Statue of Liberty

Background

The Statue of Liberty was actually a gift to USA from France. France announced in 1875 that it was going to build this statue. So work on the statue began in 1875 and it was completed in pieces. First, the torch and the hand holding the torch were built. These were sent to USA where they were displayed at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876.

Next, the head of the statue was built and completed by 1878. It took the next few years to build and complete the rest of the statue. By 1885, the Statue of Liberty had been completely built. So France sent all the pieces of the statue to USA the same year. Once in USA, work on the assembling together of the statue began in April, 1886. By October 28, 1886, the whole statue had been assembled and completed.

Statue-of-Liberty-New-York

The Symbolism of Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty represents the Roman goddess, Libertas. She is seen as holding a torch which is a symbol of enlightenment. In her other hand, she holds a tablet which represents law. The statue also has broken chains at her feet which symbolized the end of all tyranny. The crown on the head of the statue has seven rays. These represent the seven continents of the world and the seven seas, symbolizing that the liberty is meant for the whole world.

Height of the Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty is about 151 feet tall. She is placed on top of a special pedestal to raise her to a prominent height. This pedestal and its foundation, altogether, are about 155 feet high. So altogether, the head of the Statue of Liberty is at a height of 305 feet from the ground.

Famous People who worked on Statue of Liberty

Edouard de Laboulaye was the first person to come up with the idea of the Statue of Liberty. He was an anti-slavery activist in France who thought of the statue as a way of symbolizing freedom and liberty. He shared his idea with Frederic Bartholdi, a French sculptor.

Bartholdi liked the idea and started working on it. Not only did Bartholdi design and create the whole statue, he also picked the appropriate site for the statue at the New York Harbor.

Once the statue was complete, it was shipped to USA. Here, the civil engineer Gustav Eiffel came up with an innovative to erect the state at New York Harbour. Thanks to his method, the statue stands stable to this day.

Interesting Facts about the Statue of Liberty

• The head of the Statue of Liberty is around 17 feet tall
• The nose of the statue is 4.5 feet long while her index finger is 8 feet long
• You can climb the statue to reach all the way to the crown of the statue. To do so, you will need to climb 354 steps
• The total weight of the statue is around 225 tons

Learn More about the Statue of Liberty at Wikipedia

Learn about Liberty Island the Site of the Statue of Liberty

Famous American Buildings List

The Story of the Statue of Liberty (Rise and Shine) Paperback – May 26, 1989