What does the Statue of Liberty mean in America? History and amazing facts about the Statue of Liberty in New York

The observation deck at the crown of the Statue of Liberty in New York opens today.

The Statue of Liberty, full name "Liberty Enlightening the World" is one of the most famous sculptures in the USA and in the world, often called the "symbol of New York and the USA", "a symbol of freedom and democracy ", "Lady Liberty".

The Statue of Liberty is located on Liberty Island, approximately 3 km southwest of the southern tip of Manhattan, one of the boroughs of New York. Until 1956, the island was called Bedloe's Island.

The Statue of Liberty is a gift from the French people to the United States in honor of the centenary of American independence and as a sign of friendship between the two states.

The idea for this symbol came from the French scientist, lawyer and abolitionist Edouard de Laboulaye back in the late 1860s. He proceeded from the fact that America and France were connected by old friendly ties. France provided moral and material support to the American struggle for independence - the French General Lafayette even became a national hero of the United States. The statue was intended as a gift for the centennial anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 1876. With this gift, the French wanted to express their admiration for the great republic on the other side of the Atlantic. The French sculptor Frederic Bartholdi was commissioned to create the statue. His Statue of Liberty was inspired by Delacroix's famous painting "Liberty Leading the People to the Barricades." The internal supporting structure of the tower was made by Gustave Eiffel, the future creator of the Eiffel Tower.

Work on the statue was completed in France in July 1884. The statue was constructed from thin sheets of copper hammered into wooden molds. The formed sheets were then installed on a steel frame.

In June 1885, the statue was delivered to New York Harbor aboard the French frigate Isere. "Lady Liberty" was transported from France to the United States in disassembled form - it was divided into 350 parts, packed in 214 boxes. Assembling the statue on the pedestal took four months.

On September 11, 2001, as a result of the terrorist attack on the World Shopping mall The Statue of Liberty and the island were closed to the public.

The interior of the statue remains closed to the public, but the iron frame created by Gustave Eiffel can be seen through the glass separator.

In May 2009, it was announced that the Crown Observation Deck of the Statue of Liberty would reopen to tourists on July 4, 2009.

At the very beginning, the statue was not green, it turned green due to atmospheric conditions, the main one being acid rain.

The torch we see today is not the historical torch from 1886. It was replaced during the 1984 - 1986 renovation as its restoration was considered inappropriate. The original torch was modified quite extensively in 1916. Today this torch is displayed in a museum located inside the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.

In 1883, American poet Emma Lazarus wrote the sonnet "The New Colossus", dedicated to the Statue of Liberty. 20 years later, in 1903, it was engraved on a bronze plate and attached to the outside of the pedestal. The last lines of the sonnet in the Russian translation sound like this: “...Give me your tired people, All those who long to breathe freely, abandoned in need, From the close shores of the persecuted, the poor and the orphans, So send them, homeless and exhausted, to me. I raise my torch is at the Golden Gate!"

The following coins were minted with the image of the Statue of Liberty: November 11, 1922 - 15 cent coin; June 24, 1954 - 3 cent coin; April 9, 1954 - 8 cent coin and June 11, 1961 - 11 cent coin.

The New York 25-cent coin, minted in 2001, features the Statue of Liberty with the words “Gateway to Freedom.”

The Americans proclaimed the statue a symbol of freedom, which is also a visual embodiment of the country's democracy. The Statue of Liberty itself is located on a separate island of the same name near New York; the date of its construction is considered to be 1886.

Forty-six-meter gift

This statue is one of the seven most tall statues in the world, its height is about 93 meters. She seems to be towering on her island, stretching out her hand holding a torch straight into the sky. If we calculate separately the height of itself and the height of its pedestal, it turns out that the pedestal on which it stands is 47 meters, respectively, the statue itself, a gift from France, is slightly less - about 46 meters.

If you look in detail, you can study the height of the details of the statue. The torch, which is held in the right hand of the monumental Goddess of Liberty, is 8.8 meters long.

Inside the hand of the statue there is a so-called service or working staircase; its height is 12.8 meters. In the first years after the opening of the statue, this staircase was accessible to the general public, and anyone could climb it, but later - in 1916 - it was made available to the public. Currently, a special elevator can take visitors to the statue to its pedestal and to the very top - the crown.

In the opposite hand, the statue holds a tablet on which is written the date on which the US Declaration of Independence was adopted.

Crowned person

Located on the head of the Goddess of Freedom, it has its own original design and symbolism. The crown contains 25 windows that allow you to enjoy stunning views from a height of 93 meters.

Such a building is not only high, but also heavy. The total weight of the structure is estimated to be about 125 tons, and the weight of the copper statue is 31 tons.

The 7 rays located on the crown symbolize the 7 continents into which the earth is divided.

The Statue of Liberty is often compared to another giant statue- Colossus of Rhodes. The height of the Colossus, according to surviving historical data, reached from 36 to 100 meters. Historical chronicles differ in their testimony, and therefore it is not possible to say exactly how many meters there were in the wonder of the world today.

An American poet who praised the Statue of Liberty wrote a work she called “The New Colossus.” Thus, once again emphasizing the majestic height of the building, it was later that her work was engraved on a bronze tablet and attached to the pedestal of the statue, where the Statue of Liberty Museum is now located.

The Statue of Liberty is located on Liberty Island. Liberty Island ), about 3 km southwest of the southern tip of Manhattan, in New Jersey. Before the city, the island was called "Bedloe's Island" (English. Bedloe's Island ), although it was popularly called the “Island of Freedom” since the beginning of the 20th century.

Statue of Liberty (view from the pedestal)

The goddess of freedom holds a torch in her right hand and a tablet in her left. The inscription on the tablet reads “English. JULY IV MDCCLXXVI" (written in Roman numerals for the date "July 4, 1776"), this date is the day of the adoption of the United States Declaration of Independence. “Freedom” stands with one foot on broken shackles.

Visitors walk 356 steps to the crown of the Statue of Liberty or 192 steps to the top of the pedestal. There are 25 windows in the crown, which symbolize earthly precious stones and heavenly rays that illuminate the world. The seven rays on the crown of the statue symbolize the seven seas and seven continents (the Western geographical tradition counts exactly seven continents).

The total weight of copper used to cast the statue is 31 tons, and the total weight of its steel structure is 125 tons. The total weight of the concrete base is 27 thousand tons. The thickness of the copper coating of the statue is 2.57 mm.

The height from the ground to the tip of the torch is 93 meters, including the base and pedestal. The height of the statue itself, from the top of the pedestal to the torch, is 46 meters.

The statue was constructed from thin sheets of copper hammered into wooden molds. The formed sheets were then installed on a steel frame.

The statue is usually open to visitors, usually arriving by ferry. The crown, accessible by stairs, offers expansive views of New York Harbor. The museum, located in the pedestal (and accessible by elevator), houses an exhibition on the history of the statue.

New Colossus

Plate "New Colossus"

Inside the statue's crown

Tokyo

The Statue of Liberty is installed in Tokyo on the island of Odaiba.

Las Vegas

Uzhgorod

The world's smallest Statue of Liberty, authored by sculptor Mikhail Kolodko and architect Alexander Bezik, is located on the parapet in the city of Uzhgorod Pedestrian bridge. The 30-centimeter sculpture, created on the initiative of the head of the tourism department of Uzhgorod National University Fedor Sandor, is cast from bronze in Budapest, weighs 4 kg and is a real working lighthouse on the non-navigable Uzh River, where the humorous Uzhgorod Regatta competitions are held annually. The sculptural woman symbolizes the love of Transcarpathians for everything unique and original.

Dnepropetrovsk

On May 18, 2012 in Dnepropetrovsk, in the Melrose cafe on Heroev Ave., the Statue of Liberty was installed, the height of the sculpture is 2.65 m, the height of the pedestal is 1.35 m, the sculptor is Semenova S.S.

Moscow

Monument to the Soviet Constitution(obelisk and Statue of Liberty) on Sovetskaya (Tverskaya) Square in Moscow. 1918-1919 (not preserved).

In the fall of 1918, a 26-meter triangular obelisk in honor of the Soviet Constitution appeared on Sovetskaya Square. The monument in June 1919 was supplemented with the Statue of Liberty by Nikolai Andreev. Muscovites loved the monument.

The monument was not destined to stand for long. By the end of the 1930s, it was in need of restoration, since it was made hastily, from short-lived, low-quality materials: the obelisk was made of brick and plastered “to resemble granite,” and the statue was cast from concrete. But restoration did not come: shortly before the Great Patriotic War, on April 22, 1941, the dilapidated monument was destroyed. The head of the Statue of Liberty is now kept in the Tretyakov Gallery.

Statue of Liberty in popular culture

In video games

There is a parody of the statue in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV. The parody statue is called the Statue of Happiness. On the upper floors there is a door that you can enter and then climb up a long staircase. There is a beating heart suspended on chains (the heart of the city). If you shoot him, he will bleed. Instead of a torch at the statue there is a cup of coffee
In the Civilization series of games, the Statue of Liberty is one of the wonders of the world.
In the Red Alert video games, the Statue of Liberty is repeatedly destroyed. Destroying her is part of the game and videos.
The Statue of Liberty can also be seen in the video games of the Deus Ex series. In the first part, the statue was destroyed by the conspirators before the start of the game, and the first level of the game takes place on the territory of Liberty Island; in the second part, it is restored in the form of a hologram by Helios-JCDENTON.
In the add-on "Kasumi - The Stolen Memory" for the video game Mass Effect 2, the head of the Statue of Liberty, destroyed by terrorists in 2096, can be found in Donovan Hawk's underground vault.
In the computer game Rise Of Nations: Thrones and Patriots, the Statue of Liberty is one of the wonders of the world.
In the video game World in Conflict, there is a mission in which you have to recapture the Statue of Liberty or else a bomb will be dropped on it.
In the computer game Crysis 2, the Statue of Liberty is destroyed by an alien attack. Its individual fragments - the right hand with a torch and the head - are the decorations of some cards.
In the video game Twisted metal 2 on the New York map, the Statue of Liberty can be shot, causing it to crumble, leaving a woman in a bikini in its place.
In the game Prototype 2, from some skyscrapers in the Yellow Zone you can see an island in the fog along with a statue. However, the character cannot get to the island, because the character jumps out of the water towards the mainland or big island, if it falls into the water, and there are no nearby objects to the island.

To the cinema

“Ghostbusters 2” - in the film, the main characters revive the Statue of Liberty and use it in the fight against Evil.
In Alfred Hitchcock's film "Saboteur", the main character Barry Kane, being in the hand of a statue holding a torch, tries to hold the sleeve of the Nazi spy Fry. In reality, actor Norman Lloyd was filmed in a studio, lying on a special black saddle on a black floor, with the camera moving 12 meters away from him. During editing, the fragment filmed on the Statue of Liberty was superimposed on a black background, and it turned out that the actor was falling down.
“National Treasure: Book of Secrets” - on the Paris Statue of Liberty there is one of the keys that helps the heroes of the film find the treasure.
In the science fiction film “Monstro”, the heroes, running out into the streets to find out what is happening, see the head of the Statue of Liberty rolling through the streets of Manhattan. And the promotional poster for the film shows the statue itself without a head. Only the torch sticks out forlornly above the rubble.
"X-Men" - Magneto installs his miracle machine on the torch of the Statue of Liberty to turn all people into mutants.
In the film “The Day After Tomorrow” by Roland Emmerich, the statue is first covered by a tsunami, and then a sudden cold snap leads to icing of the statue and all of New York.
A giant wave also covers the Statue of Liberty in the movie Deep Impact. Next you can see how the severed head of the statue floats underwater between the skyscrapers of New York.
In the film Planet of the Apes (1968), the main character George Taylor, discovering the half-buried Statue of Liberty on the ocean shore, realizes with despair that he is on planet Earth.
In the movie "Men in Black 2" on the Statue of Liberty there is a memory erasing device designed to cover the entire territory of New York.
In the film “Fast Change”, when the heroes get lost in one of the districts of New York, the main character utters the phrase with despair: “Well, at least see something familiar.” In this case, the camera rises above tall buildings and a panorama of the bay is shown, where the Statue of Liberty stands in the foreground.
In the cartoon "Union of Animals", released in 2010, the Statue of Liberty is shown. Monkeys climb onto her crown.
Roland Emmerich's film Independence Day shows the destruction of the Statue of Liberty after the destruction of New York City. Before this, a splash screen appears where it says: July 3rd.
The television disaster film "Day of Disaster 2" shows how the Statue of Liberty is first covered by a tsunami, then the Statue can be seen being demolished by a hurricane.
The film “Artificial Intelligence” shows what the Statue of Liberty looks like - in dilapidated and flooded New York, only the torch of the statue sticks out above the surface.
A copy of the Statue of Liberty in Tokyo can be seen in the anime Tokyo Magnitude 8.0: they showed birds flying up next to the statue right before the earthquake.
In the documentary series Life After People, you can see what the Statue will look like 300 years after people disappear. Another documentary on the same theme - "Earth: Life Without People" ("Aftermath: Population Zero") - also shows the Statue of Liberty.
Disaster movie "

One of the most famous landmarks of the USA, which is known not only indigenous people countries, but also each of us. The Statue of Liberty is located in New York - a monument that can be especially often seen in films, as well as photographs of American tourists.

Opening of a memorial site accompanied by a cannon salvo, fireworks and the blaring of sirens. The long-awaited event happened back in 1886. Since that time, ships entering the port of New York are greeted by a stone statue of a woman holding the torch of freedom in her hand.

No matter how paradoxical it may sound, but symbol of America was the brainchild of French masters. It was there that the statue appeared to the light for the first time. Having taken it apart piece by piece, it was sent sailing straight through Atlantic Ocean. Already in New York it was assembled and placed on a powerful base, already made by Native Americans. The statue was installed on Bedlow Island, which was later renamed Liberty Island.

The monument was conceived by academician Edouard de Laboulaye in 1865, and the author of the work was Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, a sculptor originally from Alsace. The sculptor chose Bedlow Island for his own reasons, and in general, he imagined the monument not only on it, but also in Port Said (Suez Canal). Bartholdi failed to bring his project “Egypt Bringing Light to Asia” to life, but for America the idea came in handy.

The project was approved in Congress in 1877, even though, according to the plan, the sculpture should have appeared already in 1876, on the day the US Declaration of Independence was signed. However, it was not possible to immediately raise the required amount of money for the construction of the masterpiece; the deadlines were delayed. Lady Liberty reached New York on July 17, 1885. Over the course of four months, the monument was put together. There is one interesting fact associated with the opening of the monument on October 28, 1886. The ceremony was held in the company of only men, and this despite the fact that the statue represents a symbol of freedom. Only a little girl of eight years old and one woman were able to visit the island that day - Lessens' daughter and Bartholdi's wife.

What is the Statue of Liberty? The monument is formed by a steel frame weighing 125 tons. To design and build the structure, Gustav Eiffel was called in to help, who was replaced a little later by Maurice Koechlin. Inside the structure you can move and climb to the very top using a spiral staircase. To get to the observation deck you have to climb 354 steps. This path will seem easy after you look out of one of the 25 windows at the very top and see an incredible panoramic view.

The top of the steel skeleton is covered with copper plates, forming the silhouette of the monument. Copper was supplied for them from Russia. A symbol of freedom is also a broken shackle at one of the statue’s feet.

Initially she was nicknamed "Freedom, bringing light to the world", then renamed to the current one. The height of the sculpture is 46 meters. If you count all the elements of the statue together with the torch, the height will be 93 meters. Weight reaches 205 tons.

The statue received national monument status in 1924, followed by Bedloe Island itself. The monument was restored several times and new lighting was added.

Many people may have a question: “Who was the prototype of the statue?”. There are two versions. According to one of them, it is believed that Bartholdi was inspired by the image of Isabella Bayer (the widow of Isaac Singer). Another claims that the image belongs to his mother Charlotte.

Inside the statue opened a museum in 1972, accessible by elevator. The museum provides information about the history of the country's settlement. There are many conflicting opinions about the symbol of America. Some spoke about the high technique of execution, the clarity and grace of the lines, while others believe that it is impossible to talk about this statue as a symbol of freedom, it is too dispassionate and cold. Only opinions do not prevent residents of the United States, and the whole world in particular, from considering the Statue of Liberty a symbol of the country.

“Liberty Enlightens the World” has been greeting all travelers arriving in New York Harbor for more than a hundred years, and is one of the world’s most famous monuments, a symbol of the United States.

History of the Statue of Liberty

Soon after termination Civil War In the United States, the French scientist and writer Edouard de Laboulaye, who admired the ideas of the American system of statehood, came up with the idea of creating a monument that personified the US gaining independence.

The idea was picked up by another Frenchman, Frederic Bartholdi (architect of the Statue of Liberty), who at that time was working on creating a sculpture of a woman with a torch in her hand. Already in 1870, the French sculptor made the first sketches of the monument, with which he sent to the USA for approval of the project. The project finds approval from the American side (including from Ulysses Grant, who was then President of the United States), and representatives of the two powers (France and the United States) decide to begin construction of a monument called “Freedom Enlightening the World.”

With mutual consent of the parties, it is decided that the monument will be a gift to the United States from France on the centenary of the Declaration of Independence of the United States - July 4, 1876. According to the agreement between the countries, the sculpture itself was to be designed by the French side, and the American side would work on the creation of the pedestal.

However, the construction of the monument lasted for 10 long years...

Hand with a torch

After starting work on the project, it becomes clear that there is a catastrophic lack of money to create the monument. On both sides of the ocean, the initiators of the project begin collecting funds for construction, and various charity events are organized.

In August 1876, Bartholdi was forced to bring part of the sculpture (a hand with a torch) to the USA, where the fragment was installed at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, and then in Madison Square. Visitors are charged a fee to visit the Torch Hand, but the proceeds are still not enough to complete the construction.

The US Congress refuses to allocate funds for the construction of the monument, citing the plight of American finances and the untimeliness of erecting an “allegorical” monument, while the country needs monuments to the heroes of the Civil War.

Young journalist Joseph Pulitzer comes to the rescue, launching a large-scale campaign in the press to raise funds for the monument. The journalist calls on Americans to unite, fiercely criticizes those who are indifferent, and promises to write about everyone who makes even a small donation. The campaign was a success and after a few months the required amount was collected.

The fragment returns to France, where Bartholdi begins to work hard on the project: by 1878, the sculptor had already completed the head of the sculpture, and in 1879, Gustave Eiffel was involved in the creation of the monument. It was this talented engineer who designed the steel frame of the statue and the spiral staircases leading to the crown. Bartholdi and his assistants produced 350 cladding parts that were supposed to fit onto the frame. The parts were made of copper, which is easy to cut and bend, which made it possible to “fit” the parts directly during the process of assembling the structure.

The figure of Liberty was hung by the French in 1884, after which the structure was dismantled, and all parts of the sculpture were transported by ship in June 1885 to the United States.
The American side also did not waste time: the pedestal of the statue, designed by Richard Hunt, began to be erected in 1883. With the consent of Congress and taking into account the wishes of Bartholdi, Fort Wood, which had the shape of an eleven-pointed star, and was located on Bedloe Island in the harbor, was chosen as the site for the installation of the statue.

In April 1986, the pedestal was completed and assembly of the complete monument structure began. Finally, on October 26, 1886, the inauguration of the Statue of Liberty took place: President Cleveland, after the parade, went to Bedloe Island, where, amid general rejoicing, he tore down the French flag covering the statue and proclaimed that “Liberty itself has chosen this place as its home!”

general description

Three kilometers from busy Manhattan, in the bay, the majestic Statue of Liberty greets all guests, travelers and citizens.

The monumental monument, 93 meters high, consists of the female figure itself (46 meters) and a concrete pedestal (47 meters). The female figure holds a torch in her right hand, and in her left hand she clutches a tablet on which the date of Independence Day of the United States is carved in Latin letters.

At the foot of the monument lies a broken chain, symbolizing the cast off of the shackles of slavery and the victory of democracy. The crown has windows symbolizing the rays of the sun and the precious stones of the earth. To get to the windows you need to climb 354 steps, and if you climb just to the top of the pedestal - 194 steps. There is an elevator inside the pedestal.

The total weight is over 200 tons (including the cement base, copper coating and steel frame), and the length of the Statue of Liberty is 93 meters (including the pedestal).

At the bottom of the pedestal there is a bronze plate with poems by Emma Lazarus, which appeared here in 1903. The poetess's words were written after a wave of pogroms that swept across Europe in the late 1880s, after which crowds of immigrants poured to the shores of America in the hope of finding a new homeland. The poems convey the idea of the Statue of Liberty - the willingness to take under one’s roof all the outcasts and the disadvantaged, and the promise to give them freedom and equality on this shore.

The visit to Liberty Island and the Statue itself is free, but you can only get to it by water - on ferries and boats, where you will have to pay a certain amount for the trip. You can get to the Statue itself freely, but the number of visitors is strictly fixed. If you do not book a ticket in advance, your visit will be limited to a walk around the pedestal and a climb to the top. observation deck, where you can view the Statue from the inside through a special glass ceiling.

The Statue of Liberty is open to the public all year round, but it is better to take an excursion in the warm season - in winter, a boat trip will bring very dubious extreme pleasures due to the cold northern winds typical for this time of year.

Interesting Facts

The history of the Statue of Liberty is integral to the history of the United States itself, so it is accompanied by a lot of amazing and entertaining facts:

The personification of the friendship of two peoples: French and American, which formed the basis for the creation of the monument, was happily forgotten over time. Now the Statue of Liberty is presented in the world exclusively as the main symbol of the United States, personifying the victory of democracy and the independence of the country.
The seven rays emanating from the crown are the seven seas and continents of light, from which travelers sail to America, hoping to find refuge and a new homeland. This is a symbol of hope for all the persecuted, disadvantaged, a haven for sailors and refugees from all countries of the world.
Initially, Bartholdi worked on creating a female figure with a torch in her hand to install it at the entrance to the Suez Canal - this project was never realized, but served as a prototype for another monument. The Statue of Liberty combines two images - the goddess of freedom ancient Rome Libertas and the symbol of Colombia.
The characteristic green color of the statue is given by sheets of cladding made of copper. Initially, projects were proposed to clean the surface, but then they decided not to touch the skin that protects the statue from further destructive corrosion.
Initially, the Statue of Liberty was supposed to be used as a lighthouse, but the lamps built into the structure were not very powerful. Not finding practical application The statue was given to the United States War Department by the government's lighthouse department in 1901. Already in 1933, the monument was transferred to the Department of the Service national parks USA.
Bedlow Island, previously considered a slum area, significantly changed its status with the establishment of the monument, and in 1956 it was renamed Liberty Island, and 10 years later it was included in the National Register historical places U.S.A.
For the 100th anniversary of the creation of the monument, a thorough reconstruction of the monument was carried out (sea spray and cold winds thoroughly spoiled the appearance of the Statue), initiated by President Reagan. This time, funds for reconstruction among American citizens were collected in as soon as possible, and more than covered the two million dollars spent on repairs.
Access to visitors has been closed several times since the installation of the Statue: from 1982 to 1986 (reconstruction), from September 2001 to the end of 2004 (due to the threat of terrorist attacks), and in October 2013 (during the government shutdown ).
After the successful Normandy operation, the lights of the lighthouse on the statue broadcast the news of victory to the whole world in Morse code.

UNESCO included in the list World Heritage American statue in 1984, describing it as a symbol of peace, glorifying the power of the human spirit, the abolition of slavery, the victory of democracy and human rights.

The erected Statue of Liberty became at the beginning of the twentieth century the personification of independence, prosperity, free life for the many travelers who crossed the Atlantic in search of better life.