Since the dark day of Sept. 11, 2001, the observation deck in the crown atop the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor has been off-limits to visitors. Fears of a terrorist attack closed Liberty Island, though the pedestal and the area around it reopened in 2004.

All that changed yesterday, Independence Day, when the crown was scheduled to open again.

Now, visitors will once again be able to climb the 168 steps up through the copper-clad beauty sent by France in 1886 as a token of friendship to its fellow democracy.

The view from the crown is one of a kind - high above the waters churning with ferryboats, cargo ships, and the occasional cruise liner. Sitting distant from everything else in the harbor, it has sweeping views of the New York skyline, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the ever-working harbor.

But, to get to the observation deck, you'll need a crown ticket, and they are sold out through August, says Mindi Rambo of the National Park Service. The tickets cost $3, plus the ticket for the ferry ride from Liberty State Park in Jersey City, N.J., or Battery Park in Lower Manhattan ($12 for adults, $5 for children).

Park rangers lead groups of 10 to the crown observation deck. About 240 visitors can make the trip daily.

There's also an observation deck in the statue's pedestal, and passes for that deck and a museum at the base of the statue are free with the ferry fare.

If you can't get a pass or don't have the time for a visit, I suggest a stroll down to Battery Park in the evening, when the lights come on to illuminate the Statue of Liberty. Or take the inexpensive round-trip ride on the Staten Island Ferry (you don't even have to get off), which gives the classic harbor view seen by generations of immigrants arriving from the Old World to the New.

The opening of the crown is another step in New York's rehabilitation, mentally and physically, from the attacks that leveled the World Trade Center. Work on that site has been slow, and little more than a transit center exists at a site that developers say one day will include the Freedom Tower, soaring to a symbolic 1,776 feet.

When a visitor can climb to the top of the Statue of Liberty and look out at Lower Manhattan and the illuminated spire of the Freedom Tower, then, perhaps, the comeback of New York City will be complete.

View From the Top

For more information, go to the National Park Service Web site, www.nps.gov/stli, or call 212-363-3200.

For ferry tickets and crown or pedestal observation deck passes, go to www.statuecruises.com or call 1-877-523-9849.