Liberty Enlightening the World National Park Service |
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.
--Emma Lazarus, 1903
Though we call her “The Statue of Liberty” her real name is “La Liberté éclairant le monde” or “Liberty Enlightening the World.” Designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886, The statue was a gift to the people of the United States from the people of France. This colossal figure, designed in the Neoclassical Style, depicts a robed female bearing a tabula ansata (a tablet evoking the law) inscribed with the date of American independence. In her right arm, she holds aloft a great torch, and at her feet lies a broken chain to symbolize freedom.
Sculptor Bartholdi National Park Service |
The statue is supported by an iron-work armature which acts as a skeleton. Thin sheets of copper were hammered in a repoussé method and affixed to the internal structure. These metal sheets make the “skin” of the figure. This was one of the first instances of “curtain wall” construction where the façade of the structure is not load-bearing, but rather decorative. Two spiral staircases within the internal structure allowed visitors to access the observation deck within her crown.
The amber glass torch National Park Service |
Lady Liberty has proudly stood in the New York harbor during times of war and times of peace. She welcomes people to our country and serves to remind us of our freedom. She represents the American spirit, and, in many ways is the face of the United States.
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