10月28日是美国纽约自由女神像125岁生日，纽约市专门举办庆祝活动，纪念这一特殊的日子。在其庆典仪式上，启动了5个安装在火炬上的网络摄像机，让全球民众能随时欣赏到纽约的港口风光，还能看到自由女神像下方的参观人潮。但是在庆典结束后，自由女神像将关闭，进行为期一年、耗资2725万美元的内部整修。整修期间，外部的自由岛仍然对外开放。

"Enjoy your view of this great monument as we approach Liberty Island today. This view is similar to the one seen by many thousands of immigrants as they entered the US by steam ship…"

The Statue of Liberty is one of the world's most famous landmarks. Each day thousands of tourists take the ferry to Liberty Island for a closer look.

"I've always wanted to see it since a little kid. It's something that a lot of people want to see and it's a big part of the United States' history."

"Last day in New York, gotta do the statue!"

Once on the island you can climb inside the statue.

"There was a queue for the elevator so I'm taking the stairs up to the top of the pedestal."

At the top of the stairs I meet guide Bill Mara. He explains that this area is about to close for one year as the statue undergoes major renovation work.

"After the renovations how different will this place look?"

"Well, we're probably right in the middle of an elevator that's going to come up here. The elevator's going to come up here to allow handicapped people to take their wheelchairs up and go around the top and all the stairs are going to be enclosed, kind of like an aquarium kind of deal. It'll be sealed up. So, if there are any kind of problems, you still have air and oxygen and it will be safer."

David Luchsinger is in charge of the site and the only person to actually live on Liberty Island. He says the work will increase safety.

"She was never built for people to go in to begin with. So we've been making steady renovations all along and this is final piece of the puzzle."

Liberty Island will remain open during the renovations. But with many headlines already reporting the Statue of Liberty will close, management worry visitors may wrongly assume they can't visit at all. David Luchsinger stresses this is not the case.

"We're going to have more folks outside giving tours, we have audio tours, we have all different kinds of programmes available to folks, the gift and food shops will be open so they're still going to have a wonderful time and the view will be spectacular."

But will people still come if they can't climb the statue?

"Yes because even if the statue is closed, for me it's a big symbol so I'd come."

For those desperate to climb the statue, they'll have to wait 12 months. But, by that time, management say the experience will be better and safer than ever.

For CRI in New York, I'm Dominic Swire.

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