Statue of Liberty National Monument national monument in 1924. In 1937, by proclamation 2250, President Franklin D. Roosevelt expanded the monument to include all of Bedloe's Island, and in 1956, an act of Congress officially renamed it Liberty Island. Ellis Island was made part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument by proclamation of President Lyndon Johnson in 1965. The United States historic district, a single listing on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, was designated in 1966. The islands were closed during Hurricane Sandy in October 2012 and suffered severe damage. Liberty Island reopened July 4, 2013; Ellis Island re-opened October 24, 2013.
Conservation-restoration of the Statue of Liberty structure of the statue was out of sight behind the mesh wire walls of the original helical stairs. It should be noted that the stairs were originally intended for workmen. Neither the architect nor the artist had envisioned that the lady would welcome visitors internally. Elevators were first installed in 1908–9. A "New York Times" article published less than a month and a half from the centennial celebration, discussed the changes within the statue as being the most spectacular. The journalist added: that "now that the walls have been removed, what is revealed is an interior that seems to combine