1885
Statue of
Liberty Arrives In New York Harbor
On this day in 1885, the dismantled Statue of Liberty, a
gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of America, arrives
in New York
Harbor after being shipped across the Atlantic Ocean in 350 individual pieces
packed in more than 200 cases. The copper and iron statue, which was
reassembled and dedicated the following year in a ceremony presided over by
U.S. President Grover
Cleveland, became known around the world as an enduring symbol of freedom
and democracy.
Intended to commemorate the American Revolution
and a century of friendship between the U.S. and France, the statue was
designed by French sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi (who modeled it after
his own mother), with assistance from engineer Gustave Eiffel, who later
developed the iconic tower in Paris bearing his name. The statue was initially
scheduled to be finished by 1876, the 100th anniversary of America’s Declaration
of Independence; however, fundraising efforts, which included auctions, a
lottery and boxing matches, took longer than anticipated, both in Europe and
the U.S., where the statue’s pedestal was to be financed and constructed. The
statue alone cost the French an estimated $250,000 (more than $5.5 million in
today’s money).
Finally completed in Paris in the summer of 1884, the statue, a
robed female figure with an uplifted arm holding a torch, reached its new home
on Bedloe’s Island in New York Harbor (between New York City and Hudson
County, New Jersey)
on June 17, 1885. After being reassembled, the 450,000-pound statue was
officially dedicated on October 28, 1886, by President Cleveland, who said, “We
will not forget that Liberty has here made her home; nor shall her chosen altar
be neglected.” Standing more than 305 feet from the foundation of its pedestal
to the top of its torch, the statue, dubbed “Liberty Enlightening the World” by
Bartholdi, was taller than any structure in New York City at the time. The
statue was originally copper-colored, but over the years it underwent a natural
color-change process called patination that produced its current greenish-blue
hue.
In 1892, Ellis
Island, located near Bedloe’s Island (which in 1956 was renamed Liberty
Island), opened as America’s chief immigration station, and for the next 62
years Lady Liberty, as the statue is nicknamed, stood watch over the more than
12 million immigrants who sailed into New York Harbor. In 1903, a plaque
inscribed with a sonnet titled “The New Colossus” by American poet Emma
Lazarus, written 20 years earlier for a pedestal fundraiser, was placed on an
interior wall of the pedestal. Lazarus’ now-famous words, which include “Give
me your tired, your poor/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” became
symbolic of America’s vision of itself as a land of opportunity for immigrants.
Some 60 years after President Calvin
Coolidge designated the statue a national monument in 1924, it underwent a
multi-million-dollar restoration (which included a new torch and gold
leaf-covered flame) and was rededicated by President Ronald Reagan
on July 4, 1986, in a lavish celebration. Following the terrorist attacks of
September 11, 2001, the statue was closed; its base, pedestal and observation
deck re-opened in 2004, while its crown re-opened to the public on July 4,
2009. (For safety reasons, the torch has been closed to visitors since 1916,
after an incident called the Black Tom explosions in which munitions-laden
barges and railroad cars on the Jersey City, New Jersey, waterfront were blown
up by German agents, causing damage to the nearby statue.)
Today, the Statue of Liberty is one of America’s most famous
landmarks. Over the years, it has been the site of political rallies and
protests (from suffragettes to anti-war activists), has been featured in
numerous movies and countless photographs, and has received millions of visitors
from around the globe.