March 25, 2009, 5:34 pm
Lady Liberty may be welcoming visitors back into her crown for the 4th of July holiday, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Tuesday.
Salazar said "we will endeavor to do everything we can" to have the Statue of Liberty and its thrilling spiral staircase climb to her crown open to the public by America's 233rd birthday - the first time since the Sept. 11 attacks.
"We may have it opened up to a smaller group of people," he told Reuters.
Salazar said his department, which controls the landmark, is considering implementing a ticketing or lottery system to allow small groups of people to enter the crown at specific times, similar to crowd control and safety procedures at the Washington Monument on the National Mall.
