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The Stuatue of Liberty
Newsgroups: freenet.shrine.songs
From: aa300 (Jerry Murphy)
Subject: The Statue of Liberty
Date: Wed, 24 Jan 90 15:42:07 EST
STATUE OF LIBERTY
The Statue of Liberty, 45.3 m (151'1") high, was originally called Liberty
Enlightening the World; it was conceived as a gift from the French to the
American people to honor the 1876 centennial celebration. The exterior copper
shell, in the form of a classical, draped female figure carrying a torch aloft,
was designed (1870-75) by the French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi; the
wrought-iron pylon inside was the work of Gustave Eiffel, designer of the Eiffel
Tower in Paris; and the stone-and-concrete pedestal was planned by the American
architect Richard Morris Hunt. The statue was completed in Paris in 1884 and
unveiled in New York Harbor on Oct. 26, 1886, in the presence of the sculptor.
The funds for the statue were donated by the French people and those for the
base were raised in the United States. The Statue of Liberty is probably the
best-known symbolic image of America.
In the 1980s, funds were raised from private sources to restore the Statue of
Liberty and neighboring Ellis Island in time for the 1986 centennial of the
statue's dedication. As work proceeded on the restoration of the statue and the
conversion of the Great Hall on Ellis Island into a museum of immigration,
controversy developed over the manner in which the funds were raised and the
way in which the remainder of Ellis Island would be developed. Lee Iacocca, who
had served as chairman of both the private fundraising organization and the
appointed commission advising the Interior Department on the restoration work,
was fired from the latter post by Secretary of the Interior Donald Hodel in
February 1986. MARIAN BURLEIGH-MOTLEY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Handlin, Oscar - STATUE OF LIBERTY (1971)
Pauli, Hertha, and Ashton, E. B. - I LIFT MY LAMP (1948; repr. 1969)
Trachtenberg, Marvin - THE STATUE OF LIBERTY (1976)
'Copyright 1987, Grolier Inc, Academic American Encyclopedia,
Electronic Version'
USED BY PERMISSION, granted January 9, 1988
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A $2.5 million building housing the American Museum of Immigration was opened by
President Nixon September 26, 1972, at the base of the statue. It houses a
permanent exhibition of photos, posters and artifacts tracing the history of
American immigration. The Monument is administered by the National Park Service.
Nearby Ellis Island, gateway to America for more than 12 million immigrants
between 1892 and 1954, was proclaimed part of the National Monument in 1965 by
President Johnson.
On Washington's birthday, February 22, 1877, Congress approved the use of a site
on Bedloe's Island suggested by Bartholdi. This island of 12 acres had been
owned in the 17th century by a Walloon named Isaac Bedloe. It remained Bedloe's
until August 3, 1956, when President Eisenhower approved a resolution by
Congress changing the name to Liberty Island.
The statue weighs 450,000 lbs. or 225 tons; the copper sheeting weighs 200,000
lbs. There are 167 steps from the land level to the top of the pedestal, 168
steps inside the statue to the head, and 54 rungs on the ladder leading to the
arm that holds the torch.
Two years of restoration work was completed before the statue's centennial
celebration on July 4, 1986. Among other repairs, the multi-million dollar
project included replacing the 1,600 wrought iron bands that hold its copper
skin to its frame, replacing its torch, and installing an elevator. $1 million
of this was donated by the Disabled American Veterans, making it accessible for
the first time by the handicapped.
A four-day extravaganza of tall ships, ethnic festivals, and fireworks celebr-
ated the 100th anniversary. The festivities included Chief Justice Warren E.
Burger's swearing-in of 5,000 new citizens on Liberty Island, while 20,000
others across the country were simultaneously sworn in through a satellite
telecast. The ceremonies were followed by others on October 28, 1986, the
statue's 100th birthday. The last rivet had been installed October 28, 1886,
when President Grover Cleveland dedicated the monument.
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Dimensions of the statue Ft. In.
Ht. from base to torch (45.3 meters) 151 1
Foundation of pedestal to torch (91.5 meters) 305 1
Heel to top of head 111 1
Length of hand 16 5
Index finger 8 0
Circumference at second joint 3 6
Size of finger nail 13 x 10 inches
Head from chin to cranium 17 3
Head thickness, ear to ear 10 0
Distance across the eye 2 6
Length of nose 4 6
Right arm, length 42 0
Right arm, greatest thickness 12 0
Thickness of waist 35 0
Width of mouth 3 0
Tablet, length 23 7
Tablet, width 13 7
Tablet, thickness 2 0
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Emma Lazarus's Famous Poem, written in 1886, is graven on a tablet
within the pedestal on which the statue stands:
"The New Colossus"
Not 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 breath free,
The wretched refuse from your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me.
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
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