The Statue of Liberty stands at the mouth of the Hudson River
in New York Harbor.
Liberty Island is a 12-acre island that is now a part of
the Statue of Liberty National Monument that also includes Ellis
Island, once an immigration center, and the American
Museum of Immigration. The American
Museum of Immigration is located
inside the statue’s base.
Emma Lazarus wrote a poem for the Statue of Liberty called “The New
Colossus”.
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Twenty years after she wrote the poem it was engraved on a bronze plaque and
placed on a wall inside the museum. The plaque has been inside the museum since
1903.
On September 11, 2001
the Statue of Liberty was closed to the public to upgrade the security systems.
On December 20, 2001 the
exterior grounds were reopened and on August 3rd the pedestal interior was also
reopened. The interior of the statue itself remains closed to the public but
the interior can be viewed through a new glass ceiling.
To get to the island visitors must take a ferry and obtain a timed pass. The
park is open daily except for December 25th.
Park rangers now give tours of the Statue of Liberty and the surrounding
island. Ranger guided tours include the Promenade Tour and the Observation Tour.