Liberty Enlightening the World, known more
commonly as the Statue of Liberty, is
located on Liberty Island in New York Harbour. It can be
reached via
Circle Line ferries, which leave from Battery Park in
Manhattan and Liberty State Park in New Jersey, and operate 7 days a
week. The
statue was a gift from the people of France, to the people of the
United States, as a symbol of international friendship. It has
become one of the symbols of political freedom and democracy. The
Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886 and was
designated a National Monument on October 15, 1924. The Statue was
restored in time for her spectacular centennial on July 4, 1986.
Sculptor
Frederic Auguste Bartholdi was commissioned to design a sculpture
to commemorate the centennial of the American Declaration of
Independence. The Statue was a joint effort between America and
France and it was agreed that the American people were to build the
pedestal, and the French people were responsible for the Statue and
its assembly in the United States. Alexandre Gustave Eiffel
(designer of the Eiffel Tower) was commissioned to design the
massive iron pylon and secondary skeletal framework which allows the
Statue's copper skin to move independently yet stand upright.
There
are 25 windows in the crown which symbolize 25 gemstones found on
the earth. The seven rays of the Statue's crown represent the seven
seas and continents of the world. The tablet which the Statue holds
in her left hand reads (in Roman numerals) "July 4th, 1776." A
smaller-scale copy of the Statue of Liberty is found in Paris,
France, where it stands near the Grenelle Bridge on the Île des
Cygnes, an island in the river Seine. It looks towards the Atlantic
Ocean and hence towards its "larger sister" in New York
Harbour.
Visitors
are now able to view inside the Statue through a glass ceiling, and
guided by a park ranger. There is also enhanced lighting, and a new
video system. In addition, visitors can walk out onto the Statue’s
observation deck to see the panoramic views of New York City and the
Harbour, and to observe the Statue up close from her promenade. The
Statue's crown is no longer accessible to the public, and the torch
has been officially closed since July 1916.
The New Colossus
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 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 breath free,
The wretched refuse of
your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless,
tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the
golden door!”
Emma
Lazarus (1849-1887)
A bronze plaque containing the poem was presented in 1903,
twenty years after it was written. Originally displayed on the
interior wall of the Statue of Liberty's pedestal, it was placed in
the Liberty exhibit in the base of the monument in July, 1986.
Sculptor
Frederic Auguste Bartholdi was commissioned to design a sculpture
to commemorate the centennial of the American Declaration of
Independence. The Statue was a joint effort between America and
France and it was agreed that the American people were to build the
pedestal, and the French people were responsible for the Statue and
its assembly in the United States. Alexandre Gustave Eiffel
(designer of the Eiffel Tower) was commissioned to design the
massive iron pylon and secondary skeletal framework which allows the
Statue's copper skin to move independently yet stand upright.
There
are 25 windows in the crown which symbolize 25 gemstones found on
the earth. The seven rays of the Statue's crown represent the seven
seas and continents of the world. The tablet which the Statue holds
in her left hand reads (in Roman numerals) "July 4th, 1776." A
smaller-scale copy of the Statue of Liberty is found in Paris,
France, where it stands near the Grenelle Bridge on the Île des
Cygnes, an island in the river Seine. It looks towards the Atlantic
Ocean and hence towards its "larger sister" in New York
Harbour.
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