Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World; French: La Liberté éclairant le monde) is a giant neoclassical sculpture of a woman wearing robes and a crown. It stands on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, in New York City, U.S. The copper-clad statue was a gift to the United States from the people of France. It was designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, and its metal framework was built by Gustave Eiffel. The statue was dedicated on October 28, 1886.

The statue shows a woman dressed in classic style, inspired by the Roman goddess of liberty, Libertas. She holds a torch above her head with her right hand. In her left hand she carries a tabula ansata with the words JULY IV MDCCLXXVI (July 4, 1776, in Roman numerals), the date of the U.S. Declaration of Independence.

After it was dedicated, the statue became a symbol of freedom and welcome to immigrants arriving by sea. The statue has been cared for by the National Park Service as part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument since 1933 and is a popular place for visitors to see.

Development

The idea for the Statue of Liberty came from Édouard René de Laboulaye. He wanted to give the United States a gift from France to celebrate freedom. He talked about this idea with the sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi in 1865. Bartholdi loved the idea and started planning the statue. The statue would show liberty and light the world.

Bartholdi designed the statue to look like a Roman goddess. The statue shows a woman holding a torch in one hand and a tablet in the other. The face looked a little like Bartholdi's mother. The statue was built in France and then taken apart to be shipped to the United States. It was put back together on an island in New York Harbor. The statue was dedicated in 1886 and has become a famous symbol of freedom and welcome.

After dedication

The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886. At first, its torch didn’t shine brightly and it took time to be seen at night. Over the years, it became a strong symbol, especially for immigrants arriving in the United States through nearby Ellis Island.

The statue changed color over time, turning green because of oxidation, called a patina. People worked to take care of it, fixing it and improving its lights. During World War I, it helped promote important causes. In 1924, it was named a national monument.

In the 1930s, the National Park Service began caring for the statue and turned Liberty Island into a park. During World War II, its lights were sometimes off because of safety rules, but it was lit for special events.

Big repairs happened in the 1980s for the statue’s 100th birthday. Engineers found problems and fixed them. The statue was closed for several years but reopened in 1986 with new lights, elevators, and a refreshed pedestal.

After some difficult events in 2001, the statue was closed to visitors. It reopened in steps, with full access by July 2009. It closed again because of Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and the COVID-19 pandemic beginning in 2020. A new museum on Liberty Island opened in 2019.

Access and attributes

The Statue of Liberty stands in Upper New York Bay on Liberty Island, close to Ellis Island. Both islands belong to the Statue of Liberty National Monument. Visitors can take ferries operated by Statue Cruises from Liberty State Park in Jersey City or the Battery in Lower Manhattan. There is a small fee for the ferry, and security checks are done before boarding.

Inside the statue, there are special tickets needed to go up to the pedestal or the crown. Only a few people each day can visit the crown. The area around the torch has not been open since an old explosion and remains closed.

There are many plaques near the statue. One says it was a gift from France to honor the friendship between France and the United States. Another has a famous poem by Emma Lazarus called "The New Colossus". Several statues on the island honor the people who helped create and support the Statue of Liberty.

Historical designations

President Calvin Coolidge named the Statue of Liberty part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument in 1924. Later, in 1965, Ellis Island was also included in this monument. The statue and Ellis Island were both added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. The statue got this honor by itself in 2017. The monument was also listed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places in 1971 and became a New York City designated landmark in 1976.

In 1984, the Statue of Liberty was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This special title shows that the statue is an important symbol of liberty, peace, and human rights.

Measurements

The Statue of Liberty is very tall and impressive! It is about 305 feet (93 meters) tall from the base to the tip of the torch. The statue itself, from the base to the top of the head, is about 111 feet (34 meters) tall.

It took a lot of work to build this giant statue. The copper sheets that cover the statue are very thin—only about 3/32 of an inch thick. These sheets were shaped over a metal framework created by the famous engineer Gustave Eiffel, who also helped build the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Depictions

See also: Replicas of the Statue of Liberty and Statue of Liberty in popular culture

Smaller versions of the Statue of Liberty can be found around the world. One is on the Île aux Cygnes in Paris, facing west toward the real statue. In the United States, the Boy Scouts of America gave about two hundred small copies to different places as part of their "Strengthen the Arm of Liberty" campaign.

The Statue of Liberty is shown on American money and stamps. It has appeared on coins, the back of the ten-dollar bill, and many stamps. It is also used in logos by sports teams like the New York Liberty and appears in movies and music, often as a symbol of America.