Statue Of Liberty Facts and Information
Posted in North America | June 29, 2010 | 1Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame,
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
~ by Emma Lazarus, New York City, 1883 (Inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty)
2010 is the 124th year of the ‘Lady of Liberty’ standing proud in New York Harbor. The Statue of Liberty was not created in America, but she still continues to be the one symbol that people hold to be synonymous with the great nation. She was a gift to the United States of America given by the people of France. This article is about Statue Of Liberty facts.
Today, however, she epitomizes the concepts of freedom and democracy for the rest of the world.
Statue Of Liberty, Facts of creation
The idea of making provisions for a gift for the Americans by the French was conceived over a dinner party in the year 1865. The host for this party was Edouard – Rene Lefebvre de Laboulaye; and the dinner was hosted at Glatigny, near Versailles, in France. There are more Statue Of Liberty facts coming up.
Construction on the present day National Monument began in the year 1875. The official title given to the work was ‘Liberty Enlightening the World’. The sculptor was Frederic Auguste Bartholdi and the structural engineer was Gustave Eiffel.
The structure reached completion in the year 1884, in the month of June; and on the 4th of July, the same year, it was presented to the people of America by the people of France. The statue, however, was still in France. Only in early 1885 was it dismantled and sent off to American shores. The ship used for the transport was the French frigate ‘Isere’. It was broken down into 350 pieces and shipped; the number of crates used for which came up to 214.
Statue of Liberty, Facts of Dimension and materials used
This gorgeous piece of work is a towering 151 feet tall; and weighs around 225 tons (4,50,000 pounds). The statue is used making steel and copper. The weight of steel used is around 125 tons (2,50,000 pounds) and that of copper is around 100 tons (2,00,000 pounds).
There are 354 steps on the inside, that lead you up to her crown, where you have 25 viewing windows (within the crown). There are seven rays on her crown, which are symbolic of the seven seas and the seven continents. In her left hand, she holds a tablet which reads ‘July 4, 1776′ in Roman Numerals.
Statue of Liberty, Facts about restoration and reopening
The Statue of Liberty got its designation as a World Heritage Site in the year 1984; and the United Nations and the government of the United States of America began new efforts to restore the monument. In the year 1986, on the date – 5th of July – the Statue of Liberty was newly re-opened for the public. This date also celebrated her Centennial.
The aftermath of the September 11, 2001 tragedy called for a shut down of the Statue of Liberty for the public. She was reopened only in the year 2004. These were all the important Statue Of Liberty facts.
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The decision to depict Liberty wearing a radiant crown rather than the traditional attribute of liberty avoided what was then perceived as the symbol of radical revolutionary movements.
Similarly, Thomas Crawford had to renounce to his project to dress the Capitol’s Statue of Freedom with a phrygian cap because of the concern that it might be seen as an abolitionist symbol.