What Everyone Should Know About the Statue of Liberty
Amazing what a little dinner talk can result in. In 1865 young French sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi engaged in a little casual conversation at a banquet near Versailles with historian Edouard de Laboulaye. The discussion turned toward the upcoming centennial celebration of the birth of America and the latter suggested that France give America a birthday present. Bartholdi immediately seized on the idea of an enormous statue of a naked lady. Okay, I kid about the naked part, but he was mesmerized by the idea of some sort of immense sculpture. A few years passed, however, and one day Bartholdi sailed into New York and saw a little island on which he envisioned that gift to America.
So He Named It The Statue of Liberty, Right?
Actually, the statue was to be known as “Liberty Enlightening the World.” It was to be 152 feet high and weigh over 250 tons. France said they would handle the cost, which was pretty nice considering it was a gift from them to us. America, however, said they would foot the bill for the lady’s pedestal. Bartholdi needed someone he could trust to oversee this massive operation and he finally landed upon a man named Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel. You might be familiar with him as a result of some kind of tower or something or other he later built in the middle of Paris.
Americans Loved Gifts From France Back Then Just As Much As Now.
In other words, not much. While the French were exuberant about the statue, donating almost half a million dollars, the Americans were not so sure they wanted-or needed-such a lavish gift. Ever heard of the Pulitzer Prize? It is named after Joseph Pulitzer, the esteemed newspaper editor. He was thoroughly disgusted that Americans had no interest in the statue and set about on a crusade to raise money to build the pedestal. In the end, it was mainly through his efforts that over a quarter of a million of dollars were raised to put that landing spot in place.
So The Statue Was Built In Time For The Centennial After All?
Not so fast, chuckles. The centennial came and went and still there was no statue to commemorate 100 years of liberty. The construction of the statue went relatively easy; the real problem was in shipping it to America. The enormous statue had to be loaded into over two-hundred large crates and make a journey via train to ship to America. It wouldn’t be until 1886 that the ceremony officially opening the statue finally took place. At the time Lady Liberty did not yet bear the words about giving America your tired, poor people yearning to breathe free. Those words would not be added until the turn of the century.
The Statue of Liberty Wasn’t Always Green
The statue was made of copper. Not only that, but some of the highest quality copper to be mined in Europe. The green appearance of the lady is due to corrosion. Occasionally you’ll find an old penny that has turned green, right? Same thing. Lady Liberty used to resemble a penny more than an alien.
Renovations and Redos
The Statue of Liberty has undergone several renovations. In 1916, botched attempts to make the torch look better resulted in an increase in corrosion. For two years in the 1980s the statue was surrounding by scaffolding for a major overhaul in time to celebrate the 100th anniversary. In addition, the old torch was replaced during this time.
The Statue as a Movie Character
The Statue of Liberty has appeared in many movies, of course, but most notably as the site of the climax of the Alfred Hitchcock thriller Saboteur and in the forgotten 80s comic book flick Remo Williams, which features scenes involving the statue when it was surrounded by the scaffolding.
