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Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a high-rise monument that was carved in the city of Paris by the French sculptor Frédéric Bartholdi with the help of engineer Gustave Eiffel, who supervised the construction of the iron structure, and this statue settled in the land of the United States after France presented it as a gift on the occasion of the centenary of America's independence, and it was opened to visitors and tourists in 1886, The design of the statue shows the form of a woman holding a torch in her right hand, and in her other hand a painting bearing the date of the Fourth of July 1776, the date of the declaration of independence of the United States.
Statue of Liberty Location
The famous Statue of Liberty is located in the United States of America on New York City Bay, specifically on Liberty Island located at the entrance to the bay, Opposite the southern tip of Manhattan Island, within the territorial jurisdiction of the state of New York, although the Statue of Liberty is located in the waters of New Jersey, and it is worth noting that Liberty Island has an area of only 0.05 km².
History of the Statue of Liberty
Creation of the Statue of Liberty
The idea of establishing the Statue of Liberty monument appeared for the first time in 1865, by the Frenchman Edward de La Pollay, where he proposed that a monument be created to be presented to the United States of America, and indeed the sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi was commissioned to develop a design for the statue to be completed in 1876 AD coinciding with the centenary of the Declaration of American Independence, The 27-meter-high stone base of the statue, which contains a bronze plaque inscribed with a poem by the American poet Emma Lazarus, was funded by the United States, and the structure of the statue was funded by the French side.
Both France and the United States sought to address the physical challenges of construction by raising funds from art events, auctions, donations, public fees, and realizing a crowdfunding campaign in the United States, where the names of the donors were published in a newspaper to encourage the public to fund the project, and the statue was shipped from France to the United States across the Atlantic in 350 individual pieces.[
History of Liberty Island
The construction of the base of the Statue of Liberty made of granite and star-shaped within the walls of the "Fort Wood" was completed in 1812 AD, to be placed on the structure of the statue, and the responsibility for the Statue of Liberty was entrusted to the United States Lighthouse Board from its opening until 1901 AD, and the actual announcement that the Statue of Liberty and the "Fort Wood" represent a national monument was achieved on the fifteenth of October 1924 AD.
The responsibility for managing the statue was transferred to the Department of National Parks after 1933, and the scope of Bedloe's Island was modified on the seventh of September 1937, which was renamed Liberty Island, and on the eleventh of May 1965 Ellis Island was annexed to become part of the National Statue of Liberty Monument, in addition to becoming under the management of the National Park Service, like Liberty Island.
Restoration of the Statue of Liberty
The need for maintenance and restoration work for the Statue of Liberty arose, so the President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, commissioned the Chairman of the Board of Directors of a company, Mr. Lee Iacocca, to manage the private fundraising and donations for the restoration of the statue, and the partnership between the National Park Service and the Statue of Liberty Island-Ellis Foundation was achieved, and this partnership between the private and public sectors resulted in a total of about $ 87 million, and restoration work began in 1984.
The committee supervising the restoration of the statue was formed from French and American civil engineers and architects, where they set up the scaffolding, and the workers began to repair the holes in the structure, and remove the old paint layers on the internal iron structure, and the iron reinforcing bars were replaced with other stainless steel bars, in addition to replacing the damaged upper part of the torch with another part that is identical to the old part, and the restoration work continued until the statue was reopened to the public on the fifth of July 1986.
The Statue of Liberty and its Egyptian origins
The French designer and sculptor Bartholdi - who designed the famous Statue of Liberty - met with the Egyptian Khedive in 1867, and suggested that a distinctive monument be built at the entrance to the Suez Canal, and indeed the sculptor Bartholdi returned after two years to Egypt with a design for a huge statue in the form of a woman, but a set of reasons prevented the implementation of the project in Egypt, so Bartholdi presented his design to the United States of America in 1871, and the project was implemented on the ground later, where it was revealed to everyone In 1886.
Statue of Liberty Design
Statue of Liberty Temple
There are approximately 250,000 pounds of iron in the structure of the Statue of Liberty, and there is a reinforced iron frame behind the exoskeleton with a similar design consisting of about 1300 iron bars about 1.6 cm thick, 5.1 cm wide, and a weight of about 9.07 kg, in addition to approximately 80 tons of copper sheets with a thickness of 0.61 cm in the form of 300 pieces, and the plates were connected to each other through the hammering process.
The structure of the statue from the inside includes a double spiral staircase that reaches the top of the structure, which is based on four bases connected by nine horizontal supports and inclined cross arches, and the copper shell of the structure is connected with the rebar using 1500 copper connections in the shape of the letter "U", and the engineers have isolated the areas of the intersection of copper with iron with a layer of asbestos to prevent corrosion of the two metals, taking into account the possibility of free movement of separated metals to suit various weather conditions, such as temperature changes.
Dimensions of the Statue of Liberty
The total mass of the Statue of Liberty is 225 tons, and the waist circumference of the statue structure reaches 10.67 m, and its total height from the lower base to the upper end of the torch is 93 m and 15 cm, and the height between the heel of the woman's figure to the top of her head is 33.83 m and 15 cm.
The height between the top of the base and the upper end of the torch is 46.05 m, the distance between the ground and the base of the statue is 46.94 m, the length of the palm of the woman's hand is 5 m, the length of the right arm is 12.80 m, the width is 3.66 m, the length of the index finger is 2.44 m, the distance between the bottom of the chin and the top of the skull is 5.26 m, the width of the head is 3.05 m, the eye of the statue is 0.76 m wide, the nose length is 1.37 m, the width of the mouth is 0.91 m, and the length of the painting held by the woman is 7.19 m, and its width is 4.14 m, while It is 0.61 m thick.
Color of the Statue of Liberty
The famous Statue of Liberty appears in bluish green currently, but it appeared in bright brown like the color of the penny coin when it was first opened in 1886 AD, and it remained so until it turned green in 1906 AD, and the reason for the change in the color of the statue is due to the presence of hundreds of copper chips that cover the outer surface of its structure, and over time these copper chips interacted with the air, and this reaction resulted in the formation of a chemical layer called the patina, where this layer contributes to protecting the metal structure of the Statue of Liberty from corrosion factors and damage resulting from weather conditions, so bronze, ordinary copper, and brass figures are durable, hard, and resistant to various external influences.
The symbolic value of the Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty has great symbolic value, as it was presented by France to America as an expression of the strength of the historical alliance between the two countries, and it symbolizes the migration of people from different parts of the world to the United States, in addition to its indication of freedom, peace, human rights, the fight against slavery, and the affirmation of democracy.
Where the torch in the Statue of Liberty indicates that freedom can only be achieved with the presence of light and light, seeing freedom and knowing that it exists is only a way towards achieving it, and the crown can be seen above the woman's head in the Statue of Liberty, which is a crown consisting of seven pointed heads, and this is a reference to the seven seas around the world, and the seven continents that make up the globe, and this means that freedom A universal idea that should be found all over the world, and this crown or corona also indicates the sun's rays, and contains a reference to the statue of Rhodes, who was considered the sun god during ancient times.
The Book of Laws that women hold in her hand, on which the date of the fourth of July 1776 AD appears, indicates that regulations and laws contribute to the protection of freedom, as it evokes the biblical story of Moses, which carries the ten commandments of God written on a tablet from Mount Sinai, As for the robe worn by the woman in the statue, it refers to the Roman goddess of freedom, and it indicates a reference to the ideals of the ancient era; it resembles the robe worn in Rome and ancient Greece, in addition to that a broken shackle appears at the feet of the statue of liberty, and it indicates the liberation of the United States of America from the political oppression of the continent of Europe.
Climbing the Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is very popular with visitors to New York City, and visitors can do a wonderful experience by climbing to the huge crown above the head of the statue, where they can buy tickets for that and book them before arriving on the island, Upon reaching the statue, you can enter from the base on which the Statue of Liberty rests, and climb 377 steps through a narrow double spiral staircase with a width of up to 46 cm to reach the top of the crown at the top, including 146 degrees from the top of the pedestal to the crown, which contains a row of windows that are opened and closed at specific times, which allows visitors to see the book that the woman holds and her hair as well, in addition to watching the picturesque landscapes of the city skyline, Brooklyn areas, and lower Manhattan, Staten Island, Verrazano Bridge, and other landmarks and areas of New York City.
Statue of Liberty Museum
The Statue of Liberty Museum was opened for the first time on the eleventh of September 2001, and the museum includes pieces and archaeological collections that express the history of the famous statue, and visitors and tourists can enter the museum without the need for restrictive security permits, or additional reservations and tickets, and this museum consists of three main exhibitions: "Immersive Theater", "Engagement Gallery", and "Inspiration Gallery", and each of these exhibitions includes interactive ways that will educate visitors and inspire them with a statue The Statue of Liberty Museum is visited annually by approximately 4.3 million visitors.
Statue of Liberty Museum
The Statue of Liberty Museum was opened for the first time on the eleventh of September 2001, and the museum includes pieces and archaeological collections that express the history of the famous statue, and visitors and tourists can enter the museum without the need for restrictive security permits, or additional reservations and tickets, and this museum consists of three main exhibitions: "Immersive Theater", "Engagement Gallery", and "Inspiration Gallery", and each of these exhibitions includes interactive ways that will educate visitors and inspire them with a statue The Statue of Liberty Museum is visited annually by approximately 4.3 million visitors.
Statue of Liberty replicas around the world
Since it was built in New York City, the Statue of Liberty has impressed many around the world, as many have tried to build a statue similar to it, and similar statues include the following:
- Statue of Liberty in Oedipa: This statue is located in Oedipa on Tokyo Bay in Japan, it resembles the original statue and is surrounded by stunning views from every direction, and it was created in 1998 with a length of 11.89 m, indicating the strength of relations between France and Japan.
- Statue of Liberty in Bordeaux: The French city of Bordeaux includes a statue similar to the original Statue of Liberty, which was created in 1888 by the sculptor Bartholdi, but this statue has been subjected to many damages and fires throughout its long history.
- Statue of Liberty in Viznis: The small Norwegian village of Viznis has a statue of liberty similar to that in New York but smaller, and this statue is one of the most prominent landmarks in the Norwegian village.
- Statue of Liberty in Lviv: There is the city of Lviv in Ukraine, and it includes a statue of liberty with a distinctive design, where the woman appears sitting with two men on her sides, and this statue is located in the State Museum of Ethnography, and was designed by the Polish sculptor Leandro Marconi.
- Statue of Liberty by Salvador Dali: This magnificent statue is located in the French Vasquel, designed by the artist Salvador Dali in 1972, and differs in its design from the original statue by the woman raising two torches in both hands.
- Original Statue of Liberty model: Paris has a replica of the Statue of Liberty in New York, housed in the Musée des Arts et Métiers, designed by sculptor Frédéric Bartholdi.
- Statue of Liberty in Rio de Janeiro: The Banjo neighborhood in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro includes the Statue of Liberty, which was created in 1899 to celebrate the anniversary of the country's independence.
- Composite Statue of Liberty: This statue is located in the Danish city of Billund, and is similar in design to the installation game (English: Lego), and it represented one of the prominent landmarks in the city.
- Statue of Liberty in Araba: This statue is located in the city of Araba in Palestine, and its length is 4.57 m, and it is considered one of the prominent tourist attractions in the city.
- Tomb of the 72 martyrs: This landmark is located in the Chinese city of Guangzhou, and includes 72 graves of people who died during the revolution in the early twentieth century, and a statue of liberty was erected in that place as an expression of the struggle for freedom.