History of the Statue of Liberty
by How tall is the Statue of Liberty? How did it get there and why is it there? All these questions, and more, are answered!
The Statue of Liberty, or it’s official title Liberty Enlightening the World, has been welcoming immigrants and returning Americans ever since 1886. It is situated on Liberty Island, New York USA.
The French gave us the statue as an icon of friendship, which was established during the American Revolution. It was originally supposed to be finished in 1876, but ended up being 10 years late due to several delays. It was arranged that it would be a joint effort between the two countries. America building the 89 ft tall pedestal and France building the 151 ft tall statue. Prize fights, benefit art exhibition, a beneficial lottery were some of the methods used to raise money. In France this worked well, but in America it was going very slowly. So Joseph Pulitzer use his newspaper “The World” and criticized the rich for not donating money to the construction of the pedestal. And the middle class for leaving all of the donating for the richer people to take care of. This encouraged many people to lend more money.
A french sculptor, Frederic Bartholdi, designed the statue. While Gustave Eiffel (also the designer of the Eiffel Tower) assisted in some structural issues that come with such a massive statue. Bartholdi was also given an American design patent for the structure.
That statue was completed in July, 1884. But the pedestal was still being worked on in America, so the Statue of Liberty, disassembled and sealed in crates, waited 11 months until it was shipped over to the states.
The statue was first a symbol of friendship between the United States of America and France, but it’s meaning has grown. It is a world wide icon of freedom and democracy. It also one of the most recognized structures of America.
Some facts about the Statue of Liberty are:
After the tragedy of 9/11 occurred the statue was closed until August of 2004. But only recently (July 2009) was the crown opened for visitors.
The American community thought they should give France something in return. So they shipped over a 35 ft tall, bronze replica of the Statue of Liberty.
Underfoot the statue are crushed chains, representing the end of slavery.
After the restoration in 1986, the torch was cover in thin sheets of 24 k gold.
The are seven rays on the statue’s crown, one for each of the seven continents.
The Statue of Liberty’s total weight is 450,000!
I hoped you enjoyed this little look into history.
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