Good news for lovers of sheet metal craft: The Statue of Liberty’s crown is reopening to tourists in a few weeks.
I heard some good news the other day that may be of
interest to anyone who is planning a summer vacation: The
Statue of Liberty’s crown is being reopened to tourists.
Ever since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks
that destroyed the World Trade Center, the inside of the sheet metal-clad
statue has been closed to tourists. Besides the security threat of allowing the
public inside the statue, the small, winding stairs that lead to its crown were
never designed to accommodate them, National Park Service officials said.
It was widely predicted that the crown would never
again be open to visitors, but last year the park service decided that with
some new precautions in place, the crown would again offer visitors a
one-of-a-kind look at Manhattan’s skyline.
Tickets for the tours, which begin July 4, are now
on sale. Published reports have them selling out up to a year in advance.
I mention this because in addition to being one of
the highest profile sheet metal projects in the world, Snips interviewed one of
the people involved in restoring Lady Liberty’s crown. Five years ago,
I profiled
Syracuse, N.Y., resident Dennis Heaphy, a tinsmith and actor hired
by the park service in 1999 to restore the vintage locks and hinges that worked
the crown’s windows.
The work was slow and meticulous. One time, after
missing the last ferry back to Manhattan, he was forced to sleep inside the
statue, listening to it creak and feeling it sway all night.
At the time, Heaphy lamented that the public would
likely never see his handiwork. The park service had only reopened the statue’s
base to tours a few months before I spoke to him, and officials were firm that
there were no plans to reopen the crown’s observation deck.
I haven’t spoken to Heaphy in years, but I see that he now works with the Ellis Island
Museum of American Immigration performing historical reenactments of early 20th
century immigrants. I imagine he’s pretty happy – and proud – that tourist will
again get to see his work.
If you want to see Heaphy perform, gohere.
