera bags and those omnipresent foam hats shaped crowns.

In the end it was a satisfying trip. Both my mom and I made it up all of the stairs, oohed and aahed appropriately at the view and then set about the task of winding our way down the double-helix that runs up the middle of Miss Liberty.

We finished up with ice cream cones -- good old-fashioned vanilla-- no fingerprints, X-rays or pat-downs required.