Transcript Document

The Statue of Liberty
• The Statue of Liberty is one of the best known
American landmarks. It was a gift to the United
States from France to honor their alliance during
the American Revolution on July 4, 1884 to
commemorate the 100 anniversary of the
American Revolution. It was dedicated on
October 28, 1886.
Liberty Island
• The Statue of Liberty is located on Liberty Island, which
was once known as Bedloe's Island.
• Liberty Island is located in the New York harbor near Ellis
Island. The statue welcomed new immigrants to the
United States who entered the country through Ellis
Island between 1892 and 1954.
The Designers
• The Statue of Liberty was designed by the French
sculptor Frédéric Bartholdi.
• The figure was formed of copper sheets wrapped into an
iron framework as part of a support system devised by
the French civil engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel.
• The pedestal was designed by the American architect
Richard Morris Hunt.
Measurements of Lady Liberty
• Total weight of statue:
450,000 pounds (225
tons)
• Total height of the
statue: 111 feet, 1
inch tall
Lady Liberty’s Shoe Size
• Length of sandal:
25'-0"
• US Women's Shoe Size
based on standard
formula: 879
• (Length (inches)=
7.333 + ({[US
Women's Size]-1}/3)
Lady Liberty’s Crown
7 Spikes in the Crown represent:
- Either Seven Seas:
Arctic, Antarctic, North & South Atlantic, North
& South Pacific, Indian.
- Or Seven Continents:
North and South America, Europe, Asia,
Africa, Antarctica, Australia
How many steps would it take to
get to the top?
• Steps to crown: 354
steps (22 stories).
This height is not
recommended for
those with health
problems.
• Steps from ground to
top of pedestal: 192
“The New Colossus”
• Originally conceived as a
gesture of international
friendship, the statue has
become a global symbol
of freedom.
• Marking the arrival of
millions of immigrants to
the U.S.
• In 1903 the sonnet “The
New Colossus” by the
U.S. poet Emma Lazarus
was inscribed at the main
entrance to the pedestal.
Emma Lazarus
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 you go inside the statue?
• The Statue has been closed since September 11, 2001 when the
World Trade Center was destroyed by terrorists, the longest closure
in its history, exceeding the period of closure for the two-year
restoration in 1986.
• It reopened August 3, 2004. Visitors are only allowed to climb the
statue's 154-foot-tall pedestal and the crown remains closed.