A view of the Statue of Liberty, as Liberty Island opens to the public on July 4, 2013 for the first time since Superstorm Sandy slammed into the New York area. The Statue of Liberty, one of America's most recognizable symbols, reopened just in time for the July 4 national holiday, after being repaired from damage inflicted last year by Hurricane Sandy. #

In 1875, a photograph made of the structure of the hand of the Statue of Liberty, under construction inside a Paris studio. Designed by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, the statue was a gift to the United States from the people of France. #

Left: the hand and torch of the Statue of Liberty being built in a Paris studio around 1876. Right: the head of the Statue of Liberty, inside a Paris studio around 1880. #

The inauguration of the Statue of Liberty, "Liberty Enlightening the World", in New York Harbor, on October 28, 1886. A military and naval salute, marked the event, presided over by U.S. President Grover Cleveland. #

Tourists examine writing on the inside of the top of Lady Liberty's crown in New York on August 4, 1946. Many of the visitors to the monument left behind markings to commemorate their visit to New York. #

The statue of liberty, gift of French school children, which 17 Congressmen from New York and New Jersey agree "stands in a slum", towers above rubbish and junk on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor on March 5, 1948. The Congressmen asked a House Appropriations committee for $1,000,000 for slum clearance on the Island. #

The Statue of Liberty, foreground, with warships moving up the Hudson River past the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center and the New York Skyline in Operation Sail preliminaries, on July 3, 1976. #

A workman makes an adjustment to the torch from the Statue of Liberty at Liberty Island workshop in New York, on December 16, 1984 as the flame, in background, is lowered to a pedestal for a fitting before shipment to California. #

Nancy Reagan is joined by Kristeen Reft, 9, of Alaska (left) and Laurence Honore of France, as all three wave from the crown of the Statue of Liberty during reopening ceremonies on July 5, 1986. #

On September 11, 2001, thick smoke billows into the sky from the area behind the Statue of Liberty, lower left, where the World Trade Center towers, now collapsed, had stood. #

The "Tribute in Light" memorial shines behind the Statue of Liberty, on March 11, 2002 on the six-month anniversary of the World Trade Center terrorist attacks in New York City. #

A storm-damaged dock, near the Statue of Liberty which, remained closed to the public six weeks after Hurricane Sandy, on December 13, 2012. The storm caused extensive damage to National Park Service facilities on Liberty Island, although the statue itself remained unscathed. #

A girl poses for her father as they visit the Statue of Liberty and Liberty Island during its reopening to the public in New York, July 4, 2013. Under steamy summer skies, tourists in New York flocked to ferries headed for the Statue of Liberty, re-opening with an Independence Day ceremony after closing in October as Superstorm Sandy approached. #