The Statue of Liberty's crown reopened to the public in 2009 after its post-9/11 closure. The reopening took place on July 4, 2009, with visitor access limited each day.
After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Liberty Island closed immediately. The island reopened near the end of 2001, but the pedestal and statue remained inaccessible. The pedestal reopened in August 2004, while officials continued to restrict access to the statue because evacuating visitors from the crown would be difficult in an emergency.
The 2009 reopening was therefore not the same as the island's reopening. It specifically restored the climb to the crown, whose narrow stairway leads to a viewing area beneath the statue's seven-pointed diadem. Access required advance planning and remained limited.
The crown later closed again during renovations in 2011, after Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and during the COVID-19 pandemic. It reopened after the pandemic in October 2022, a separate event from the 2009 post-9/11 reopening.