The Statue of Liberty reopens July 4, for the first time since Hurricane Sandy damaged the statue's pedestal and flooded park service offices. We look at what it took to reopen the iconic statue and why nearby Ellis Island remains closed indefinitely.

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From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Audie Cornish. The Statue of Liberty is once again welcoming visitors to New York Harbor. Lady Liberty reopened for tours today for the first time since Hurricane Sandy, more than eight months ago. While the statue itself was not harmed, the storm did cause extensive damage to the island below it.

The National Park Service has been working towards today's reopening ever since. Here's NPR's Joel Rose.

JOEL ROSE, BYLINE: They came from all over the country and the world to see Lady Liberty up close for the first time since Sandy.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: It's kind of a special thing to be here. It's kind of, for me, a symbolic idea that liberty endures, whether it's after a storm or a revolution.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: 'Cause it's one of the emblematic piece of New York, so there's no sense to come to New York and not go to the statue anyway.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: This is the most beautiful lady in the United States, offered freedom to so very many people. So I always wanted to see her and here I am. I'm a lucky girl.

ROSE: Philip Seltzer(ph) of Bloomfield, Michigan, Lunir Barada(ph) of Morocco and Joyce Bresnahan(ph) of Naples, Florida, waited in line to board the ferry from Manhattan. The Statute of Liberty's crown and torch were relit just weeks after the storm but the other repairs to Liberty Island and nearby Ellis Island will take a lot longer and cost close to $60 million.

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The Statue Of Liberty Reopens