HISTORY67 - Statue of Liberty
Everyone knows about the Statue of Liberty, right? When my daughter in law Cinta Burgos suggested this topic, I thought I knew all about it. But a little research convinced me otherwise - a lot of little-known aspects to the story.
So, I’m going to write about the
history of the Statue of Liberty. After
a short introduction, I’ll cover the origin of the idea for the Statue of
Liberty, then how the project got started, the history of the statue itself,
and the pedestal is rests on, and the island site of the combined structure. I’ll also talk about the Statue of Liberty’s
dedication, and what’s happened after its dedication. I’ll conclude with some interesting facts
about the Statue of Liberty.
My principal resources include
“Statue of Liberty” and “Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi,” Wikipedia.com; “Statue of Liberty,”
history.com; “Statue of Liberty,” Britannica.com; “The Statue of Liberty,”
statueoflierty.org; “Lady Liberty: An Unauthorized Biography,” fee.org;
“Raising Liberty,” medium.com; “Statue of Liberty facts - interesting trivia
about Lady Liberty,” the bettervacation.com; “Creating the Statue of Liberty,” “Early
History of Bedloe’s Island,” “Construction of the Pedestal,” and
“Transportation and Dedication of the Statue,” nps.gov; “Was the Statue of
Liberty designed specifically for the United States?,” historyextra.com; “The
New Colossus,” poets.org; and numerous other online sources.
Introduction
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal
statue, located on a small island in the Upper New York Bay,
commemorating the friendship of the peoples of the United
States and France. Standing
305 feet high, including its pedestal, the statue depicts the Roman
goddess of liberty, holding a torch in her raised right hand and a tablet
bearing the adoption date of America’s Declaration of
Independence (July 4, 1776) in her left hand.
The creation of the Statue of
Liberty was a joint effort between France and the United States. French sculptor Frédéric Auguste
Bartholdi built the statue in France out of sheets of hammered copper,
while Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel, the man behind the famed Eiffel Tower, designed the statue’s steel framework. The statue was then
shipped overseas in pieces, in crates, and erected on the American-designed and
built pedestal, on what was then called Bedloe's Island, now known as Liberty
Island.
The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October
28, 1886, by President Grover Cleveland. The statue was designated as a national monument in 1924, and since 1933, it has been
maintained by the National Park Service.
Over the years, the Statue of
Liberty has stood tall, welcoming millions of immigrants to America via nearby
Ellis Island. In 1986, it underwent an
extensive renovation in honor of the centennial of its dedication. Today, the
Statue of Liberty remains an enduring symbol of freedom and democracy, as well
as one of the world’s most recognizable landmarks and a major tourist
attraction.
 |
| The Statue of Liberty - on Liberty Island in New York Harbor. Ellis Island is at left center. |
Origin
As the American Civil War drew to a close in 1865, French writer,
law professor, and abolitionist Edouard de Laboulaye proposed that France create a statue to give to the United
States in celebration of the USA’s success in building a viable democracy. As later recounted by the Statue of
Liberty’s sculptor, Frédéric
Auguste Bartholdi, he was in a roomful of “men eminent in politics and
letters,” discussing bonds between nations after dinner, when de Laboulaye
mentioned, “if a monument were to be built in America as a memorial to their
independence, I should think it very natural if it were built by united effort,
if it were a common work of both nations.”
 |
| In 1865, French writer, law professor, and abolitionist Edouard de Laboulaye (1811-1883) proposed building the Statue of Liberty. |
Note: France had
helped to create the United States in 1776 through its alliance with the
Thirteen Colonies to defeat Great Britain during the American Revolutionary
War. It was now the Spring of 1865,
months after the U.S. Congress had passed the Thirteenth Amendment in January,
abolishing slavery, and weeks after the end of America’s Civil War in April.
The
project would be a joint effort between the two countries - the French people
would be responsible for the statue and its assembly, while the Americans would
build the pedestal on which it would stand - a symbol of the friendship between
their peoples.
The statue would be a gift to celebrate the triumph of
liberty and unity following America’s Civil War, a beacon of hope that the
French people would be inspired to call for their own democracy, in the midst
of political turmoil of Frances
monarchy under Napoleon III.
Bartholdi
was inspired by Edouard de Laboulaye’s idea, but given the repressive nature of the regime of Napoleon III,
Bartholdi took no immediate action on the idea except to discuss it with
Laboulaye. Bartholdi was in any event
busy with other possible projects; in the late 1860s, he approached Egypt,
with a plan to build a large statue to guard the newly-opened Suez Canal
in Egypt, welcoming ships into the mouth of Egypt’s groundbreaking canal. The statue was to be called “Egypt Carrying
the Light to Asia” and was to resemble a veiled peasant woman holding a torch
aloft, at the northern entrance to the Suez Canal in Port
Said. Sketches and models were made of
the proposed work, though it was never erected, because Egypt turned down the
proposal as being too expensive.
Large
Bartholdi projects were further delayed by the Franco-Prussian War
(1870-1871), in which Bartholdi served as a major of militia. In the war, Napoleon III was captured and
deposed, and a more liberal republic was installed in France. After
the war, as Bartholdi had been planning a trip to the United States, he and
Laboulaye decided the time was right to discuss the idea of the “liberty statue”
with influential Americans.
 |
| Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi (1834-1904) was a French sculptor and painter. He designed the Statue of Liberty. Bartholdi was a prolific creator of statues, monuments, and portraits in Europe and the United States. |
In June 1871, Bartholdi and Laboulaye crossed the Atlantic. Arriving at New York Harbor, Bartholdi immediately identified a location for the statue, Bedloe's Island, struck by the fact that vessels arriving in New York had to sail past it.
Bartholdi
then crossed the United States twice by rail, and met many Americans who he
thought would be sympathetic to the project. Bartholdi carried with him plans for the
statue - plans that were an evolution and recycled elements of his earlier
plans for his proposed statue for Egypt’s Suez Canal. Bartholdi refined and adapted the design to
represent American liberty, calling the monument, “The Statue of Liberty Illuminating
the World.”
But
Bartholdi remained concerned that popular opinion on both sides of the Atlantic
was insufficiently supportive of the proposal, and he and Laboulaye decided to
wait before mounting a public campaign.
Announcement,
Funding, and Early Work
By
1875, France was enjoying improved political stability and a recovering postwar
economy. Growing interest in the upcoming United States Centennial
Exposition in Philadelphia led Laboulaye to decide it was time to seek
public support. In September 1875, he announced the project
and the formation of the Franco-American Union as its fundraising arm. The French would finance the statue;
Americans would be expected to pay for the pedestal.
To
raise funds in France, public fees, various forms of entertainment, and a
lottery were used. Schoolchildren and
ordinary citizens gave, as did 181 French municipalities. French copper industrialist Eugène
Secrétan donated 128,000 pounds of copper.
During
a second trip to the United States, Bartholdi addressed a number of groups
about the project, and urged the formation of American committees of the
Franco-American Union. Committees to raise money to pay for the
foundation and pedestal were formed in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. The New
York Committee eventually took on most of the responsibility for American
fundraising.
Benefit
theatrical events, art exhibitions, auctions, and prizefights were held. Despite these efforts, fundraising in the
U.S. went slowly.
Meanwhile,
as fund raising continued in France, Bartholdi moved forward with fabrication
of the statue’s right arm, bearing the torch, and the head. Work began at the Gaget, Gauthier & Co.
workshop.
In
May 1876, Bartholdi traveled to the United States as a member of a French
delegation to the Centennial Exhibition, and arranged for a huge painting of
the statue to be shown in New York as part of the Centennial festivities.
To
help the Americans raise funds for the pedestal, the statue’s arm and torch
were shipped over to be displayed at the U.S. centennial exposition in
Philadelphia. The arm proved popular; visitors
would climb up to the balcony of the torch to view the fairgrounds. After
the exhibition closed, the arm with torch was transported to New York, where it
remained on display in Madison Square Park for several years before
it was returned to France to join the rest of the statue.
The Statue of Liberty’s right hand with torch was exhibited at the United States Centennial in Philadelphia in 1876.
On
his return to Paris in 1877, Bartholdi concentrated on completing the statue’s
head, which was exhibited at the 1878 Paris World's Fair. Fundraising continued, with models of the
statue put on sale. Tickets to view the
construction activity at the Gaget, Gauthier & Co. workshop were also
offered.
The Statue of Liberty’s head was exhibited at the World’s Fair in Paris in 1878.
Back
in the U.S., on March 3, 1877, on his final full day in office, President
Ulysses S. Grant signed a joint resolution that authorized the President to
accept the statue when it was presented by France and to select a site for
it. President Rutherford B. Hayes, who took office the following day, selected
the Bedloe's Island site that Bartholdi had proposed.
Despite
attracting a lot of people to the exhibits in Philadelphia and New York, the
fundraising for the pedestal in the U.S. wasn’t a success, and dragged on while
work on the statue continued in France
The
committees in the United States faced great difficulties in obtaining funds for
the construction of the pedestal.
The Panic of 1873 had led to an economic depression that
persisted through much of the decade.
Note: The Liberty statue project was not the only
such undertaking that had difficulty raising money: construction of the obelisk
later known as the Washington Monument sometimes stalled for years;
it would ultimately take over three-and-a-half decades to complete.
There
was criticism both of Bartholdi's statue and of the fact that the gift required
Americans to foot the bill for the pedestal.
In the years following the Civil War, most Americans preferred realistic
artworks depicting heroes and events from the nation's history, rather than
allegorical works like the Liberty statue.
The New York Times stated that "no true patriot can
countenance any such expenditures for bronze females in the present state of
our finances.” Faced with these
criticisms, the American committees took little action for several years.
In
1883, Poet Emma Lazarus, inspired by the Statue of Liberty, wrote her famous
sonnet The New Colossus, to raise funds for the statue. The sonnet contains the now famous the lines:
"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-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the
golden door!"
Note:
In 1903, these lines were
inscribed on a bronze plaque, installed on the pedestal of
the Statue of Liberty.
To
spark fund raising, in 1885, Joseph Pulitzer placed an ad in his paper the New
York World inviting readers to donate to the cause. In exchange, Pulitzer printed each donor’s
name in the newspaper. The public rose
to the challenge with 120,000 people donating over $100,000 (including school
children who sent in pennies) and finally securing the remaining funds needed
for the statue’s pedestal.
Statue Design and Construction
in France
Bartholdi’s
massive statue encompassed much symbolism. The neoclassical design depicted a
woman representing liberty, holding a torch in her raised
right hand and a tablet in her left, upon which was engraved “July 4, 1776” (in Roman
numerals),” the adoption date
of the U.S.’s Declaration of Independence.
To symbolize the end of slavery, Bartholdi placed a broken shackle and
chains at the statue’s foot. Her crown represented light, with its spikes evoking sun rays extending out, whereby, along with the torch,
enlightening the world. Bartholdi had
decided on a height of just over 151 feet for the statue.
To symbolize the end of slavery, Bartholdi placed a broken shackle and chains at the statue’s foot.
He
designed the figure with a strong, uncomplicated silhouette, which would be set
off well by its dramatic harbor placement, and allow passengers on vessels
entering New York Bay to experience a changing perspective on the
statue as they proceeded toward Manhattan.
Bartholdi
hammered large copper sheets (3/32-inch thick) to create the statue’s “skin”
(using a technique called repousse). To
create the skeleton on which the skin would be assembled, he called on
Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel, designer of Paris’ Eiffel Tower. Along
with Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc, Eiffel built a skeleton out of iron pylon
and steel that allowed the copper skin to move independently, a necessary
condition for the strong winds it would endure in the chosen location
of New York Harbor.
Workers constructing the Statue of Liberty in Paris in 1882.
By
1882, the statue was complete up to the waist, an event Bartholdi celebrated by
inviting reporters to lunch on a platform built within the statue. Unfortunately, Edouard de Laboulaye, the
statue’s original proponent, steady advocate, and chairman of France’s
fund-raising committee, died in 1883. He
was succeeded as chairman of the French committee by Ferdinand de Lesseps,
builder of the Suez Canal.
The
completed erect statue was formally presented to the American Ambassador at a
ceremony in Paris on July 4, 1884.
The Statue of Liberty nearing completion in Paris, 1884.
Transport
Ferdinand
de Lesseps announced that the French government had agreed to pay for the
Statue of Liberty’s transport to New York.
The statue remained intact in Paris pending sufficient progress on the
pedestal by the Americans. Six months
later, by January 1885, Lesseps judged that this had occurred.
The
Statue of Liberty was then disassembled into 350 pieces. Each statue piece was classified and marked so that it could be
reassembled on Bedloe's Island with accuracy and efficiency. The pieces were packed in 214 specially
constructed cases, which, when filled, varied in weight from a few hundred
pounds to several tons. The total
shipping weight for the ocean voyage was 225 tons.
The French Navy ship, Isère, departed for New
York on May 21, 1885. Fierce storms
formed over the Atlantic, the Isère nearly capsized along the
way, the Statue’s heavy iron fragments in crates threatening to sink the ship
with every heavy sea.
When the Isère arrived in New York Harbor on
June 17, 1885, nearly 100 boats were waiting to greet her.
There was great fanfare, but the statue’s pedestal was not
completed. The statue’s crates were
unloaded on Bedloe’s Island to await the completion of the statue’s foundation.
Clockwise from upper left: Crates of pieces of the Statue of Liberty being loaded for transport. The French Navy transport ship, Isere. The Isere is met with great fanfare in New York Harbor, greeted by nearly 100 boats.
Bedloe’s Island and the Design
and Construction of the Pedestal
Bedloe’s Island. Bedloe’s Island is one of a group of small islands
in New York Harbor, near the mouth of the Hudson River. Over it have flown the
flags of Holland, England, and the United States. It has also belonged to the corporation of New
York City, to the State, and to several private owners.
The Mohegan Indians called
it "Minnissais,” meaning Lesser Island. At various times it has been known as
"Great Oyster," "Love Island," "Bedloo's Island,"
"Kennedy's Island," "Corporation Island," "Bedlow's
Island" - an anglicized form of the original owner's name - and finally, "Bedloe's,"
a spelling for which there is no historical basis.
In 1800, the newly
organized United States Government, in conjunction with New York State, decided
to erect fortifications to protect New York Harbor. Three sites - Governor's Island, Ellis Island,
and Bedloe's Island - were chosen for defense fortifications, and on February
15, 1800, by act of the New York Legislature, the three islands were ceded to
the United States Government.
Construction of a land
battery, in the shape of an 11-point star, was begun on Bedloe's Island in 1806,
and finished five years later. It was built for a garrison of 350 U.S. Army troops who could
protect the New York harbor from any attacks using 77 mounted guns.
The site was later was named "Fort
Wood" in memory of a distinguished hero of the War of 1812, who was killed
in 1814 during an attack on Fort Erie.
Following the War of 1812,
Fort Wood served at various times as a Corps of Artillery garrison, ordnance
depot, recruiting station, and intermittently as a quarantine station.
Then came Bartholdi and
his great idea, and in 1877, Bedloe's Island, then abandoned as a military
post, was chosen as the site for the Statue of Liberty.
Design and Construction of the Pedestal. Eminent New York
architect, Richard M. Hunt, was selected to design the pedestal. General Charles P. Stone, an Army engineer,
was appointed engineer in chief by the American Committee. It was decided that the pedestal should be
built in the center of old Fort Wood.
Ground was broken for the foundation on April 18, 1883. Excavations were more difficult than
anticipated, because of the heavy masses of stone masonry and concrete
encountered in the old fort’s cisterns and old arches, designed as bomb proof,
and not all indicated in drawings of the fort.
Placing of the pedestal foundation, almost solid concrete, at a depth of
20 feet in the center of the 11-pointed star-shaped walls of Fort Wood improved
its stability.
Richard M. Hunt was the architect for the pedestal foundation for the Statue of Liberty.
Granite from Leete's Island, Connecticut,
was selected as the material for the outer pedestal wall, to be backed by a
massive shaft of concrete.
The cornerstone of the pedestal was
laid on August 5, 1884.
Work on the pedestal progressed
rapidly until the fall of 1884, when, with only 15 feet of the structure
completed, work had to be stopped, as the American Committee was reaching the
end of its financial resources. With the
resolution of the financial problem in 1885, work was resumed; the builders
then turned their attention to a highly important engineering problem - how the
statue would resist wind pressure.
When the 29-foot level was reached in
construction of the pedestal, four huge girders were built into the walls so
that they formed a square across the inside. Fifty-five feet higher - a few feet from the
top of the pedestal - similar girders were placed, and the two sets were
connected by iron tie beams which continued on up and became part of the
framework of the statue itself. Thus,
the statue was made an integral part of the pedestal, and any force exerted
upon it was carried down to the 29-foot level, so that the great weight of the
upper 60 feet of the granite and concrete pedestal was added to that of the
statue.
Working on the pedestal for the Statue of Liberty.
The pedestal itself is considered one
of the heaviest pieces of masonry ever built. It towers 89 feet above its foundation, and is
so anchored to it - and that in turn to the rock below the foundation - that a
wind storm to overturn the statue, would almost have to invert the whole
island. General Stone evolved the method
of anchorage, and his careful calculations have been proved by the test of
years.
On April 22, 1886, ten months after
the arrival of the statue, finally, the last stone of the pedestal was swung
into place. The jubilant workmen
showered into the mortar a collection of silver coins from their own pockets.
The pedestal for the Statue of Liberty was completed on April 22, 1886.
Now the stage was set to place in
position the generous gift from the people of France.
Assembly
The statue
was reassembled with surprising speed by a fearless construction crew - many of
whom were new immigrants. The 214 crates
were unpacked, the 350 pieces, carefully unwrapped. The first piece
of the statue to be reconstructed was Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel's iron framework
that was anchored to
steel I-beams within the concrete pedestal.
Drawing showing Eiffel’s steel frame and the interior structure of the Statue of Liberty.
Once this was done, the sections of skin were carefully
attached. Due to the (relatively) narrow width of the
pedestal, it was not possible to erect scaffolding as had been done in
Paris, and workers dangled from ropes while installing the skin sections. All construction
materials were hoisted up by steam driven cranes and derricks.
The
last section to be completed was the Statue of Liberty's face, which remained
veiled until the statue's dedication.
Bartholdi had planned to put floodlights on the torch's
balcony to illuminate it, but a week before the dedication, the Army Corps
of Engineers vetoed the proposal, fearing that ships' pilots passing the
statue would be blinded. Instead,
Bartholdi cut portholes in the torch - which was covered with gold leaf -
and placed the lights inside them. A power plant was installed on the
island to light the torch and for other electrical needs.
With all of the previous delays, it took only four months to
raise the Statue of Liberty above New York Harbor.
Dimensions of the completely assembled Statue of Liberty.
Dedication
On the afternoon of
October 28, 1886, the Statue of Liberty was officially unveiled. The day's wet and foggy weather did not stop
some one million New Yorkers from turning out to cheer. Parades on land and sea honored the statue,
while flags and music filled the air.
The American people had funded the pedestal and made this triumphant day
possible, but they were excluded from the ceremony on Bedloe’s Island, where
only dignitaries were allowed. President Grover Cleveland presided over the
event. Unfortunately, the weather clouded the
view of the statue from
Manhattan.
Ships surround Bedloe’s Island during the unveiling to the Statue of Liberty on a rainy, foggy October 28, 1886.
Over the Years - Since 1886
Immigration. In the late 19th and early 20th
century, wars and other upheavals in Europe prompted large-scale emigration to
the United States; many entered through New York and saw the Statue of Liberty,
not as a symbol of enlightenment, as Bartholdi had intended, but as a sign of
welcome to their new home. The association with immigration only became
stronger when an immigrant processing station was opened on nearby (about three
quarters of a mile away) Ellis Island.
Ellis Island served as the nation’s
major immigration station from 1892 to 1924, after which immigration
reception was moved to New York City.
During that period an estimated 12 million immigrants passed through
Ellis Island, where they were processed by immigration authorities, and
obtained permission to enter the United States.
The relationship of immigration to the Statue of Liberty was
consistent with poet Emma Lazarus's vision in her sonnet - she described the
statue as "Mother of Exiles.”
Amongst
the immigrants, the Statue of Liberty gained iconic status. It was their love for the statue, which made
Lady Liberty a popular landmark in the USA.
The Statue of Liberty became an iconic symbol of welcome to immigrants.
Management. Until 1901, the U.S. Lighthouse Board
operated the Statue of Liberty, as the statue’s torch represented a
navigational aid for sailors. After that
date, it was placed under the jurisdiction of the U.S. War Department due to
Fort Wood’s status as a still-operational army post. In 1924, the federal government made the
statue a national monument, and it was transferred to the care of the National
Parks Service in 1933. In 1965, well
after its closure as a federal immigration station, Ellis Island became part of
the Statue of Liberty National Monument.
Significant Events. By the early 20th century,
the oxidation of the Statue of Liberty’s copper skin, through exposure to rain,
wind and sun, had given the statue a distinctive green patina, known as
verdigris. The Army Corps of Engineers studied
the patina for any ill effects to the statue and concluded that it protected
the skin, "softened the outlines of the statue and made it beautiful.
On July 30, 1916, during World War I, German saboteurs set
off a disastrous explosion on the Black Tom peninsula in Jersey
City, New Jersey, in what is now part of Liberty State Park, close to
Bedloe's Island. Carloads of dynamite
and other explosives that were being sent to Britain and France for their war
efforts were detonated. The Statue of
Liberty sustained minor damage, mostly to the torch-bearing right arm. The
statue’ arm was repaired, but the narrow ascent to the torch was closed for
public-safety reasons, and it has remained closed ever since.
In
1948, following public complaints about the shabby condition on Bedloe’s
Island, Congress appropriated $110,000 to the Statue of Liberty. With renewed funding, workers tore down the
abandoned and dilapidated army structures, planted trees, and paved
pathways. Work on the island was
completed by 1957. The renovation marked
a turning point for Bedloe's Island because it transformed the island into a
park. To commemorate this event,
Bedloe's Island was renamed Liberty Island in 1956 through a joint resolution
in Congress, and signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
In 1984, the Statue of Liberty was
closed to the public and underwent a massive restoration in time for its centennial
celebration. (As the restoration began,
the United Nations designated the Statue of Liberty as a World Heritage Site.) A team of experts determined that the
original torch could not be restored. Leaks from rain and corrosion from the
elements had damaged it beyond repair.
It was removed and replaced with a replica that followed Bartholdi’s
design. (Today, the original torch is on
display in the Inspiration Gallery of the Statue of Liberty Museum.) On July 5, 1986, the Statue of Liberty
reopened to the public in a centennial celebration.
After the terrorist attacks of
September 11, 2001, Liberty Island closed for 100 days; the Statue of Liberty
itself was not reopened to visitor access until August 2004.
On May 16, 2019, the Statue of Liberty
Museum on Liberty Island opened. The
26,000-square-foot museum is focused on the creation, meaning, and history of
the Statue of Liberty.
Interest Facts about the
Statue of Liberty
1.
When the Statue of Liberty was
inaugurated in 1886, it was the tallest structure in New York City.
2.
To create the realistic look, 300
different types of hammers were used to hammer the 3/32-inch-thick copper sheet
in place.
3.
The Statue of Liberty’s crown weighs more than 1,000
pounds.
4.
Visitors can climb all the way up
to the crown. An elevator goes up to
the observation deck in the pedestal, which may also be reached by stairway,
and a spiral staircase leads to an observation platform in the figure’s crown
that has 25 windows, offering a tremendous view of New York City. From the base of the
statue of Liberty, to reach the top, one must climb 393 steps. This is equal to the height of a 27-story
building. From the pedestal to the crown,
there are 162 very steep and narrow steps.
5. The torch, which measures 29 feet from the flame tip to the bottom of the handle, is accessible via a 42-foot service ladder inside the arm.
6. During the restoration of the statue in the 1980s,
workers found out that the head and shoulders were misaligned. So much so, that the head of the Statue of
Liberty was placed two feet away from where it should be placed.
7. “Lady Liberty” wears size 879 sandals. Each of her sandals is 25 feet long.
8.
After introducing the phonograph in 1877, Thomas
Alva Edison decided to leave his mark on the Statue of Liberty. He told a gathering of journalists that he
planned to build a massive phonograph and place it inside Statue of
Liberty. He wanted Lady Liberty to
deliver speeches which could be heard as far away as Northern Manhattan. However, Edison’s plan never materialized.
9.
Lady
Liberty can sway up to three inches in any direction during heavy winds, while
her torch can sway up to five inches.
10.
On
average, the copper statue is hit by 600 bolts of lightning every year.
11.
More than five million people visit
Statue of Liberty every year, making it one of the most popular tourist
attractions in the USA.
I am hereby putting the Statue of Liberty on my bucket
list to visit.
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