130-Year-Old Lady Liberty Answers Your Most Burning Questions

[uk666 5,298]

130-Year-Old Lady Liberty Answers Your Most Burning Questions

When the Statue of Liberty first arrived on American soil on June 17, 1885, she wasn’t exactly the woman we know and love today. 

But now, 130 years later, she's an iconic symbol of American freedom and democracy. She's a full-on New Yorker with a whole lot to say. 

That's why we got the lowdown straight from the Lady herself on some of the most common questions she gets asked.

So where'd you come from anyway?

You mean who made me look this good? Well, that was the work of a few very nice French men. Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi was the sculptor and Gustave Eiffel was the engineer. 

Oh, don't tell me you don't know Gustave? I'm sure you've heard of that very famous tower in Paris he also created.

But me? I was a gift to the US from France, as a symbol of friendship between the two countries.

Just remember, when I arrived in the US by ship in 1885, I was only in pieces—350 pieces in 214 crates, to be exact. 

An American architect named Richard Morris Hunt made my pedestal. 

Do you belong to New York or New Jersey?"

I know it may look like I'm just hanging right smack dab in the middle of the New York Harbour, on what was called Bedloe's Island back in the day. 

But believe me, I'm a New Yorker through and through. Though I technically sit in New Jersey, Liberty Island officially belongs to the great state of New York.

Are you based on a real person or a celebrity or something?

my first name is - Liberty Enlightening the World. The Roman goddess of Liberty was the inspiration for my design and robes, but my face is based on a real woman

Bartholdi's mother Charlotte! 

How tall are you? And how much do you weigh?

I stand at a very proud 305 feet and 1 inch (from ground to torch) and was taller than any other structure in New York City at the time I was built. 

I weigh 156 tons!  My head is 10 feet wide, each eye is 2 1/2 feet, my nose is 4 1/2 feet, and my mouth is 3 feet.

You're holding a lot of stuff. Why didn't they build you a bag or something?

To show it all off, of course!

Did you know the seven rays on my crown represent the seven continents of the world? 

Or that the Roman numerals on the tablet in my left hand stand for America's Independence Day? 

Or that I'm standing on a broken shackle and chains to symbolize breaking through slavery and oppression? 

Or should I say torches! I've been through a lot with my symbol of enlightenment.

What do all those words mean at the bottom of the statue?

The New Colossus was written in 1883 to help raise funds for the Statue of Liberty and in 1903, Emma’s sonnet was inscribed on a plaque and placed on the inner wall of the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.

According to some, Emma Lazarus was the first American to make any sense of this statue, it being a gift from the country of France. Her traditional sonnet form seemed to spark recognition of the statue's primary role - a world-wide welcome to those seeking sanctuary.

Immigrants fleeing to America would see the torch bearing giant as they approached New York and word quickly spread around the globe that here was no ordinary lady but a 'Mother of Exiles' offering a new life.

Emma Lazarus, woman, Jew and New Yorker, beautifully encapsulated the feelings of a nation in 14 lines.

There's no doubt it still resonates. Her sonnet stands proud. This poem is still very relevant for these fragile times. 

The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land; 
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand 
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame 
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name 
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand 
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command 
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. 
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she 
With silent lips. “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!”

Can we climb all the way up to the crown? How about the torch?

You most certainly can get up to the crown (as long as you book in advance)

It will take 363 fairly steep steps, the equivalent of climbing 27 stories, to make it up to the top for a peek out of one of my 25 windows. 

But due to earlier safety concerns, my torch has been off limits to visitors since 1916.

[Rædwulf 1,441]

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