Statue of Liberty to close in 2011 to add stairwell

The Associated Press

A set of 354 narrow steps spirals all the way up to the Statue of Liberty's crown, and it's the only escape route for tourists in an emergency.

On a recent summer day, one tourist put his hands on his knees and gasped for air as a few others funneled down the tightly twisting staircase to the statue's pedestal. They were covered in sweat.

"It was hot up there," said Lucie Munier of France. "I think I would be scared in an emergency, but it is already pretty scary even when it is calm."

When a smoke alarm tripped inside the statue last month, hundreds of tourists were rushed down the equivalent of about 15 flights of stairs - the same ones that firefighters would need to trudge up if the 125-year-old landmark catches fire.

National Park Service officials have closed the statue in recent years for a $20 million security upgrade, and kept the crown shut since 9/11 until last year to improve its fire safety. Next year, the statue will close again, for nine months to a year, so workers can build a second stairwell at Lady Liberty's pedestal, said park service spokesman Darren Boch. "Given its age and the fact that it is a historic structure and there's not much we can do to change it, it's just not going to be 100 percent in line" with the most up-to-date safety standards, Boch said.

The fire department keeps a tool shed at Liberty Island. But if a fire alarm sounds, firefighters travel about 20 minutes by boat from a downtown Manhattan firehouse, bringing a hose line and other equipment.

The statue is scheduled to close in October 2011, after its 125th anniversary, to create a secondary stairwell down from the pedestal. Right now, tourists go up one side and down another. One elevator is installed for tourists who can't or don't want to walk up. The crown remains extremely popular, however: No tickets are available until November.