When you could visit the Torch of The Statue of Liberty

[@retiredfedleo6441]

I worked for the NPS and most of the info in the video is very accurate, including description of the old torch which was removed during the renovation sponsored by Lee Iacocca and is now a museum exhibit. The old torch was like a stained glass window but with all clear glass, many shaped panes joined together to make the shape of the flame, it was lit from inside. I got to go up to the torch one morning before the first boat of visitors arrived at Liberty Island, there was a locked gate along the stairway to the crown, once opened you had to climb the ladder up through the arm to the torch, there was a hatch that opened onto the walkway around the torch and the walkway itself was quite narrow. If you don't like heights it was not the place for you, you're pretty exposed to the wind, the arm is at an angle so when you look down there is nothing underneath all the way to the ground. Also, it did sway a bit in the wind which was an interesting feeling. Nevertheless it was an unforgettable experience, high over NY harbor with a great view of Governor's Island, the Manhattan and Brooklyn skylines. I was told at the time that the torch had been closed to visitors since 1916 or 1918.

[@samanthab1923]

How lucky are you?

[@rizon72]

1916 was when it was damaged.

[@patrickgomes2213]

Also, the old torch wasn't supposed to have glass panels. Copper was removed to put the glass in which was done to create a flame effect and contributed to the water/rust problem with the interior frame. Apparently, they leaked when it rained.

[@nunnaurbiznez8815]

Thank you for sharing this information. It's fun to think about being up on the torch. The view must be incredible but scary.

[@johnpauljones9244]

Oh wow! That's amazing! What a awesome opportunity 👏 🙌 😎 👌 ❤️!

[@fs357mag]

Poked around old newspapers and only found one reference to climbing the torch, and that was in September 1911 when the governor of Florida (who was in town for a governors' convention) said he would stay over (in NYC) a day and "make the climb to the torch". Being a governor, he was (no doubt) given special access. In February 1912 a man named Frederick Law made his way up to the torch and parachuted off ... and lived to tell the tale.

[@allenkatz5652]

If you go to the NPS website you can take a virtual tour of the inside of the torch. If you pan the photo downward you can see the top of the ladder that starts by the shoulder and leads to a small platform. At the platform there's a smaller and slightly curved ladder, with six rungs, that leads to the hatch to exit the torch. Maybe this small area is what people refer to as the "torch room"?

[@sidwards]

I visited the crown as a 12 year old back in '82. I remember it being a hideous climb up a spiral staircase and in July it was very hot and musty inside the statue. Once in the crown you briefly glanced out the window and down the stairs you went. No time to linger because there's no space to spend any length of time in the crown.

[@wtfRyantater]

I tried to get a ticket to the crown when I visited and was disappointed to find they're always booked out at least a month in advance

[@mailfraudvoter6620]

I remember being let down how small the windows were. Like 12x12 inches...

[@rev.jonathanglass-riley7669]

Visiting in 2000.... Same experience rising to the Crown

[@charlesburgoyne-probyn6044]

​@@jeffk.9075 the 35 cents was probably an inside joke Or outside

[@BFSOM]

Can confirm

[@andrethib]

in the early 90s, I visited the SoL; as others have commented, it was a long wait to get to the crown viewing area and once you were there, you would look around a bit and then head back down to make room for others. On the same trip, I went to the observation deck of the World Trade Center; there was also a shopping mall underneath where I bought a belt that I still have.

[@8avexp]

My father photographed the Statue from across New York Harbor when he and my mother arrived in New York in April of 1949, having emigrated under the auspicies of the Displaced Persons Act. My grandfather visited the US in 1936 and climbed up to the crown, even taking a photo or two from that vantage point. I tried to duplicate his shots from the crown in the late 90s.

[@el_puma_real]

Keeping people out of such a sensitive area of the statue in this day and age is the right move.

[@timothystockman7533]

I visited the Statue in the 1960s and remember the locked gate to the arm and torch. They gave us the reasoning that the arm was structurally unsafe for visitors.

[@JeffFrmJoisey]

In the mid 1980’s, after the glass flame was removed, it was briefly displayed at the original Rutgers University Stadium in Piscataway, NJ. I took advantage of this and drove down from northern NJ. I distinctly remember the glass being amber/orange in color.

[@Desert_Ov_Thee_Real]

My father took me to see it there!! Yes i can vouch for this!

[@JeffFrmJoisey]

@@Desert_Ov_Thee_Real😃😃😃😃😃

[@srfurley]

In his television series ‘America’ Alistair Cooke has an episode mainly about Ellis Island. At the end of that episode there is a close up shot of Alistair standing in front of a strange metal object. It’s sort of bent and leaning sideways, and it’s difficult to make out what it is. The camera then pulls back to reveal that it’s the flame of the original torch, with the glass windows set into it. I can’t remember exactly when this series was made, but it was after the BBC started broadcasting in colour which was in 1967, so probably about 1970. At that time it must have been possible for somebody such as a famous journalist to get permission to visit the torch, but whether that would be possible today, I don’t know. I have been to Ellis Island and looked over to the statue from there, but have not visited the statue. I have absolutely no head for heights: I have seen pictures of the double spiral staircase to the crown and the ladder to the torch, and just looking at them makes me feel ill, there’s no way that I could go up there.

[@oceanlover3530]

I hear ya! I made it to her feet and bailed! I have vertigo. Couldn’t deal with those stairs either. ✌🏻

[@jonleibow3604]

Bill Gaines, creator of Mad Magazine, was a Statue of Liberty fan, and back in the 80s his wife pulled some strings at the Parks Department to arrange for him to go up to the torch. However, the hatch to the torch has a 48 inch circumference, and he was wider than that and couldn't make it through.

[@quad5186]

Yep , he was a big guy. In another ‘landmark’story , I was just recently looking at the Don Martin where they have sent a helicopter to trim the nose hair ( tree branches) from one of the Presidents’ noses on Mt Rushmore 😀 MAD !!!

[@WillNJ]

I was going to mention this lol. I read about it "Good Days And Mad" a long while back. There's a photo of the staircase in the book... it looks very tight.

[@sunbrookheath]

Yes!! I remember seeing that on television, but couldn't find any video or other references to it anywhere....was starting to wonder if I was experiencing a "Mandela Effect" 😅

[@jetsons101]

Liberty: "When government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."

[@darleneschneck]

The Statue of Liberty represents welcoming immigrants fleeing poverty and persecution, not the expansion of guns that kill 49,000 of our citizens each year.

[@jetsons101]

The second amendment is law, its purpose is to give citizens the right of self-defense. The Second Amendment: ""A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."" Keep criminals off the streets, support law enforcement. Almost all the gun violence is done by criminals, how about the 109,940 overdose deaths last year, more than 46,000 people died in car accidents last year, Cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths per year. Have a nice day.....@@darleneschneck

[@SergioArellano-yd7ik]

I'm sure people in New York would love to welcome immigrants with guns now.

[@krmccarrell]

Is this a quote or not? You only write one quotation mark, at the end. And if so, it's customary (and legally) to provide the author.

[@jetsons101]

@@krmccarrell Everybody knows its Thomas Jefferson. it is a quote, and the first quotation mark was added where it was missing.

[@DamonNomad82]

I remember reading a children's mystery novel set in early 20th Century New York City, in which the main characters visit the Statue of Liberty and admire the view from both the crown and the torch. That made me want to do the same. I was deeply disappointed when I found out that the torch had been closed for such a long time and is unlikely to ever be open to the public again.

[@geraldbrady5016]

The 1942 Hitchcock movie "Saboteur" has a scene on the torch and arm near the end. I presume it's a stage mock up replica of the torch and arm...

[@Fred-mp1vf]

0:15 You're 111 feet from the statue's base, not from the water. 0:27 The torch is 40 feet higher than the crown, not 200 feet higher.

[@MrNurserob]

After watching the movie “Saboteur” from 1942 with Robert Cummings and Priscilla Lane, among others, and the final scene being so dramatic and realistic, even for that time, I figured people must have been able to go up into the arm and torch into the 1940s. The film shows a pretty vertical ladder heading up there, and characters looking out over the surroundings from the crown. I was convinced, lol, but it was just the mid-century magic of Hollywood.

[@MrMortsnerd]

In 1941, with Stalin and Hitler as allies, Hitchcock, from the borough of Leytonstone in present-day London, UK, was not a patrician or plutocrat, but a counter-revolutionary petit-bourgeois (sometimes confused with conservatives). He therefore saw the torch of Liberty as a symbol against the collectivist Fascism/Communism which was trying to bring down the individualist Judeo-Christian West.

[@SCRB1GR3D98]

Fun fact. If you look at a map... Ellis island and the Statue of liberty are technically within the boundaries of new jersey

[@krmccarrell]

Fun fact: it's called Liberty Island.

[@silvertbird1]

Actually, there is a Torch Room and you show it in the video - a large room (presumably in the base, don’t know because I’ve never actually been) where either the original or a replica torch is displayed. If someone said simply “I went to the Statue of Liberty and saw the torch room” without elaborating it could lead to a misunderstanding with the hearer thinking the speaker meant they had climbed to the torch on the statue. It’s highly unlikely such a conversation or misunderstanding ever took, but possible.

[@3DJapan]

How would you get confused about going up the torch would you not know what you saw while up there?

[@crabbinmoose8583]

Narrator says the the crown is "at 111 above the water." Then says the torch is "over 200 feet higher. ??? This cannot be when the height of the foundation is 65 ft. from ground level, plus the pedestal at an additional 89 ft. then, the statue on top of that (from head to toe) is an additional 111 ft 1 in. So that's 265 ft 1 in from the base to head, not counting the height of the island itself or the 40 ft. between the top of the head to the top of the torch which gives you 305ft. 1 in.

[@draculastraphouse7863]

They're just casually standing there on the torch, I would've been curled up into a ball refusing to look down

[@FCT70]

Having the torch open for visitors is a great story. Thinking of the logistics of the climb.. a 40-50 foot ladder through a single passage.. its easy to understand why they don't allow public access. How many people would be comfortable climbing up a narrow shaft 50 feet up a ladder.

[@MillerMeteor74]

Sometime in the early to mid 70s my parents took us on the Circle Line tour, and then up into the Statue and into her crown. But I have no memory of it. I just remember that we did it. But I remember hearing stories of the torch being accessible sometime before I was born.

[@EPBF1]

Did that same trip circle line to statue liberty 🗽 got to go to Crown remember the Spiral Staircase

[@LaurenWeinstein]

An example of a film that gained access to the torch is "The President's Analyst" (1967), with an aerial shot of star James Coburn standing on the torch balcony and looking out at NYC, early in the film.

[@Tidybitz]

Interesting video. I've been to New York and visited the statue in the 90s. I don't know how anyone who does the tour confuses visiting the crown with the torch, makes no sense to me. The crown has windows to look out over the river. When I went, one could see a locked door entrance to the torch but it was certainly closed off for visitors. Looking at video's nowadays though, it seems that improvements have been made to the internal areas for visitors as it looks a bif different from what I recall.

[@BurtSampson]

I got to go up to the crown in the early 90's. The elevator only went up to the base, the rest was a never ending staircase. lol.

[@joegordon5117]

There's a nice scene in Jack Finney's classic novel Time and Again, where a time traveller from the late 20th century shelters in the arm of the Statue, being exhibited in a park before the entire statue was later re-assembled.

[@mysteryachiever]

Yes!

[@aeromoe]

Very interesting and informative story. Thanks for sharing! I visited in 1968 from California as a wee lad...no recollections.

[@zarajenkins6948]

I used to think there was a cafe/coffee shop in the crown 😂😂

[@mhcaffey120]

I got to go up to the crown in '86, definitely a memorable experience

[@jetpackadventures1202]

thats Great Ryan, #tomscott is the man to get access. good call - but your in depth details are just great and entertaining - and I am from Australia, so your reach is truly global

[@curmudgeonextraordinaire1884]

Regardless, the torch would never be open to the public today. The method of access would never pass muster with any insurance carrier.

[@mercoid]

I find it hard to believe that anyone could confuse the crown for the torch. Unless they were a child when they visited and their imagination overrode the experience when recalling their visit to lady Liberty.

[@Steve-tr7400a]

A very interesting video indeed. I had never seen a closeup photo of the torch with any reference to its true size. It is a lot smaller than I thought. For some reason I thought it was much larger. I also have a vague memory of the ending credits of a 1970's sitcom showing the characters from the show standing on the torch. The shot appeared to be filmed from a helicopter. I'm obviously misremembering since that could not have happened, and I can't remember the name of the show as I was quite young at the time.

[@samuellinowski1608]

See below comment from @LaurenWeinstein referring to a 1967 film “the presidents analyst” sounds like what you’re referring to

[@joenwc]

If you want to see the true view from the torch go to "Keeper of the Flame of the Statue of Liberty" This shows a worker changing bulbs and talking about cleaning the torch.

[@JoeR203]

I went there on a class field trip in the 70s. My group only made it to the level below the statue's feet because out teacher got tired of climbing stairs.

[@Shadeewolf]

OMG Tom Scott visiting this would be insane! i'm really sad he's winding down his channel though it's been one of my favs. Tom to you good sir its been an epic trip!

[@lindaeasley5606]

The original color of the Statue of Liberty was gold ,but over time it turned green .

[@daanvos194]

Bronze

[@donaldwycoff4154]

The torch would be a very cool place to have a live-cam (or two, or three) looking around the bay. But being afraid of heights, I'm not missing anything by not climbing the ladder. My aunt thought she had gone up to the torch a few decades ago. She wasn't the lying type, so I think you are right: folks are getting confused. She must have been in her 70's when she went up. Good for her! She loved telling the story, being an immigrant, herself.

[@Level6Roleplay]

There's multiple cameras

[@chapsnaps1]

In the July 1986 edition of National Geographic it explained about the restoration of the statue in advance of the 100th anniversary of its unveiling. Windows had been cut into the torch to enable it to be illuminated from within. Water ingress occurred over time, this led to corrosion, and damage to the torch and arm. It must have been okay to climb the ladder in 1972 - because Alistair Cooke climbed it. The final piece to camera of his "America" series, is delivered from the torch. This was no mean feat, as Alistair Cooke was in his 60s at the time. The series was first broadcast in 1973.

[@chriscma1]

Since no visitors are allowed to visit the torch, a professional Go Pro video of the total experience of climbing up to and standing on the torch balcony should be commissioned. It could be exhibited in the museum theater, or distributed to interested parties everywhere.

[@saltyroe3179]

My dad claimed that I the 1930s some of his friends went up to the torch. This was possible because they were good at getting places they were not supposed to be. While I have been ro the Tierra, and used to do technical rock climbing I had no desire to go up the arm. I have snuck into many places that I was not allowed , but the Liberty is not one of them.

[@oceanlover3530]

I made it to her feet and bailed. Lol I have vertigo and I couldn’t deal with those winding stairs. This was super interesting! Thanks for posting! ✌🏻😉✌🏻

[@magmajctaz1405]

No one alive today ever saw the statue in its native copper orange/brown. I'd like to see an AI colorized photo of the era with the statue is its original color.

[@8avexp]

If you saw the new copper turrets on the main building at Ellis Island when restoration was complete, you'd have a good idea of what the Statue looked like in 1886.

[@bartonpercival3216]

And the statue had that copper look for quite awhile. From October of 1886 to roughly 1913 is when the statue started to get it's patina color!!!!! 👍🗽

[@DiRtYLaWs2007]

As a kid, for some reason I thought there was a restaurant in the crown of the statue. 😂

[@dezertraider]

I CLIMBED TO THE CROWN IN THE 60s..BUT COULDN'T ACCESS THE TORCH.AS I UNDERSTAND IT THE TORCH WAS OPEN MANY YEARS AGO,,GREAT JOB

[@cwboydgo323]

I love coming home from a long day at work and watching your vids Relaxing 😊😊❤

[@rocker76m88]

I've read that The Statue of Liberty was originally offered to Egypt to be displayed at the Suez Canal but Egypt did not want it. Nevertheless, it's a spectacular work of art.

[@MartinFarrell1972]

I've been to USA 5 times and my first trip in 1989 included a ferry ride to Liberty Island. We made it to the top of the pedastal but had to head back due to the time of our ferry. I've been back in New York but never back to Liberty Island. I will need to go back to it at some point. Maybe I mis-heard, is the whole inteterior of the statue closed off?

[@MartinCHorowitz]

Around the time of the Bicentennial there was aTV special where the Narrator was standing on the torch of Statue of liberty while making his FInal comments.

[@scottfarmer8758]

My 4th grade teacher told me one time that she went up to the torch when she visited the Statue of Liberty. But considering the fact that it has been closed to the public since 1916, and also the fact that my teacher was overweight, I know she was lying.

[@AlvisWuDemon]

Keep up the great work :)

[@FREDOGISFUUN]

Great video!

[@theworldisavampire3346]

Been to the crown only

[@edwardbianchi192]

I remember there was a Comercial for something and it had a kid and in the end the kid was on the torch. Helicopter shot as they pulled away that kid look stiff! 😂 As kids we always laughed at that.

[@kevanhubbard9673]

By the looks of it you'd need a head for heights to go on the torch plus the fence is not very high and a fall off it would almost certainly be fatal.

[@_Breakdown]

2:55 - - Selling tickets to people wishing to visit the torch proved to be one of the most successful methods of creating the needed public attention.

[@EPBF1]

I been to the Crown

[@coloradostrong]

Climbing the torch, and then climbing to the tip of it would be child's play if you were Vitaliy Raskalov & Vadim Makhorov, from _On The Roofs_

[@mr.iforgot3062]

Ryan Socash is my best friend. We went to school together. He was my bff at one time. ❤

[@Rex_Stuph]

My father was brought to the US and given a tour of major cities when he was selected to be one of the first trial reciprocants of laser eye surgery in 1962. One of the places he was taken was the Statue of Liberty and he was told by the guide then about public access to the torch being closed "after an explosion in the war".

[@lilitharam44]

Great video! I want to know if the torch, the flame part, ever lit up? I know now it has floodlights to illuminate it, but did it ever self illuminate, and are there any photos of it? I've seen the pic with the stained glass flame but was that the real thing or is it a replica from some point in history? I hope someone will come forward with more info in the comments or email you. Keep up the great work! Best wishes from Memphis!

[@allenkatz5652]

The original torch had glass panes and was illuminated by lights from inside. Unfortunately the panes leaked to the point that the torch was damaged beyond repair and was replaced with the current torch in 1986 for the statues centennial anniversary. The torch is now lit up by LEDs pointed at the torch and not from within. The original torch used to be in the base of the statue but I heard that it was moved to a museum elsewhere on the island. One of my kids asked a ranger how the copper of the new torch became green so fast if it took the statue 30 years to go from copper to the green that it is today. The ranger explained that they hired chemists from DuPont to speed up the process.

[@robertewalt7789]

I have read that the original torch was designed to be a signal out to sea, like a light house.

[@chairthrower]

I remember reading an article in Discover Magazine in 1986 about the renovation that said the new torch was lit by sodium vapor lamps. They must have been changed to LEDs later.

[@lilitharam44]

@@allenkatz5652 Wow! Thanks for the info! I think they should light it up from within again, but this time with LEDs. Maybe for some anniversary in the future.

[@lilitharam44]

@@robertewalt7789 I thought I remembered something like that, that's why I thought it was lit from within. Thanks!

[@billbright1755]

I’ll carry this torch just as long as I can.

[@billwenham]

I have a feeling this is now on Mr. Beast's to-do list.

[@bornsupreme]

Remember the guy who parachuted and got stuck on the torch? 3-4 police men had to climb up to the torch to pull him to saftey?!

[@MindyCassle]

My father told me many years ago that his father went in the arm to the torch. This was possible because my father was born in 1919. I don't have any more info. I wish I did!!

[@christianpatriot7196]

I see she was able to climb back up on a pedestal after helping the Ghostbusters that’s great news. ☺️

[@robbbsherman12]

The crown is 111 feet tall and the torch is 200 feet higher? That doesn’t seem right.

[@bartonpercival3216]

Yeah that was incorrect. Including the pedestal which stands 150 feet tall, the crown stands 262 feet above the harbor and the torch stands 305 feet above the harbor.

[@UmbrellaWatch]

"Hey heres a free ticket to go up to the torch.." ME: Hell no! Thanks!

[@davidpawson7393]

I can only imagine how many influencer butt selfies would lead to the influence of gravity. Would the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse on the Outer Banks of North Carolina be something worthy of you and your team's excellence? It's been a big part of my life and I was honored to help move it in 1999.

[@aboutdafunk]

That was cool watching it move down that track laid in the sand.

[@mikeb5749]

Very cool history

[@73richg]

Remo Williams stood above the statue of liberty torch back in 86

[@The_Original_Brad_Miller]

It's not too hard to figure out, at 12:53 you show a room, IE: display hall, with many people in it viewing what I imagine is the original torch on display. So, they have been in the torch room, the room with the torch IN it. ;) Just a tomAto/tomAhto kind of deal.;)

[@ExplorerGinge]

I think @TomScottGo should ABSOLUTELY be allowed up to film a spot at the torch! Who at the @NationalParkService can make this happen?

[@boldfacedmage_6995]

i feel it would possibly be unsafe for many people today to go up there because hundreds of people would want to go up there

[@d00vinator]

I visited the crown in 1991. It was very crowded and we only stayed a minute or two before trekking back down. It was still fascinating seeing the monument from the inside. It was clear by the number of visitors that even had the torch been accessible not one in a hundred of us would have been able to visit even had we waited for hours.

[@jacobbaranowski]

MJ was there for the music video

[@jtgd]

Goddamn window shattering explosion

[@tr1ppyh1ppy]

okay this explains the “easter egg” in GTA 4 where you can go inside of the statute and discover she has a heart lol

[@backseatdriver4833]

They tried to give it to Egypt first and they said no thank you

[@robertphillips6296]

No women were allowed to attend the Dedication.

[@DBNIGHT]

I climbed all the way to the torch when I was a kid

[@twistedwhiskers8776]

Unless you’re over 100 years old, then you almost certainly did not It was a ladder to the torch not a stairway.

[@tmastersat]

The fact that there is a pipe rail basicaly shows it planned for people

[@99somerville]

The spiral staircase is narrow and steep. Luckily it does not take that long.

[@lovepurple83]

So who's the girl @10:27?

[@McFlyOrPie]

Well, now Tom Scott has to visit the torch.🎉

[@matthewhibbard9807]

I went there in ‘92. It was amazing! I have a pic of the twin towers rising above the clouds. Everyone should visit New York at least once.

[@stevenpagnani7005]

What's the point of going if you can't go up there anymore

[@richmanifesto1090]

The torch room is where the original copy of the declaration of independence is hidden

[@h-leath6339]

Oh, yeah, totally. That service ladder is in no way meant for public use. Even back then when most Americans could still climb things.

[@8avexp]

Nor was the spiral staircase leading to the crown. I've been up there a few times myself, and that staircase is quite narrow.

[@spddiesel]

Dude, with Tom calling it quits soon the Statue would be a great send off.

[@prudencepineapple9448]

It's been years since I looked, but I think there are a few webcams positioned around the flame.

[@GamingBren]

14:35 well that aged well

[@tweezerjam]

Best gift ever?

[@manuelveniani1025]

In Liberty Island right? :D

[@HurricanePatrick]

Why did I think that going up to the torch ended after 9/11?

[@dannydaw59]

I went to the crown in Aug. 2019 & the park service guy up there said in more or less words that they're afraid of the liabilities because of the tight fit. Americans at least are too fat to fit through. People are bigger these days compared to the early 1900's.

[@8avexp]

Plus only 12 people can fit on the torch at one time, assuming they're fit and trim.

[@frankierobinsonsr277]

I visited the statue when I was 14

[@MariaHernandez-se1xm]

Isn't there a staircase to the crown not a ladder so if those people saying they took a huge ladder to the torch they probably did. Obviously you would know the difference between being in the crown and the torch I would imagine totally different views.

[@braxtonoertwig9191]

We need Nicholas Cage to go and find out National Treasure pt 3 uh

[@jtgd]

Eventually it needs to be rebuilt, since it will not last long without frequent repairs