Many of you might not know that the Statue of Liberty’s torch was once open to the public.
Built in France, the famous statue was shipped to New York in the June of 1885 and has remained there ever since.
Created by Edouard de Laboulaye, the Statue of Liberty was gifted to Americans as a way of honoring the country’s ‘centennial of independence and its friendship with France’, says the National Park Service of the New York staple.
As it stands, people can book tickets to go up the statue and see stunning views of New York City.
But once upon a time, people were able to travel up to the statue’s torch as well, to take further advantage of the beautiful panoramic views.
The Statue of Liberty was transported to America in 1885 (Getty Stock)
The torch has been closed to the general public since 1916 though, and now only National Park Service staff go up it in order to maintain the floodlights that light the torch.
It closed its doors to the public all those years ago because of the ‘Black Tom’ explosion of July 30, 1916.
The explosion, which took place on Black Tom Island in New York Harbor and was carried out by German agents, damaged the arm and torch of the Statue of Liberty — the most delicate part of the famous figure.
As it’s been closed for so long, many people won’t have been able to see what the view is like from the torch in-person. However, the National Parks Service has cameras up there so people can see.
The balcony of the torch was once opened to the public (Getty Stock)
From the EarthCam website, people are able to watch live streams of torch and the crown, as well as the harbour, the statue itself and Ellis Island.
Photos of the statue — which isn’t actually green, by the way — have long been distributed online for people to see, and people are often surprised.
Wow… First time I’m seeing from this view,” someone previous penned on Twitter.
“Fascinating history for real,” another added. And a third simply commented: “Wow.”
Another person described the top shot of the statue as their ‘favorite photo of the statue’.
People are amazed to see the views from the torch (EarthCam/National Parks Service)
Others noted that its a shame that the torch is still closed to the general public.
Someone said: “I never knew they had a balcony up there, it’s a shame it’s been closed! Must be a beautiful view from up there!”
Another person questioned: “Why won’t they reopen it?”
But, sadly, there doesn’t seem to be any plans to reopen the torch to the public.
