Statue of Liberty in New York: description, history of creation, interesting facts. Where is the Statue of Liberty located, in which city? Statue of Liberty Wiki

The Statue of Liberty is located on Liberty Island. Liberty Island ), about 3 km southwest of the southern tip of Manhattan, in New Jersey. Before the city, the island was called "Bedloe's Island" (English. Bedloe's Island ), although it was popularly called the “Island of Freedom” since the beginning of the 20th century.

Statue of Liberty (view from the pedestal)

The goddess of freedom holds a torch in her right hand and a tablet in her left. The inscription on the tablet reads “English. JULY IV MDCCLXXVI" (written in Roman numerals for the date "July 4, 1776"), this date is the day of the adoption of the United States Declaration of Independence. “Freedom” stands with one foot on broken shackles.

Visitors walk 356 steps to the crown of the Statue of Liberty or 192 steps to the top of the pedestal. There are 25 windows in the crown, which symbolize earthly precious stones and heavenly rays that illuminate the world. The seven rays on the crown of the statue symbolize the seven seas and seven continents (the Western geographical tradition counts exactly seven continents).

The total weight of copper used to cast the statue is 31 tons, and the total weight of its steel structure is 125 tons. The total weight of the concrete base is 27 thousand tons. The thickness of the copper coating of the statue is 2.57 mm.

The height from the ground to the tip of the torch is 93 meters, including the base and pedestal. The height of the statue itself, from the top of the pedestal to the torch, is 46 meters.

The statue was constructed from thin sheets of copper hammered into wooden molds. The formed sheets were then installed on a steel frame.

The statue is usually open to visitors, usually arriving by ferry. The crown, accessible by stairs, offers expansive views of New York Harbor. The museum, located in the pedestal (and accessible by elevator), houses an exhibition on the history of the statue.

New Colossus

Plate "New Colossus"

Inside the statue's crown

Tokyo

The Statue of Liberty is installed in Tokyo on the island of Odaiba.

Las Vegas

Uzhgorod

The world's smallest Statue of Liberty, created by sculptor Mikhail Kolodko and architect Alexander Bezik, is located in the city of Uzhgorod on the parapet of the Pedestrian Bridge. The 30-centimeter sculpture, created on the initiative of the head of the tourism department of Uzhgorod National University Fedor Sandor, is cast from bronze in Budapest, weighs 4 kg and is a real working lighthouse on the non-navigable Uzh River, where the Uzhgorod Regatta comic competitions are held annually. The sculptural woman symbolizes the love of Transcarpathians for everything unique and original.

Dnepropetrovsk

On May 18, 2012 in Dnepropetrovsk, in the Melrose cafe on Heroev Ave., the Statue of Liberty was installed, the height of the sculpture is 2.65 m, the height of the pedestal is 1.35 m, the sculptor is Semenova S.S.

Moscow

Monument to the Soviet Constitution(obelisk and Statue of Liberty) on Sovetskaya (Tverskaya) Square in Moscow. 1918-1919 (not preserved).

In the fall of 1918, a 26-meter triangular obelisk in honor of the Soviet Constitution appeared on Sovetskaya Square. The monument in June 1919 was supplemented with the Statue of Liberty by Nikolai Andreev. Muscovites loved the monument.

The monument was not destined to stand for long. By the end of the 1930s, it was in need of restoration, since it was made hastily, from short-lived, low-quality materials: the obelisk was made of brick and plastered “to resemble granite,” and the statue was cast from concrete. But restoration did not come: shortly before the Great Patriotic War, on April 22, 1941, the dilapidated monument was destroyed. The head of the Statue of Liberty is now kept in the Tretyakov Gallery.

Statue of Liberty in popular culture

In video games

• There is a parody of the statue in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV. The parody statue is called the Statue of Happiness. On the upper floors there is a door that you can enter and then climb up a long staircase. There is a beating heart suspended on chains (the heart of the city). If you shoot him, he will bleed. Instead of a torch at the statue there is a cup of coffee
• In the Civilization series of games, the Statue of Liberty is one of the wonders of the world.
• In the Red Alert video games, the Statue of Liberty is repeatedly destroyed. Destroying her is part of the game and videos.
• The Statue of Liberty can also be seen in the video games of the Deus Ex series. In the first part, the statue was destroyed by the conspirators before the start of the game, and the first level of the game takes place on the territory of Liberty Island; in the second part, it is restored in the form of a hologram by Helios-JCDENTON.
• In the add-on "Kasumi - The Stolen Memory" for the video game Mass Effect 2, the head of the Statue of Liberty, destroyed by terrorists in 2096, can be found in Donovan Hawk's underground vault.
• In the computer game Rise Of Nations: Thrones and Patriots, the Statue of Liberty is one of the wonders of the world.
• In the video game World in Conflict, there is a mission in which you have to recapture the Statue of Liberty or else a bomb will be dropped on it.
• In the computer game Crysis 2, the Statue of Liberty is destroyed by an alien attack. Its individual fragments - the right hand with a torch and the head - are the decorations of some cards.
• In the video game Twisted metal 2 on the New York map, the Statue of Liberty can be shot, causing it to crumble, leaving a woman in a bikini in its place.
• In the game Prototype 2, from some skyscrapers in the Yellow Zone you can see an island in the fog along with a statue. However, the character cannot get to the island, because the character jumps out of the water towards the mainland or a large island if he gets into the water, and there are no nearby objects to the island.

To the cinema

• “Ghostbusters 2” - in the film, the main characters revive the Statue of Liberty and use it in the fight against Evil.
• In Alfred Hitchcock's film "Saboteur", the main character Barry Kane, being in the hand of a statue holding a torch, tries to hold the sleeve of the Nazi spy Fry. In reality, actor Norman Lloyd was filmed in a studio, lying on a special black saddle on a black floor, with the camera moving 12 meters away from him. During editing, the fragment filmed on the Statue of Liberty was superimposed on a black background, and it turned out that the actor was falling down.
• “National Treasure: Book of Secrets” - on the Paris Statue of Liberty there is one of the keys that helps the heroes of the film find the treasure.
• In the science fiction film “Monstro”, the heroes, running out into the streets to find out what is happening, see the head of the Statue of Liberty rolling through the streets of Manhattan. And the promotional poster for the film shows the statue itself without a head. Only the torch sticks out forlornly above the rubble.
• "X-Men" - Magneto installs his miracle machine on the torch of the Statue of Liberty to turn all people into mutants.
• In the film “The Day After Tomorrow” by Roland Emmerich, the statue is first covered by a tsunami, and then a sudden cold snap leads to icing of the statue and all of New York.
• A giant wave also covers the Statue of Liberty in the movie Deep Impact. Next you can see how the severed head of the statue floats underwater between the skyscrapers of New York.
• In the film Planet of the Apes (1968), the main character George Taylor, discovering the half-buried Statue of Liberty on the ocean shore, realizes with despair that he is on planet Earth.
• In the movie "Men in Black 2" on the Statue of Liberty there is a memory erasing device designed to cover the entire territory of New York.
• In the film “Fast Change”, when the heroes get lost in one of the districts of New York, the main character utters the phrase with despair: “Well, at least see something familiar.” At the same time, the camera rises above low buildings and shows a panorama of the bay, where the Statue of Liberty stands in the foreground.
• In the cartoon "Union of Animals", released in 2010, the Statue of Liberty is shown. Monkeys climb onto her crown.
• Roland Emmerich's film Independence Day shows the destruction of the Statue of Liberty after the destruction of New York City. Before this, a splash screen appears where it says: July 3rd.
• The television disaster movie "Day of Disaster 2" shows how the Statue of Liberty is first covered by a tsunami, then the Statue can be seen being demolished by a hurricane.
• The film “Artificial Intelligence” shows what the Statue of Liberty looks like - in dilapidated and flooded New York, only the torch of the statue sticks out above the surface.
• A copy of the Statue of Liberty in Tokyo can be seen in the anime Tokyo Magnitude 8.0: they showed birds flying up next to the statue right before the earthquake.
• In the documentary series Life After People, you can see what the Statue will look like 300 years after people disappear. Another documentary on the same subject, Aftermath: Population Zero, also features the Statue of Liberty.
• Disaster movie "

The main symbol of American independence, a friendly gift in honor of an important event, a giant figure of a woman with a torch and a tablet - the Statue of Liberty. Numerous photos of one of the main American monuments are printed on all tourist brochures, dishes, clothing, and even tattooed. UNESCO added the landmark to the list of world heritage sites in 1984.

In the left hand of the monument is a tile on which the date is engraved - July 4, 1776. On this day, the most important document for the country was signed - the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America. England's colonies united in North America and declared autonomy from Great Britain. The day of the birth of the democratic republic is forever imprinted on the tablet, so the remains of slave shackles lie near the left foot of the figure. The head of the landmark is decorated with a crown with seven teeth. Some sources mention that sharp thorns represent parts of the world, although there are six of them.

Where is the Statue of Liberty

You can ask anyone where the Statue of Liberty is located, and everyone will say: “Of course in America!”, and this is true, but only partly. The symbol of democracy is indeed located in the USA on Liberty Island, 3 km from Manhattan in the southwest of New York state. However, Lady Liberty was born in Europe and is a true Frenchwoman. The island where the steel woman was erected originally belonged to the state of New Jersey. Until 1956, the territory was called Bedlow Island, although at the beginning of the last century many referred to this place as Liberty Island.

How to get there

The public ferry Statue Cruises ferries goes to Liberty Island. First you need to come to Manhattan, where there is a greater choice of transport:

• metro. Bowling Green station lines 4 and 5, South Ferry station line 1 and Whitehall St station. - line N, R. You need to go to Battery Park in Manhattan;
  bus. The M5, M15 and M20 go to South Ferry. From the stop you need to walk to the ferry;
• ferry. Specialized cruise ferries sail to the Statue of Liberty every day (except December 25), departing from the Battery Piers in Manhattan and from Liberty State Park in Jersey City. The first ferry leaves for Liberty Island at 9.30 and the last at 15.30. The interval between departures can be about an hour. The ferry route passes through Ellis Island, where the Immigration Museum is located. Private vessels are not allowed to enter the pier;
• boat Every hour you can sail to the attraction on a sightseeing boat, the cost of which is $25. The boat runs every 15-20 minutes.

Since in most cases tourists get to Liberty Island by ferry, entry to the national park is free. A ticket for a trip on this public transport also pays for the entrance to the island. The fare for an adult and a teenager over 13 years old is $18.50, a child 4-12 years old is $9, an elderly person (from 62 years old) is $14, children under 4 years old have free admission. A ferry ticket can also be booked in advance - online on the official website of the carrier company, since there are always plenty of tourists and those wishing to visit the island.

Statue of Liberty in numbers

Despite the fact that the symbol of America has not been the highest in the country for a long time, its dimensions are impressive. To the top attraction leads 356 steps, and if you climb only to the pedestal, you will have to cope with 192 steps. This climb is not for everyone, so you can use the elevator.

The highlight of the figure is the headdress. The item has 25 windows that represent “heavenly rays,” and the official name of the figure is Freedom illuminating the world. The construction of the crown required 31 tons of copper, 125 tons of steel and 27,000 tons of concrete. This place in the monument is the highest position from which a breathtaking panorama of New York Harbor is visible. The pedestal houses a historical museum, and Liberty Island is a national monument.

This is interesting. Traveling around the world means seeing many amazing things. Today there are many structures in the world that are taller, heavier and older than the American symbol, but the Statue of Liberty in New York manages to impress even an avid tourist. The concrete platform on which the steel figure is located has long held the title of the largest concrete structure and the largest base. Although this achievement was soon surpassed, the Statue of Liberty is still associated with great things.

The dimensions that interest many visitors to the Liberty Island attraction are described below:

• the height of the Statue of Liberty from the ground to the top of the torch is 93 m;
• the height of the figure itself is 33.86 m;
• total weight of the structure - 125 tons;
• the length of the statue’s nose is 1.37 m;
• There are about 100 copies of the legendary Statue of Liberty all over the world;
• index finger length - 2.44 m;
• head size from chin to crown - 5.26 m;
• the thickness of the statue’s waist is 10.67 m;
• height of the tablet - 7.19 m;
• height from the ground to the top of the pedestal - 46.94 m.

Everyone has their own freedom

The American Independence Monument can be seen in many countries. There are about a hundred different copies of the Statue of Liberty from New York in the world. Most of the doubles are located in the USA and in their historical homeland - France - as many as 6 options. You can see the figure in the gardens of Luxembourg, in the Museum of Arts and Crafts, on the Alma Bridge, in the town of Colmar, in the eastern part of Swan Island and in the D'Orsay Gallery.

There is a personal Statue of Liberty in Tokyo and in the capital of Argentina - Buenos Aires. The most gambling example can be found at the New York Las Vegas hotel-casino in Las Vegas. The world's first and only seated Statue of Liberty is located in Lviv. The attraction is located on the roof of the Museum of Ethnography and Arts and Crafts of the Institute of Ethnic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

Making a statue

The history of the construction of the national treasure is interesting for several reasons: parts of the monument were made in several countries, funds were collected over many years, and elements of the figure were exhibited at world exhibitions. Author of the Statue of Liberty - sculptor Frederic Bartholdi. There are two versions of who posed for the erection of the figure: the sculptor's mother Charlotte and the widow Isabella Boyer, who was married to the famous creator of sewing machines, Isaac Singer.

Location

The sculptor himself decided which city to choose to install the monument. There were a lot of options, but Bartholdi liked Bedlow Island near New York. After the statue was placed here, the territory began to be called Liberty Island, but officially this area became Liberty Island only in the mid-20th century.

Financial issue

France and the United States entered into an agreement, which stated that the first would build the monument and deliver it to America, and the second would build the pedestal and pay for the installation. Almost immediately, the countries realized that this matter was too expensive for both sides. It was decided to hold events to raise funds for the construction. Funds were channeled from charitable contributions, concerts, and raffles. In almost a year, France was lucky to accumulate more than 2 million francs.

workers in Bartholdi's workshop in Paris assemble the first model of the statue, the left arm and quarter-size head. Winter 1882.

In 1883, architect Richard Hunt prepared plans for the pedestal, but due to lack of finance, construction was about to cease. However, here the famous American publisher Joseph Pulitzer came into play. The journalist advised printing the names of the people who provided funds for the construction. He also wrote articles in which he harshly criticized the middle and upper classes for paying little attention to the development of their country. Pulitzer's work was so undeniable that within a short period of time more than 100 thousand dollars were collected. So, in August 1885, construction of the pedestal began, for which cement was brought from Germany. Construction lasted almost 8 months.

Parisian building

The Statue of Liberty rises above the rooftops in Paris

The French were more active - by the end of 1881 the monument was almost completed. Now it was necessary to connect the parts of the figure. The main entrance to the structure was placed in the front, the emergency exit was in the heel of the left foot. An observation platform was built in the crown, and a staircase was led up to the torch itself. There were plans to connect gas, but in the meantime Thomas Edison invented electricity, so they chose the latter option.

In 1884, work in France came to an end. The statue was assembled and presented at a festive event, then dismantled for transportation across the ocean. Since the pedestal for the monument was not yet completed, the figure traveled around the cities in a dismantled form.

The long-awaited “meeting” of the Statue of Liberty and the pedestal

By the time the gift arrived at Bedlow Island in New York, the object had visited many cities. According to Wikipedia, the head of the statue, 5.26 m high, was exhibited in Paris, Madison Square and Philadelphia, where anyone could admire an element of the legendary statue.

It took 214 boxes to transport the figure across the ocean, and the monument was divided into three hundred parts. After arriving at the destination, it took almost four months to assemble the monument. The statue is connected to the pedestal by two steel elements. The parts are built into anchor beams attached to the figure's frame.

The publication

The monument was assembled in April 1886, but due to a couple of organizational issues, the long-awaited opening took place only in mid-autumn. The French gift for the centennial celebration of the American Revolution was “late” by a dozen years. For a long time The Statue of Liberty served not only as a symbol of democracy, but also as a beacon who successfully performed his duties.

Lifehack for tourists. You can see the national monument for free, although only from the outside. A ferry runs from Ferry Landing to Staten Island and offers great views of the Statue of Liberty. You can hit the road once every half hour. On this spacious ferry, Staten Island residents go to work in Manhattan, and tourists look at the American landmark from the sea.

Architectural style

Since the stone is difficult to process and difficult to transport, and even across the ocean, they decided to build the Statue of Liberty empty inside, and cover the steel body with sheets of copper. The design was developed by Gustave Eiffel, and the sheathing was entrusted to Gautier - the sheets were made in wooden forms, and the copper was bought in Russia.

inside the torch

Today the Statue of Liberty is green, although when installed, the figure shone bright orange. Such changes occurred due to a natural phenomenon - over several decades, copper sheets oxidized and turned green. What the statue initially looked like is only evidenced by memories in written form. The monument is dressed in a mantle of ancient times, the torch of Enlightenment is placed in the right hand, a tablet with the cherished date of the establishment of the Act of Sovereignty is placed in the left hand, and fragmented slave chains lie at the feet. Until now, the monument looks solemn and majestic.

• On the day of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, the Statue of Liberty was immediately closed to tourists. From that moment on, access to the symbol became more difficult. It was possible to get to Liberty Island at the end of 2001, and to the pedestal only in 2004. President Barack Obama allowed entry into the statue in 2009, but the daily number of visitors remains limited;
• in 2011-2012, new stairs and elevators were installed in the structure. At this time, full access to the top of the crown has been restored;
• the appearance of the Statue of Liberty is similar to the ancient Greek goddess Hecate, the patroness of darkness and the underworld;
• Like all tall structures, the monument can sway. At the top of the statue the sensations are not the same as at the tops of skyscrapers, but in the crown there are displacements of up to 7.62 mm, and the torch swings up to 12.7 cm;
• Unlike the French, the Americans were in no hurry to give up their money. Few people were impressed by the Statue of Liberty, and Rockefeller even declared that the idea was real nonsense;
• The Statue of Liberty has long been not the tallest building even in New York, but some of its parameters are still impressive - for example, the nail on the little finger of the monument weighs about one and a half kilograms.

Disappearance of the statue

The famous inventor of magic tricks, Jim Steinmeyer, came up with a trick that impressed the entire planet. The disappearance of the Statue of Liberty occurred in 1983, and the magic trick was performed by David Copperfield. Against the night sky, the Statue of Liberty is brightly lit and a blip flashes on the radar. In front of the figure are two towers with a cover that lowers. The Statue of Liberty momentarily disappeared from its pedestal and radar. When the cover rises and falls again, it is clear that the monument is in place. Over the course of several decades, the trick of the famous illusionist has become overgrown with theories, but there is still no single answer to how such a trick was accomplished. Disputes on the topic “how Copperfield managed to hide such a huge object” continue today, as new theories appear. Below you can watch a video of the disappearance of the Statue of Liberty and try to unravel one of the greatest tricks.

Opening hours

The Statue of Liberty and Liberty Island National Park are open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. In reviews, tourists write that it is better to arrive early, when the fog clears in the bay. You need to be prepared to inspect things several times, like at the airport.

Ticket prices

If you get to Liberty Island by ferry, admission is free. The fare for an adult is $13, and for children - $5. Entrance ticket costs $9 for children and $18 for adult tourists. The price includes medical insurance in case of an accident. At the entrance, all visitors are given free audio guides that will tell the story of the creation of the monument. A nice bonus for tourists - the entrance ticket to the Statue of Liberty is valid for visiting the Empire State Building.

What to see nearby

New York has plenty of attractions that every American traveler should see. Here is a list of some of the buildings that represent the largest city in the United States:

• The Brooklyn Bridge. The famous New York ferry, which is located above the East River. The bridge connects the largest areas of the city - Manhattan and Brooklyn. Until 1903, the structure was the longest in the world - almost 2 km. The Brooklyn Bridge is the first suspended structure to be constructed using steel cables. The length of the main passage over the East River is about 487 m.
• Empire State Building. Skyscraper in Manhattan on Fifth Avenue with 103 floors. The entire area is occupied by offices. From 1931 to 1970, the building was the tallest in the world. The house is named after New York, which is called the “Empire State”.
• Charging bull. In the northern part of Bowling Green Park there is a bronze sculpture, the brainchild of an American sculptor of Italian origin Arturo Di Modica - Charging Bull, weighing 3200 kg. The height of the monument is 3.4 m, and the length is 4.9 m. The figure of an angry buffalo, ready to fight. The statue represents development and vigor in the financial sector. This is one of the most popular sculptures in New York and Wall Street - it is estimated that almost a thousand tourists visit the Financial District every day to view the Charging Bull.

Greetings to the readers of our portal! With this next article we will try to return to the description of the most interesting and juicy places on our planet after a long break. The choice of an object for the next review did not take long - the sorted list of 8 wonders of the world stood for too long without its candidate. Today we are reviewing the Statue of Liberty in the USA. A symbol in the monument to democracy and freedom of all the United States of America.

The Statue of Liberty (in English Statue of Liberty), also known as “Liberty Enlightening the World” or “Lady Liberty” is a symbol of freedom and democracy in the United States, a giant colossal statue made in the style of neoclassicism. The statue is located on Liberty Island, located 3 kilometers southwest of Manhattan Island. The special value of the statue was recognized by the world community - in 1984 it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. We could not pass by such an object of human heritage.

Description of the statue

The giant Statue of Liberty stands on a pedestal. In her right hand she holds a torch, in her left - a tablet. The inscription on the tablet shows the date of adoption of the US Declaration of Independence (Roman numerals - JULY IV MDCCLXXVI, July 4, 1776 in our style). One naga steps on the broken shackles.

Tablet of the Statue of Liberty

To climb to the top of the statue and its crown, you need to walk 356 steps. You can shorten this excursion by climbing only the pedestal - 192 steps. In addition to the spiral staircase inside the structure, the visitor can also use the elevator.

View inside

There is a crown on the head of the statue. Its 25 windows symbolize “earthly precious stones and heavenly rays illuminating the world” - exactly which sources are not named, but it sounds at least funny. But with the rays of the crown, everything is already simpler - there are 7 of them, and they, in turn, symbolize the seven seas and continents. It is worth noting that in the Western world it is generally accepted that there are 7 continents. They don’t say whether this symbolism was invented before or after the creation of the statue, but the general idea of ​​the crown is a little strange.

The total height of the statue is 93 meters, the net height of the statue without a pedestal is 46 meters. The manufacturing process used 31 tons of copper, 125 tons of steel and 27,000 tons of pedestal concrete.

Thin sheets of copper, 2.57 mm thick, were minted in wooden molds. They were used to create the figure of the statue itself. To secure the entire structure inside the statue, there is a steel frame embedded in concrete.

Now the highest point of the statue accessible to tourists, the crown, offers a magnificent view of New York Harbor. The pedestal houses a history museum, and Liberty Island itself (Liberty Island, or until 1956 Bedlow Island) is also recognized as a national monument.

View from the crown

Statue of Liberty in stark numbers

Sculpture parts
Height from ground to top of torch
Statue height
Hand length
Index finger length
Head from crown to chin
Face width
Eye length
Nose length
Right arm length
Right arm thickness
Waist thickness
Mouth width
Sign height
Sign width
Plaque thickness
Height from ground to top of pedestal

A little history of the statue: the beginning

The history of the Statue of Liberty begins with the most famous fact - the statue is a gift from France to the United States in honor of the centennial of American independence. But how everything went from the origin of the idea to the situation of modern days - read below.

The idea of ​​​​creating the statue belongs to the French thinker, writer and politician Edouard Rene Lefebvre. Being the president of the anti-slavery society in France, he was very impressed by the victory in the American Civil War of the fighters against the slave system. According to the testimony of the sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, this idea appeared to Lefebvre in 1865.

The existing policy of Napoleon III did not allow such a project to be undertaken. Therefore, progress resumed only at the end of the 1860s. The sculptor Bartholdi had ideas for creating a majestic colossus before. The project was originally proposed for Egypt, but budgets did not support the transportation and installation of the statue. The 100th anniversary of independence in the United States was another excellent occasion to create a high-level project.

The project has begun to move. According to the agreement, France was to create the sculpture itself, and the United States was to create the pedestal. Bartholdi acted as a sculptor. But to create such a massive structure, the help of a great engineer was required - Gustave Eiffel, the future creator of the legendary Eiffel Tower, was invited to take his place.

From the first showings to the opening

Work in Bartholdi's workshop was in full swing. Already in May 1876, at the World Exhibition in Philadelphia, the right hand of the future statue with a torch was shown. To visit this impressive structure they charged 50 cents (not bad money in those days). The hand itself made a huge impression on visitors to the exhibition. In order not to lead the hand back to France after the exhibition, it was placed in New York's Madison Square Garden.

At the World Exhibition of 1876

But the process of creating the statue was not without problems - there was not enough finance. To solve this problem, charitable donations, entertainment events, lotteries, theatrical performances, exhibitions, auctions, and boxing fights were held.

The publisher of the World newspaper, Joseph Pulitzer, played a special role in fundraising. A man who has made a career from a newspaper delivery man, a journalist of small articles to the owner of a publishing house - surely he should not understand the current thoughts of the people. Campaigning to raise funds for a new material embodiment of the American idea and dream did not last long - after only 5 months of work, the funds were collected. The contribution of this man is difficult to overestimate; the Pulitzer Prize is still one of the most prestigious awards among journalists.

Working in the workshop

While the statue was being made, an act of Congress in 1877, General William Sherman approved the location of the future statue - Bedloe's Island. The process of choosing a location was not complete without the sculptor’s recommendations. The location was not chosen by chance - at the mouth of the Hudson, near Ellis Island, the place where all newly arrived future US citizens arrived, the place where their initial registration took place.

Construction of the pedestal began on August 5, 1885 - on this day the first stone was laid here. The project architect is Richard Morris. Less than a year later - April 22, 1886 - the pedestal was already completed. Additionally, 2 lintels made of steel beams were built into the masonry, which are connected by anchor beams that go upward as part of the steel frame of the statue. Thus, the pedestal and the statue are one whole, a solid, massive, strong structure.

The Statue of Liberty was completed back in 1884, and on June 17, 1885, it was delivered to New York Harbor. For transportation, it was previously disassembled into 350 parts and packed into 214 boxes. Note that the assembly process itself took another 4 months. This is a real designer for great people.

The grand opening of the statue took place on October 28, 1886. The discovery was delayed from the idea for 10 years. US President Grover Cleveland also took part in this ceremony, who uttered a phrase that went down in history:

“We will always remember that Freedom chose this place as its home, and its altar will never be covered by oblivion.”

After opening

Previously, Fort Wood was built at the location of the statue (built for the War of 1812, of course, not with Napoleon), shaped like a five-pointed star. In the center of it, on a pedestal, the statue was installed. On October 15, 1924, Fort Wood and the statue were declared a national monument. And later the entire island fell under the area of ​​the national monument.

Early Fort Wood slums

Even later, neighboring Ellis Island was also included here, where at first the immigration center was located, where all new arrivals to the country were registered.

View from the ship upon arrival in New York

In 1982, President Ronald Reagan plans to restore the monument, slightly tired from time to time. The event raises $87 million. Immediately at the beginning of restoration in 1984, the statue was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. On July 5, 1986, it again became open to visitors.

Restoration of the Statue

Back in 1916, the staircase to the torch was closed for safety reasons. During the restoration in 1986, the torch was replaced with a new one, plated with 24-karat gold. The old torch was placed near the pedestal. But still, the exit to the crown remains the most accessible point for the visitor.

Old torch

Everyone remembers September 11, 2001, the day of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. The statue and the island were immediately closed to visitors; it was impossible to risk visitors - after all, this is a symbol of all of America. Since then, access to the statue has been made more difficult. It was possible to get to the island from the end of 2001, to the pedestal only from August 4, 2004. From July 4, 2009, President Barack Obama opened access to the statue, but with restrictions on the number of visitors per day.

The next installation of new elevators and stairs took place from October 29, 2011 to October 28, 2012. Full access up to the crown has now been resumed.

The statue is the national symbol of the United States. This legendary Lady can be found on everything that is associated with America - money, makri, postcards, souvenirs. But what’s even more interesting is that there are copies of the statue all over the world. Here are just a few of them.

(Statue of Liberty, full name - Liberty Illuminating the World) is one of the most famous sculptures in the USA and in the world, often called the “symbol of New York and the USA”, “symbol of freedom and democracy”, “Lady Liberty”. This is a gift from French citizens for the centennial of the American Revolution.

The Statue of Liberty is located on Liberty Island, about 3 km southwest of the southern tip of Manhattan, one of the boroughs of New York. Until 1956, the island was called “Bedloe’s Island,” although it has been popularly called “Liberty Island” since the beginning of the 20th century.

The goddess of freedom holds a torch in her right hand and a tablet in her left. The inscription on the plaque reads "JULY IV MDCCLXXVI" ("July 4, 1776"), the date of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. “Freedom” stands with one foot on broken shackles.

Visitors walk 354 steps to the crown of the Statue of Liberty or 192 steps to the top of the pedestal. There are 25 windows in the crown, which symbolize earthly precious stones and heavenly rays that illuminate the world. The seven rays on the crown of the statue symbolize the seven seas and seven continents (the Western geographical tradition counts exactly seven continents).

The total weight of copper used to cast the statue is 31 tons, and the total weight of its steel structure is 125 tons. The total weight of the cement base is 27,000 tons. The thickness of the copper coating of the statue is 2.37 mm.

The height from the ground to the tip of the torch is 93 meters, including the base and pedestal. The height of the statue itself, from the top of the pedestal to the torch, is 46 meters.

The statue was constructed from thin sheets of copper hammered into wooden molds. The formed sheets were then installed on a steel frame.

The statue is usually open to visitors, usually arriving by ferry. The crown, accessible by stairs, offers expansive views of New York Harbor. The museum, located in the pedestal (and accessible by elevator), houses an exhibition on the history of the statue.

New Colossus

In 1883, American poet Emma Lazarus wrote the sonnet “The New Colossus,” dedicated to the Statue of Liberty. 20 years later, in 1903, it was engraved on a bronze plate and mounted on the wall in the museum, located in the pedestal of the statue. The famous last lines of “Freedom” in the Russian translation by V. Lazarus sound like this:

“To you, ancient lands,” she shouts, silent
Without opening my lips, I live in empty luxury,
And give it to me from the bottomless depths
Our outcasts, our downtrodden people,
Send me the outcasts, the homeless,
I’ll give them a golden candle at the door!”

Creation of the Statue of Liberty

The French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi was commissioned to create the statue. It was intended as a gift for the centenary of the Declaration of Independence in 1876. According to one version, Bartholdi even had a French model: the beautiful, recently widowed Isabella Boyer, wife of Issac Singer, the creator and entrepreneur in the field of sewing machines. “She was freed from the awkward presence of her husband, who left her with only the most desirable attributes in society: wealth and children. From the very beginning of her career in Paris, she was a well-known personality. As the beautiful French widow of an American entrepreneur, she proved a suitable model for Bartholdi's Statue of Liberty."

By mutual agreement, America was to build the pedestal, and France was to create the statue and install it in the United States. However, there was a shortage of money on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. In France, charitable donations, along with various entertainment events and a lottery, raised 2.25 million francs. In the United States, theatrical performances, art exhibitions, auctions and boxing matches were held to raise funds.

Meanwhile, in France, Bartholdi needed the help of an engineer to solve the design issues associated with the construction of such a giant copper sculpture. Gustave Eiffel (the future creator of the Eiffel Tower) was commissioned to design a massive steel support and intermediate support frame that would allow the copper shell of the statue to move freely while maintaining an upright position. Eiffel handed over the detailed developments to his assistant, an experienced structural engineer, Maurice Koechlin. Interestingly, the copper for the statue is of Russian origin.

The site for the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, approved by an Act of Congress in 1877, was chosen by General William Sherman, taking into account the wishes of Bartholdi himself, on Bedloe's Island, where a star-shaped fort had stood since the beginning of the 19th century.

Fundraising for the pedestal proceeded slowly, and Joseph Pulitzer (of Pulitzer Prize fame) issued an appeal in his World newspaper to support fundraising for the project.

By August 1885, financing for the pedestal, designed by American architect Richard Morris Hunt, was completed, with the first stone laid on August 5. Construction was completed on April 22, 1886. Built into the massive masonry of the pedestal are two square lintels made of steel beams; they are connected by steel anchor beams that extend upward to become part of the Eiffel frame of the statue itself. Thus the statue and the pedestal are one.

The statue was completed by the French in July 1884 and delivered to New York Harbor on June 17, 1885, aboard the French frigate Isere. For transportation, the statue was disassembled into 350 parts and packed into 214 boxes. (Her right hand with a torch had already been exhibited at the World's Fair in Philadelphia in 1876, and then at Madison Square in New York.) The statue was assembled on its new base in four months. The inauguration of the Statue of Liberty, with a speech by US President Grover Cleveland, took place on October 28, 1886, in the presence of thousands of spectators. As a French gift for the centenary of the American Revolution, it was ten years late.

Statue as a lighthouse

Since its discovery, the statue has served as a navigational landmark and was used as a lighthouse. Three caretakers took turns keeping her torch lit for 16 years.

Statue as a cultural monument

History of the Statue of Liberty and the island on which it stands is a story of change. The statue was placed on a granite pedestal inside Fort Wood, built for the War of 1812, whose walls are laid out in the shape of a star. The US Lighthouse Service was responsible for maintaining the statue until 1901. After 1901, this mission was entrusted to the War Department. By presidential proclamation of October 15, 1924, Fort Wood (and the statue on its grounds) was declared a national monument, the boundaries of which coincided with the boundaries of the fort.

On October 28, 1936, at the 50th anniversary of the unveiling of the statue, US President Franklin Roosevelt said: “Freedom and peace are living things. For them to continue to exist, each generation must protect them and put new life into them.”

In 1933, maintenance of the national monument was transferred to the National Park Service. On September 7, 1937, the national monument was enlarged to cover all of Bedlow Island, which was renamed Liberty Island in 1956. On May 11, 1965, Ellis Island was also transferred to the National Park Service and became part of the Statue of Liberty National Memorial. In May 1982, President Ronald Reagan appointed Lee Iacocca to lead a private sector effort to restore the Statue of Liberty. The restoration raised $87 million through a partnership between the National Park Service and the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Corporation, which became the most successful public-private collaboration in American history. In 1984, at the beginning of its restoration work, the Statue of Liberty was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. On July 5, 1986, the restored Statue of Liberty was reopened to the public during Liberty Weekend celebrating her centennial.

Statue and security

The statue and island were closed from September 11, 2001 to August 3, 2004, following the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. On August 4, 2004, the monument was opened, but the statue itself, including the crown, remains closed. However, in May 2009, US Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that the statue would reopen to tours on July 4, 2009.

In preparing the material, articles from Wikipedia- free encyclopedia.

The Statue of Liberty has been one of the symbols of the United States for more than a century. But many ideas about it are incorrect, and some very little is known. Let's find out more about this unusual monument.

First of all, we note that it is officially called differently - “Freedom Illuminating the World.” The sculpture is located on the island of the same name, three kilometers southwest of Manhattan. For a long time it was called Bellow Island. The monument holds in its right hand a torch (which, as it were, “illuminates” the world), and in its left hand a tablet with the date of the US Declaration of Independence, written in Latin numerals. One of the legs of the “Illuminator” tramples torn shackles.

The seven rays in the crown crowning the statue symbolically represent the seas and continents. And yet, what is the Statue of Liberty in the USA made of? It would seem that it should be steel or stone, judging by the perception.

However, not all so simple. There is steel there - 125 tons. The sculptors also used 31 tons of copper, which covers it with a layer of just over two and a half millimeters. However, the numbers for both steel and copper simply pale in comparison to the concrete base, which reaches twenty-seven thousand tons. Thin copper sheets are mounted on top of a steel frame. Together with the foundation and pedestal, the height to the top of the torch reaches ninety-three meters.

Where was the Statue of Liberty made?

The monument symbolizing the United States was not actually made in America or even in the Western Hemisphere!

The author of the sculpture is the Frenchman Frederic Auguste Bartholdi. The idea was to present it as a gift for the centennial anniversary of the United States. It’s interesting that they were going to install it in Port Said, Egypt, and call it “The Light of Asia.” However, the Cairo government decided not to spend money on installation and transportation.

When France and America entered into an agreement, it was assumed that they would make, respectively, sculpture and installation at the expense of Paris, and the pedestal at the expense of Washington. But material difficulties that arose on both sides of the ocean slowed things down.

What material was used for production?

It seems that we already know the answer to this question. But... let's not rush. The copper for that very statue was either mined in Bashkiria or smelted in Nizhny Tagil. The pedestal underneath is made of German cement.

However, that's not all! In addition to the sculpture itself, there are many copies of it. There are four of them in Paris alone; gilded version with a lantern instead of a torch in Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer. There are many other versions - for example, in one of the Las Vegas casinos, in Japan, the broken head of the once existing “freedom” in the Tretyakov Gallery, in Dnepropetrovsk, Lvov, Budapest, Riga.

After the tragedy of September 11, the original Statue of Liberty was closed to the public. Currently, it is available to everyone, subject to rigorous screening similar to that carried out at international airports. Consequently, the symbol of the USA is one of the safest sites in the world for tourists.