home Migration registration Report-message “Statue of Liberty. Who gave America the famous Statue of Liberty What happened at the site of the Statue of Liberty

Report-message “Statue of Liberty. Who gave America the famous Statue of Liberty What happened at the site of the Statue of Liberty

The observation deck at the crown of the Statue of Liberty in New York opens today.

The Statue of Liberty, full name "Liberty Enlightening 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", "a symbol of freedom and democracy ", "Lady Liberty".

The Statue of Liberty is located on Liberty Island, approximately 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.

The Statue of Liberty is a gift from the French people to the United States in honor of the centenary of American independence and as a sign of friendship between the two states.

The idea for this symbol came from the French scientist, lawyer and abolitionist Edouard de Laboulaye back in the late 1860s. He proceeded from the fact that America and France were connected by old friendly ties. France provided moral and material support to the American struggle for independence - the French General Lafayette even became a national hero of the United States. The statue was intended as a gift for the centennial anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 1876. With this gift, the French wanted to express their admiration for the great republic on the other side of the Atlantic. The French sculptor Frederic Bartholdi was commissioned to create the statue. His Statue of Liberty was inspired by Delacroix's famous painting "Liberty Leading the People to the Barricades." The internal supporting structure of the tower was made by Gustave Eiffel, the future creator Eiffel Tower.

Work on the statue was completed in France in July 1884. The statue was constructed from thin sheets of copper hammered into wooden molds. The formed sheets were then installed on a steel frame.

In June 1885, the statue was delivered to New York Harbor aboard the French frigate Isere. "Lady Liberty" was transported from France to the United States in disassembled form - it was divided into 350 parts, packed in 214 boxes. Assembling the statue on the pedestal took four months.

On September 11, 2001, as a result of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, the Statue of Liberty and the island were closed to the public.

The interior of the statue remains closed to the public, but the iron frame created by Gustave Eiffel can be seen through the glass separator.

In May 2009, it was announced that the Crown Observation Deck of the Statue of Liberty would reopen to tourists on July 4, 2009.

At the very beginning, the statue was not green, it turned green due to atmospheric conditions, the main one being acid rain.

The torch we see today is not the historical torch from 1886. It was replaced during the 1984 - 1986 renovation as its restoration was considered inappropriate. The original torch was modified quite extensively in 1916. Today this torch is displayed in a museum located inside the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.

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 attached to the outside of the pedestal. The last lines of the sonnet in the Russian translation sound like this: “...Give me your tired people, All those who long to breathe freely, abandoned in need, From the close shores of the persecuted, the poor and the orphans, So send them, homeless and exhausted, to me. I raise my torch is at the Golden Gate!"

The following coins were minted with the image of the Statue of Liberty: November 11, 1922 - 15 cent coin; June 24, 1954 - 3 cent coin; April 9, 1954 - 8 cent coin and June 11, 1961 - 11 cent coin.

The New York 25-cent coin, minted in 2001, features the Statue of Liberty with the words “Gateway to Freedom.”

(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 the earthly gems and heavenly rays illuminating 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 total weight 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 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, the most successful public-private collaboration in history. American history. In 1984, at the beginning of work on its restoration, the Statue of Liberty was included in the List World Heritage UNESCO. 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 due to the terrorist attack on the World War II. shopping mall. 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.

One of the most famous landmarks of the USA, which is known not only indigenous people countries, but also each of us. The Statue of Liberty is located in New York - a monument that can be especially often seen in films, as well as photographs of American tourists.

Opening of a memorial site accompanied by a cannon salvo, fireworks and the blaring of sirens. The long-awaited event happened back in 1886. Since that time, ships entering the port of New York are greeted by a stone statue of a woman holding the torch of freedom in her hand.

No matter how paradoxical it may sound, but symbol of America was the brainchild of French masters. It was there that the statue appeared to the light for the first time. Having taken it apart piece by piece, it was sent sailing straight across the Atlantic Ocean. Already in New York it was assembled and placed on a powerful base, already made by Native Americans. The statue was installed on Bedlow Island, which was later renamed Liberty Island.

The monument was conceived by academician Edouard de Laboulaye in 1865, and the author of the work was Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, a sculptor originally from Alsace. The sculptor chose Bedlow Island for his own reasons, and in general, he imagined the monument not only on it, but also in Port Said (Suez Canal). Bartholdi failed to bring his project “Egypt Bringing Light to Asia” to life, but for America the idea came in handy.

The project was approved in Congress in 1877, even though, according to the plan, the sculpture should have appeared already in 1876, on the day the US Declaration of Independence was signed. However, it was not possible to immediately raise the required amount of money for the construction of the masterpiece; the deadlines were delayed. Lady Liberty reached New York on July 17, 1885. Over the course of four months, the monument was put together. There is one interesting fact associated with the opening of the monument on October 28, 1886. The ceremony was held in the company of only men, and this despite the fact that the statue represents a symbol of freedom. Only a little girl of eight years old and one woman were able to visit the island that day - Lessens' daughter and Bartholdi's wife.

What is the Statue of Liberty? The monument is formed by a steel frame weighing 125 tons. To design and build the structure, Gustav Eiffel was called in to help, who was replaced a little later by Maurice Koechlin. Inside the structure you can move and climb to the very top using a spiral staircase. To get to the observation deck you have to climb 354 steps. This path will seem easy after you look out of one of the 25 windows at the very top and see an incredible panoramic view.

The top of the steel skeleton is covered with copper plates, forming the silhouette of the monument. Copper was supplied for them from Russia. A symbol of freedom is also a broken shackle at one of the statue’s feet.

Initially she was nicknamed "Freedom, bringing light to the world", then renamed to the current one. The height of the sculpture is 46 meters. If you count all the elements of the statue together with the torch, the height will be 93 meters. Weight reaches 205 tons.

The statue received national monument status in 1924, followed by Bedloe Island itself. The monument was restored several times and new lighting was added.

Many people may have a question: “Who was the prototype of the statue?”. There are two versions. According to one of them, it is believed that Bartholdi was inspired by the image of Isabella Bayer (the widow of Isaac Singer). Another claims that the image belongs to his mother Charlotte.

Inside the statue opened a museum in 1972, accessible by elevator. The museum provides information about the history of the country's settlement. There are many conflicting opinions about the symbol of America. Some spoke about the high technique of execution, the clarity and grace of the lines, while others believe that it is impossible to talk about this statue as a symbol of freedom, it is too dispassionate and cold. Only opinions do not prevent residents of the United States, and the whole world in particular, from considering the Statue of Liberty a symbol of the country.

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.

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, authored by sculptor Mikhail Kolodko and architect Alexander Bezik, is located on the parapet in the city of Uzhgorod Pedestrian bridge. A 30-centimeter sculpture created on the initiative of the head of the Uzhgorod Department of Tourism national university Fedora Sándora, cast in bronze in Budapest, weighs 4 kg and is a real working lighthouse on the non-navigable Uzh River, where the humorous Uzhgorod Regatta 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 computer game Rise Of Nations: Thrones and Patriots Statue of Liberty as 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 big island, if it falls 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.” In this case, the camera rises above tall buildings and a panorama of the bay is shown, 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 film "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 "" - a painted Statue of Liberty is shown in Charlie Frost's video blog.
In the film “Around the World in 80 Days” - In the scene at the port, a policeman suggested that the heroes “cut a corner,” but led them into a trap where the villain Fen and her people were waiting for travelers. A major battle ensues between the three friends and Fen's men in the workshop where the Statue of Liberty is being built.
In the film Titanic, the Statue of Liberty is shown as Kate Winslet's character, Rose, sails towards New York. Here a film mistake was made - in 1912 the Statue was still in its original color, but in the film the Statue is shown in green.
The statue is destroyed by an earthquake in Panic in New York. At the end of the film you can see her restoration.
The cartoon "An American Tail" shows the Statue of Liberty under construction, where Henri the pigeon lives.
The Statue of Liberty is briefly shown in the film Darkness Rising in an apocalyptic prediction of what will happen after the victory of the Dark Forces.
In the cartoon "The Great Voyage" the Statue of Liberty is very often mentioned: it is in the port not far from the statue that the container with the lion cub Ryan is loaded onto a ship, in the Central Zoo there is a souvenir shop with small copies of the statue and its torch, in the episode in the sewer the koala Nigel pretends to be the Statue Freedom, in order to explain to the alligators where his friends are going, Nigel himself constantly walks around with a toy statue torch throughout most of the cartoon.
In Aki Kaurismaki's film "Leningrad Cowboys Meet Moses", the main character, Moses (Vladimir), steals the nose of the Statue of Liberty.
In the episode Homer's Barbershop quartet, episode 1 of the 5th season of the animated series The Simpsons, the group "The Fraudsters" played at the 100th anniversary of the statue.
The parody film "Spaceballs" shows an interplanetary ship in the form of the Statue of Liberty, in whose hands there is a "mega-vacuum cleaner" for pumping out the atmosphere from the planets. After a ship crash, debris remains on Earth, located like in the movie "Planet of the Apes."
In the Franco-Italian comedy Superbrain, the Statue of Liberty, stuffed with money, is about to be sent on a ship, but then Arthur (Jean-Paul Belmondo) and Anatole (Bourville) intervene, and a large crowd on the pier watches the dollars rain.
In the movie Judge Dredd, the Statue of Liberty houses a cloning laboratory, where the final battle between Dredd and Ricco takes place.

Other

Michael Jackson is depicted dancing on the Statue of Liberty in the "Black or White" video.
The image of the Statue of Liberty was used in the video Go West by the British pop group Pet Shop Boys. However, in the video, the statue was red, and also a black woman.
The Statue of Liberty is featured in the song "Sad Statue" from the album Mezmerize by the American band System Of A Down. The song uses the Statue of Liberty as a symbol of fading social protest and the fading “generation of dissent” into history.
In the torch statue, installed in Madison Square in New York, the loving characters of Jack Finney's science fiction novel Between Two Times hid on a winter night from the corrupt New York police in the late 1880s.
The disappearance of the Statue of Liberty - David Copperfield's focus, 1983.

Notes

Links

Statue of Liberty(English Statue of Liberty, full name - Liberty Enlightening the World) - 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.

Location

The Statue of Liberty is located in New York, on Liberty Island, which is located three kilometers southwest of the coast of Manhattan. The Statue of Liberty, a gift from the French for the 100th anniversary of the American Revolution, was made in France in 1884 and transported to America in parts. The opening of the statue took place on October 28, 1886, ten years late to the originally intended date.

Description of the object

The Statue of Liberty is a steel frame with a total weight of 125 tons. Gustav Eiffel was invited to design and build the steel structure, and his work was continued by Maurice Koechlin. The frame is constructed in such a way that you can easily move around inside the monument and even climb the spiral staircases to the top. There are 354 steps to the main observation deck located in the crown. From there, 25 windows symbolizing precious stones offer an amazing view of New York Harbor. By the way, the seven rays of the crown symbolize the seven seas and seven continents, as is commonly believed in the West.

On top of the steel skeleton is covered with copper sheets, masterfully hammered in wooden forms, with a thickness of only 2.37 mm and a total weight of 31 tons. Copper plates spliced together form the silhouette of the statue. By the way, copper was supplied to France from Russia. It is worth noting that one leg of the statue stands on broken shackles - this is how Bartholdi symbolically showed the acquisition of freedom. The plaque in the left hand of the Statue of Liberty indicates the date of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776.

The cement base of the Statue of Liberty weighs 27 thousand tons. To get to the top of the pedestal, you need to climb 192 steps. Inside the pedestal there is a museum, which can be reached by elevator.

History of origin

The French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi was commissioned to create the statue. It was intended as a gift for the centennial anniversary 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 Isaac Singer, the creator and entrepreneur in the field of sewing machines.

The Statue of Liberty was originally planned to be installed in Port Said under the name The Light Of Asia, but the then Egyptian government decided that transporting the structure from France and installing it was too expensive.

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, the experienced structural engineer Maurice Koechlin. The copper for the statue was purchased from existing stocks in the warehouses of the Société des métaux company of entrepreneur Eugene Secretan. Its origins have not been documented, but research in 1985 showed that it was mainly mined in Norway on the island of Karmøy.

The legend about copper supplies from Russia was verified by enthusiasts, but was not confirmed. Besides, railways in Ufa and Nizhny Tagil construction was carried out later; Accordingly, the version of ore supplies cannot be taken seriously. It is also noteworthy that the concrete base under the statue is made of German cement. The Dickerhoff company won a tender to supply cement for the construction of the foundation of the Statue of Liberty in New York, which at that time was the largest concrete structure in the world.

The location 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, problems with financing the pedestal, designed by American architect Richard Morris Hunt, had been resolved, and the first stone was laid on August 5.

Construction was completed on April 22, 1886. Two square lintels made of steel beams are built into the massive masonry of the pedestal; 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, completed earlier, had already been exhibited at the World's Fair in Philadelphia in 1876, and then in Madison Square in New York.) The statue was assembled on its new base in four months. The inauguration of the Statue of Liberty, which was attended 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.

The national monument, the Statue of Liberty, officially celebrated its centennial on October 28, 1986.

Operating mode

Visiting hours for Liberty Island and Ellis Island are from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (with extended hours during the summer months)

How to get there

The entrance to Liberty Island Park itself is free, but tourists will have to fork out a little for the ferry. Ferries go to this island, and at the same time to Ellis Island, from two piers - from Battery Park in Manhattan and from Liberty State Park in Jersey City on the other side one of New York Bay. Moreover, upon boarding, passengers undergo a thorough search, similar to what is available at airports around the world.

From France with love

Despite the fact that the Statue of Liberty is an unofficial symbol of the United States, its homeland is France, which is under America laughed at the war with Great Britain. The monument was conceived as a gift frommany freedom-loving peopleto another, but also to anotherThe Ricans contributed to the creation of the masterpiece - the pedestal of the statue was made in the USA.

Loubetter than nObetter than ever

The statue could well have ended up in Egypt instead of New York, because the author of the monument had such plans. It was supposed to be installed as a gig nt lighthouse at the entrance to the Suez Canal in the city of Port Said. Butachieve agreement on this project and failed.

Creative duet

The author of the Statue of Liberty is the architect Frederic Bartholdi. But another famous Frenchman, engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, creator of the Eiffel Tower, also worked on the monument. Bartholdi was responsible for appearance statues, while Eiffel was developing the iron shell and frame.
Travel to New York

In order to transport the statue across the ocean, the sculpture was dismantled into 350 parts and loaded onto the French frigate Isere. The complexity of the operation also lay in the fact that the weight of the statue exceeded 150 tons. Already on American soil, its assembly and installation lasted four months.

Crown, stones and rays

The prototype of Liberty, according to art historians, was the famous French model Isabella Boyer, the widow of Isaac Singer, the founder of a sewing machine manufacturing company. Frederic Bartholdi infuses Lady Liberty with iconic details. Thus, 25 viewing windows located in the crown of the statue symbolize precious stones that are mined in the United States. And the seven rays emanating from the crown are a symbol of the seven seas and seven continents, that is, a sign of the widespread spread of freedom.

Bird's-eye

To climb up observation deck, located inside the crown, visitors will have to climb 192 steps to the top of the pedestal and 356 steps already inside the monument. The reward for your efforts will be a magnificent view of the New York coastline. Overall height statues - from the base to the top of the torch - 93 m.

Kind with healthy

The Statue of Liberty turned out to be an excellent beacon for ships heading to Manhattan past Bedlow's Island, on which the monument stands. Today, the need for a lighthouse has disappeared, but the Statue of Liberty does not stand idle: a historical museum is located inside it.
American dream without borders

Replicas of the Statue of Liberty can be found in many cities around the world. Only in Paris are four smaller replicas of the famous Lady Liberty installed. Tokyo, Las Vegas, Lvov, Uzhgorod, Dnepropetrovsk have their own Freedom.

Time is money

Entrance to the observation deck, as well as visiting the museum located inside the statue, is free. But you will have to pay a small amount to take the ferry to Bedloe Island. You will have to spend not only money, but also time: visitors are carefully searched. Precautions were increased after September 11: for example, the crown of the Statue of Liberty became open to the public only in 2009.

The color of history

The Statue of Liberty often appears in various films. The creators of Titanic also filmed one episode against the backdrop of the famous sculpture - and made a historical mistake. In the film, the statue has a familiar greenish tint. But in 1912, during the events of the film drama, the copper of the monument had not yet oxidized and was of a noble metallic color.

Features of the Statue of Liberty

Features of the Statue of Liberty Today the Statue of Liberty is one of the national symbols of the United States. Rising at the mouth of the Hudson at the entrance to New York Harbor, a woman in graceful, flowing robes carrying a torch personifies the freedom and opportunity of the country. On her head she wears a crown with seven teeth, representing the seven seas and seven continents. At the woman's feet are the torn shackles of tyranny. In the woman's left hand she holds a slab with the date of the American Declaration of Independence inscribed on it - July 4, 1776. The statue was made from thin sheets of copper hammered into wooden molds. The formed sheets were then installed on a steel frame. The height of the Statue (by the way, it was originally called more pathetically - “Freedom, bringing light to the world”) is 46 meters, so, if we also take into account the 47-meter pedestal, the top of the torch is at a height of 93 meters above the ground. The weight of the monument is 205 tons. The length of the right hand, in which the torch is held, is 12.8 meters, with the index finger alone having a length of 2.4 meters, the width of the mouth is 91 centimeters. Spiral staircase inside the statue leads tourists to the top. The statue is usually open to visitors, who usually arrive by ferry. The crown, accessible by stairs, offers expansive views of New York Harbor. In 1972, the Museum of the Settlement of America was opened inside the Statue itself, which can be reached by a special elevator. The entire history of the country is presented here: from the ancestors - the Indians who inhabited the then unknown continent, and right up to the mass migration in the present century. Opinions about the Statue of Liberty are completely contradictory. Nothing like this had been seen in America before the construction of this sculpture. Connoisseurs noted the high technique of execution, the clarity of proportions and the grace of lines. But opponents of those who recognized the Freedom Monument as the eighth wonder of the world noted that the symbol of Freedom in the form of a statue was interpreted too coldly and dispassionately. It is no coincidence that the epithet appeared that Freedom is “blind”, and greatness is transmitted only large sizes. However, evil tongues are not a hindrance to Freedom. All over the world, the Statue is considered a symbol of the United States, embodying the democratic principles of which this country is so proud.

Conclusion

The history of the Statue of Liberty and the island where where she stands -this is a story of change. The statue wouldla placed on grathread pedestal inside Fort Wood, built for the war 1812 , the walls of which are laid out in the shape of a star. The U.S. Lighthouse Service was responsible for maintaining the statue until 1901. After 1901, this mission was assigned 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.

October 28, 1936, at the 50th anniversary of the statue's unveiling, 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.