Answers About the Statue of Liberty, Part 2

Taking Questions
Ask About the Statue of Liberty

75 ThumbnailBarry Moreno, a librarian and historian at the Statue of Liberty National Monument and the Ellis Island Immigration Museum, is responding to readers’ questions.

Following is the second and final set of answers from Barry Moreno, the New York historian and author of “The Statue of Liberty Encyclopedia” (Simon and Schuster, 2000).

We are no longer accepting questions for this feature.

Question:

Can you tell us more about the corresponding Revolutionary War memorial statue in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn? There is an Athena statue that is made to mimic the Statue of Liberty (with a trick of perspective where they appear to be holding out their hands to each other). Was this made at the same time as the original statue?

— Posted by Elizabeth

Answer:

All I know about the Green-Wood Cemetery statue is that it’s a bronze statue of the Roman goddess Minerva (the Greeks called her Athena) and she was installed there in 1920, many years after the Statue of Liberty went up. She is said to be waving at the Miss Liberty.

Question:

As a fifth-generation Brooklyn, New Yorker going back to 1848 and now living in San Francisco, my question is: Why does the Statue of Liberty face toward Brooklyn?

— Posted by Captain Democracy

Answer:

Well, she is actually facing the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, which is the entrance to the harbor for ships coming from Europe and other parts of the globe. Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, Liberty’s French sculptor, wanted the statue to be seen by all arriving vessels. Also, the statue was originally a lighthouse, so the torch light had to face the entrance.

Question:

One very simple question: What was the main reason to build the Statue of Liberty?

— Posted by Luuk Esser

Answer:

It’s a symbol of American democracy, a celebration American independence and as a symbol of friendship and amity between France and the United States.

Question:

Did the gift of the statue have anything to do with slavery?

— Posted by Dimitrious Gartrell

Answer:

Not directly. However at her dedication in 1886, the French consul did note that it was fitting that the goddess of liberty should be built after the freeing of America’s four million African slaves.

Question:

Where is the model for the Statue of Liberty housed?

— Posted by David Bergenfeld

Answer:

At the Bartholdi Museum in Colmar, France.

Question:

Are there any plans to strengthen the arm so that people can go to the torch?

— Posted by David Bergenfeld

Answer:

No, the arm and torch will remain closed.

Question:

Was the Black Tom explosion in New Jersey just an excuse to close the torch? I read there was no damage to the statue from the explosion was found during the restoration.

— Posted by Steve Smith

Answer:

The Black Tom explosion certainly was the deciding factor to close it. However, it is fair to say that the arm and torch were never easy for visitors, especially as the ladder inside it is rather awkward to climb. (I’ve climbed it myself.)

Question:

There are so many differences in the number of steps published. Would you please clarify: a) How many steps are there from ground level to the base of the statue? and b) How many steps are there from the base of the statue to the crown (in other words, the spiral staircase)? For comparison purposes, walking from the ground up to the crown would be like ascending to which floor of a typical Manhattan office building?

— Posted by Robert Roth

Answer:

There is a grand total of 354 steps from the base through the pedestal to the crown. One hundred ninety-two steps take you from the base to the top of the pedestal, and then there are 162 steps inside the statue.

Question:

My guidebooks here in Cairo say the original design was intended for Alexandria on the north coast of Egypt. The financing for construction disappeared, and France was left with a design and no place to build it. New York was the beneficiary of this “re-gift”! Can you confirm or add more to this story?

— Posted by Lagodue

Answer:

Well, that’s not exactly true — though it is close. Actually, the statue/lighthouse intended for Egypt was a different figure. It was to be a veiled Egyptian peasant woman (fellaha) holding a lantern. Its name was to be Egypt Carrying Light to Asia. But after considering Bartholdi’s offer, the Egyptian khedive declined to commission it.

Question:

Some time ago, I read a profile in The Times of a man who, with his brother, had grown up on the island. It was a wonderful piece, with one glaring exception: among the things the boys did to break the rules was drop a tennis ball from the crown to see how high it would bounce … And the article left it at that.
Since then, I have been plagued by what the article omitted: How high DID it bounce? Please help.

— Posted by Dying to know

Answer:

It probably fell down to the top of Fort Wood, maybe 250 feet below.

Question:

Can you tell us more about the original design of the Statue of Liberty and why it was declined by America? Are there photographs or sketches of the original design? If so, would you post one/a few?

— Posted by Umi

Answer:

The original design of the goddess of liberty was accepted; the Americans never questioned the design that the French offered.

Question:

The statue was assembled in the 17th arrondissement of Paris about three blocks from where we lived in 2007-2008 and close to Parc de Monceau. I have an old photograph of it standing on that site (without the base, of course), but the site is now an apartment building with a commemorative plaque on it marking the spot. Question: I presume that it was disassembled in order to be shipped to the United States in pieces, right? They couldn’t possibly have transported it intact.

— Posted by John Mihalec

Answer:

That’s correct. It was carefully taken apart, numbered, stowed away in more than 200 cases, sent to the wharves of Rouen, loaded on board the French Navy’s frigate Isere. And shipped to New York. A remarkable achievement.

Question:

Was the torch ever open for visitors? I thought it was open briefly after the arm was fixed about 15 years ago.

— Posted by Cat’s Brother

Answer:

It was open to visitors from 1886 to 1916; it has never been opened to public visitation since then.

Question:

I have loved and been fascinated with Liberty since the first time I saw her when I was 7 years old. I cannot find photos of what she looked like before she tarnished, or turned green. The only pictures I have seen of her in the copper state look like drawings. I know from that time in 1886, they didn’t have the technology with pictures that we do today, but are there any pictures of her when she was still of a copper color?

— Posted by Michele Middleton

Answer:

Yes, but the pictures are all black and white.

Question:

Was the statue meant to be a representation of the poetic goddess Columbia, the symbol of the United States that was popular in the years following independence?

— Posted by James Rudolph

Answer:

No, Columbia is a uniquely American symbol and predates the Statue of Liberty. Now Bartholdi’s statue of the goddess of liberty, on the other hand, is really a French national symbol, taken from the Great Seal of France (1848).

Question:

Is it true that the seven spikes over her are not her crown but her halo?

— Posted by Eli

Answer:

Yes!

Question:

Has the statue ever been damaged by lightning? How do they avoid lightning strikes since it is the tallest structure in its area? Also, any opinion as to why they used sheet copper and not sheet bronze, which is a mixture of copper and tin? I believe that bronze is much harder than copper, but maybe that makes it harder to pound into a shape.

— Posted by Randolph Herr

Answer:

I daresay it has been struck by lightning after all these years. But apparently it has done no damage (after all, she is a goddess). And you are very right indeed about the malleability of copper compared with bronze. It was simply easier for the artisans to hammer into shape when they were building the statue.

Question:

Twice you’ve stated that the torch is closed to the public but haven’t provided a reason. Is it a structural reason? Safety? Both? Other? Also, when is the best time to visit the statue? To a native, the crowds at Battery Park and the boats that looked filled beyond capacity always look daunting.

— Posted by William UWS

Answer:

Yes, public safety and structural reasons have been the deciding factors in closing it off all these years. The best time to visit is in winter and early spring.

Question:

Where did the copper come from to make the statue? Is there definitive proof to your answer?

— Posted by Jeff Belkin

Answer:

No, there is no conclusive answer for the copper’s origin, as yet. Tests have indicated that the old Visgnes copper mine in Norway might have been one source.

Question:

When we lived in New York City, we didn’t visit the statue because we assumed we’d always have the chance. Then we moved away without having paid a visit. Do you have any idea what percentage of New Yorkers have also not paid a visit, compared with the number of visitors who wouldn’t miss it? I’ll bet the number is higher than we think.

— Posted by Larry Pray

Answer:

Sorry, I’ve never seen any statistics on it.

Question:

I have been to the “sister” statue in Paris and got some truly wonderful pictures. How many “sister” Liberties exist?

— Posted by Karen

Answer:

There were more than a dozen built in France, and there are hundreds in the United States.

Question:

I’m taking my kids up to the newly reopened crown in mid-July. They are worried about how hot it will be and how many steps there are. Will there just be a huge crowd of people jostling to get to the top? How many people can be in the crown at the same time? How big is that space?

— Posted by Tailor Made

Answer:

I’m afraid the crowds will be daunting and the climb will hot and strenuous: there are 354 steps going up and 354 going down! Only 10 people plus a park ranger can be there at any one time. The space is large of enough for that number — but keep in mind that the head clearance is 6 feet 2 inches.

Question:

The statue is a gift from France, as we know. But the dress she is wearing is Norwegian copper. I was not aware of that until I visited the (now abandoned) quarry near Haugesund, Norway. Do you have some more info on this?

— Posted by Trond Woxen

Answer:

Regrettably, the source of the copper is still not conclusively documented. But it is thought that the Vigsnes mine in Norway could have been one of the sources. We are hopeful that future research in France or elsewhere in Europe will give us the answer.

Question:

I visited the statue on an eighth-grade class trip from Ashburnham, Mass., in the spring of 1953 and remember being able to look up the arm to the torch but believe access was “temporarily” denied because of a maintenance issue thought to be temporary. I would be interested in knowing the history of this particular aspect of the Lady; i.e., when was the torch/arm closed to the public for good.

— Posted by Jeffrey Mitchell

Answer:

It was opened to the public from November 1886 through July 1916, when the Black Tom wharf was detonated by saboteurs, causing a series of tremendous explosions. Shrapnel struck the statue’s arm, causing some bolts to pop out. This resulted in the closing of the arm for structural and safety reasons.

Question:

How many people were able to be in the torch at once? Were they standing on the outside on the ring around the flame or how do I have to imagine it?

— Posted by Barbara

Answer:

Years ago as many as 15 or so people used to crowd inside the crown; when we reopen on July 4, only 10 at a time will be permitted inside. As explained above, no one is allowed to go to the torch and flame.

Comments are no longer being accepted.

A trip to the Statue of Liberty would not be complete unless you visited Wall Street too. See the famous “Wall Street Bull,” this 7,000 pound bronze statue inspired by Black Monday (October 19, 1987), was created by New York City artist Arturo Di Modica in 1989. And don’t forget to visit La Maison du Chocolate for out of this world imported French truffles at 63 Wall Street, between Pearl and William.
//walkingtoursmanhattan.com

Thank the ADA of 1990 for preventing the able-bodied from going up to the torch. Since many/most visitors who can’t scale ladders safely are prevented from climbing up to the torch (as Mr. Moreno has), no one is allowed to.

how do the change the lights in the torch in the Statue of Liberty