Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty, in full Liberty Enlightening the World, is a statue, given to the U.S. by France in the late 19th century, that stands at the mouth of the Hudson River in New York Harbor as a welcome to all returning Americans, visitors, and immigrants alike. The sculptor was Frederic Auguste Bartholdi; Gustave Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame) created the armature.

Description

The Statue of Liberty is located at {{coor d|40.6892|N|74.0448|W}} on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, about 2000 feet (600 meters) from Jersey City, New Jersey and 1-5/8 statute miles (2.6 kilometers) southwest of the southern tip of Manhattan. (The island was officially called "Bedloe's Island" until 1956, but the name "Liberty Island" has been in popular use since the early 1900s.)

Related Topics:
Liberty Island - New York Harbor - Jersey City, New Jersey - Manhattan

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The goddess of liberty holds a torch in her right hand and a tablet in her left. The tablet shows the caption "JULY IV MDCCLXXVI", the date of the Declaration of Independence. One of her feet stands on chains. The seven spikes in her crown represent the seven seas or seven continents.

Related Topics:
JULY IV - MDCCLXXVI - Declaration of Independence

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The height from ground to the tip of the torch is 305 feet (93 meters); this includes the foundation and the pedestal. The height of the statue itself, from the top of the base to the torch, is 151 feet (46 meters).

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The statue was built from thin copper plates hammered into wooden forms. The formed plates were then mounted onto a steel skeleton.

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The statue is normally open to visitors, who arrive by ferry and can climb up into her crown, which provides a broad view of New York Harbor. A museum in the pedestal—accessible by elevator—presents the history of the statue. At one time, the ladder in the right arm was also open to the public, but it has for many years been restricted to staff use, for maintaining the lighting equipment in the torch.

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The statue and island were closed from September 11, 2001 to August 3, 2004 in the aftermath of the destruction of the World Trade Center. During this period, only the grounds of Liberty Island were open again for visitation; the Monument, museum, crown, and all outdoor observation decks were closed.

Related Topics:
September 11, 2001 - August 3 - 2004 - World Trade Center

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The Emma Lazarus poem "The New Colossus" was written for the statue, and engraved on a bronze plaque in 1903, 20 years after it was written. The plaque is located on a wall of the museum, which is in the base of the Statue. (It has never been engraved on the monument itself). In its famous culminating lines, Liberty says

Related Topics:
Emma Lazarus - The New Colossus

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: "Give me your tired, your poor,

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:Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

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:The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

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:Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

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:I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

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Although Liberty Island is closer to New Jersey than to New York, it has been part of New York since the issuance in 1664 of the colonial charter that created New Jersey (see charter text). Portions of nearby Ellis Island that were formed by subsequent landfilling are, under a Supreme Court decision, part of New Jersey, but that decision had no effect on Liberty Island. The island is owned by the federal government and is administered by the National Park Service. (For additional details, see Liberty Island).

Related Topics:
1664 - Ellis Island - Landfilling - Supreme Court - Federal government - National Park Service - Liberty Island

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