Arrived in 350 Pieces To Become a Statue Again: 11 Interesting Facts on the Statue of Liberty.

Vaishnavi Srivastava

Did you know that the Statue of Liberty was designed after the sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi’s mother? Interesting isn’t it, how this long-standing symbol of freedom and democracy that is regarded as one of the world’s most famous sculptures is based on an actual person we know nothing about. Well, we at Abir Pothi have compiled a list of more such interesting facts on the Statue of Liberty on the day the Statue finally arrived in the U.S. i.e. 17th of June, 1885.

Statue of Liberty History

Before we get to the interesting facts, let’s learn more about the history of this National Monument. As previously mentioned, it was on this day, June 17th, 1885, that the Statue of Liberty arrived in the U.S. That’s right, the sculpture was a gift from France as a symbol to commemorate the American Revolution and one hundred years of friendship between the two nations. It was designed by the French sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi with the assistance of Gustave Eiffel who later on went on to develop the iconic Eiffel Tower. More about the history of the Statue of Liberty is mentioned below as 11 interesting facts:

1. The Statue arrived on the New York Harbour in 350 pieces which occupied 200 individual cases.
2. This gift of friendship between the two states cost the French nation an estimated 250,000 USD back in the day. It is approximately 5.5 million USD in today’s money.

   

3. The Statue was initially built to commemorate 100 years of America’s Declaration of Independence in 1876, however, the formation of the statue took longer than expected.
4. The statue arrived in New York under the presidency of Grover Cleaveland. Dedicating the statue on October 28th, 1886, the president said, “We will not forget that Liberty has here made her home; nor shall her chosen altar be neglected.”

   

5. The Statue of Liberty is estimated to be 450,000 pounds in weight and 305 feet above the ground in height. It was, at the time, the tallest structure in New York City.
6. This one’s a well-known fact, nevertheless, the statue that initially arrived in New York was copper in colour. However, over the years, as chemistry does its magic, the colour of the structure naturally changed to greenish-blue. This is the process of Patination.

   

7. An inscribed plaque is placed on the interior walls of the pedestal of the Statue. The plaque is inscribed with a sonnet by Emma Lazarus titled, “The New Colossus” which is symbolic of America’s vision.
8. .In the year 1984, the statue was included in UNESCO World Heritage List.
9. The monument also went under a multi-million dollar restoration process under the regime of President Ronald Regan it was dedicated again in grand celebrations. It was during this restoration process that the new torch and flame were added to the statue.

   

10. The Statue suffered damages during the attacks in Jersey City known as the Black Tom explosions by the Germans, which is why the torch of the statue has been closed to visitors since 1916.
11. One of the most inspiring factors behind the creation of the Statue of Liberty was to celebrate the liberation of the slaves. In an early model of the statue, Lady Liberty was holding broken shackles in her left arm that was to represent the end of slavery.

Over the years the structure has been the site of various instances in pop culture as well as the political history of the United States of America. Known as the symbol of peace and democracy, the Statue of Liberty stands strong.

References: History, Britannica.

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