The crown of the Statue of Liberty, the US monument symbolizing¹ freedom and democracy, may reopen to visitors by the July 4th holiday, Interior Secretary Ken² Salazar said on Tuesday.

One of the first sights seen by millions of immigrants who arrived in New York harbor in the 19th and 20th centuries, the statue was closed to the public after the September 11, 2001 attacks because of safety concerns.

The museum gallery and observation deck at the landmark's base were reopened to the public in 2004, but access beyond that point remained prohibited.

Salazar said his department is considering implementing³ a ticketing or lottery⁴ system to allow small groups to enter at specific times of the day, similar to crowd control and safety procedures taken at the Washington Monument.

Representative Anthony Weiner, a New York Democrat⁵ and leading advocate for reopening the crown, welcomed the possibility.

"I can't think of a better birthday present for our nation. Reopening the crown of lady liberty will restore a quintessential New York and American experience," Weiner said.

The National Park Service closed the crown because access to the top of the statue, which depicts⁶ a robed woman holding a torch, is limited to a narrow stairwell with a handrail on one side. In the event of an emergency, there is no quick exit.

"If you put several hundred people in there and there is some kind of event, lots of people could be killed very quickly," Salazar said.

While the number of visitors to Lady Liberty, which the United States received as a gift from France in 1886, has fallen in the past eight years, numbers are rising again.

About 3.2 million people visited the statue in 2007, up from 2.5 million in 2006 but below the 3.6 million in 2000, the park service said.

美国内政部长肯•萨拉查于本周二称，象征自由和民主的自由女神像的冠冕部分或将于今年7月4日在美国独立日当天重新向游客开放。

在19世纪和20世纪，自由女神像是数百万外国移民抵达纽约港后首先映入眼帘的景观之一，但在2001年9•11恐怖袭击事件后出于安全考虑而对公众关闭。

位于自由女神像基座部分的博物馆画廊和观景台已于2004年重新向公众开放，但其它部分一直封闭至今。

萨拉查称，内政部正考虑采取类似于在华盛顿纪念碑实施的控制人流和安保措施，用门票或抽签的形式允许少量游客在特定时段进入参观。

重新开放冠冕的主要提倡者、纽约州民主党议员安东尼•韦纳对此表示欢迎。

韦纳说：“这是送给我们国家的最好的生日礼物。重新开放自由女神像的冠冕将重塑纽约和美国历史的精髓。”

国家公园管理局之所以关闭冠冕部分，是因为通向雕塑顶部仅有一段狭窄的楼梯，而且楼梯只有一侧有扶手，如果遇到紧急状况也没有快速疏散口。自由女神像塑造的是一位身着长袍，手擎火把的女性形象。

萨拉查说：“如果允许数百名游客游览，万一发生什么事，许多人很快就会丧命。”

尽管参观自由女神像的游客人数在过去八年中有所减少，但近来又出现上升趋势。自由女神像是1886年法国送给美国的礼物。

国家公园管理局称，2007年自由女神像的参观人数达320万，高于2006年的250万，但低于2000年的360万人。