But the face that gives visitors a chance to get up close and personal with an aspect of the statue that otherwise looms far out of reach is available to only a limited number of visitors. The museum is open only to those who have tickets to the pedestal or the crown.
The National Park Service wants to change that, and has proposed building a larger museum on Liberty Island that would be available to all of the approximately 4 million annual visitors to the site, not just the 20 percent or so who have statue tickets.
The next step would be working with a private foundation to raise money for the planned 20,000-square-foot (1,860-square-meter) museum, since no federal dollars would be used for the project. Piltzecker didn't have a figure on what the project could cost but was nonetheless optimistic the museum would open in three to five years.
The park service has a location in mind, on the northwest side of the island somewhat away from the entrance to the statue, and has started thinking about what would go in it.
It was dedicated at its Liberty Island site in 1886, 10 years after the centennial/Eileen Gormley, visiting from Princeton, New Jersey, said having access to the museum was important. "This part here is very important and very informative and to just walk up and look at it, you don't get any of the background and history."