10 Secrets of Statue of Liberty.

One of the Greatest Wonders of the world is the great statue of liberty. Today, we will discuss the 10 Secrets of the Statue of Liberty.  

10 Secrets of Statue of Liberty.

10. Assembly Required.

The Statue of Liberty first arrived from France to New York Harbor via steamship in 1885. Considering the jaw-dropping sheer size of the Statue it wasn't exactly fit to travel by ship and so it arrived split and divided up into a collection of crates. As the parts of the great statue arrived Americans gathered in droves at the port with 200,000 people in attendance to welcome

the great new beacon of freedom. But it wasn't until 1886 after Lady Liberty was fully constructed that President Grover Cleveland presided over a massive dedication ceremony over land and sea setting the precedent for the first ticker tape parade in the process.

10 Secrets of Statue of Liberty.

9. Bedloe's Island.

Long before the Statue of Liberty reached its shores the small bit of land it now occupies was known as Great Easter Island. The nearby tidal flats of the region were home to massive oyster beds that served as a main food source of the region for almost three centuries. The island was eventually gifted by an English governor in 1664 to a British captain who then went on to sell it to one Isaac bedlam. It was henceforth known as Bedloe's Island and served a variety of uses over the next century as private property. The island would continue to change hands over the years, sometimes operating as a farm or hunting grounds and even being utilized as a smallpox quarantine station. But during the American Revolution, British forces attempt to use the island to house Tory sympathizers but after the dust settled in 1776, the island structures were burned down. In their stead the US Army erected fort wood which would go on to

serve as the base of the Statue of

Liberty. The name of the landmass would eventually be changed to Liberty Island by Congress in 1956.

8. Impressive Skeleton.

While the Statue of Liberty astounds visitors daily with its great green majestic exterior, the true marvel of this American landmark is its stabilizing interior. Composed of iron, this multi-level skeleton supports the statue at its center. when they were built these pillars formed the greatest freestanding iron structure on earth. But this title would eventually be passed on to the taller and equally regal Eiffel Tower a spiritual sibling to the Statue of Liberty thanks to their shared designer Gustave Eiffel. This sturdy foundation kept the statue upright for decades until in 1980 Lady Liberty received a major renovation.

Slowly, but surely the workers fixing up the statue replaced each piece of the puddled iron skeleton in one to two foot long segments. Along with stabilizing the interior the renovations also included new lighting easier interior access and the installments of a modern elevator.

7. Unwanted Gift. 

Many believe the Statue of Liberty arrived stateside as a gift from France in support of democracy, liberty and independence. But this myth is far from the truth with a concept construction and execution being driven by a single individual Augusta Bartoli sculptor extraordinaire. The famed French

artist is responsible for a number of

popular works and monuments across the country, but the Liberty enlightening the world or Statue of Liberty as it came to be known is by far his crowning achievement. He funded its design himself raising money any way he could going so

far as to convince the French government to hold a lottery to pay for the would-be American statue. But once it was finished and bartholdy offered it to the

United States under the condition they provide a pedestal for it to stand the the federal government took offense. With the U.S. not wanting to pay for such a gift the future of the statue was stuck in limbo. Luckily American press mogul Joseph Pulitzer came to the rescue organizing the first crowdfunding campaign in using newspapers to convince the public to donate in support of the required pedestal and printing their names as donors in exchange.

10 Secrets of Statue of Liberty.

6. Lighting The Way. 

Before the many pieces of the Statue of Liberty made it to American soil, the arm and torch were shipped stateside by boat from Paris to New York. As the future of the monument was still in question the torch was put to use. it first went to Philadelphia in 1876 as an attraction at the World's Fair in Fairmount Park. Visitors were able to pay a fee of 50 cents each to climb to the torches balcony with all money raised going towards finding and building a home for the Statue. Bartholdy was in attendance for this exhibition looking after his masterpiece and

witnessing its reception live. From there the torch went back to New York where it went on display in Madison Square Park between 1876 and 1882. It remained a source of fundraising until the statue's pedestal was financially secured and the rest of the statue made its journey across the Atlantic.

5. Freemason Connection.

Aside from the false legend of the monstrous sage monument being a gift from France another mythos surrounds the Statue of Liberty with a bit more suspicious connotation. Theorists believe the creators of the statue Bartholdi and Eiffel held a membership with the Freemasons and that they subtly included hints as such within the landmark itself. Even the original name Liberty enlightening the world spoke to one of the major tenants of the Freemasons enlightenment. Many of the leaders during the Enlightenment era were freemasons and this secret society has been given much of the credit for bringing liberalism and democracy to Europe as a whole between the 18th and 20th centuries. If this wasn't enough

evidence to connect Freemasonry to the statue, in 1884 a connection was made seemingly apparent. Freemason Grand Master William a Brody presided over the laying of the cornerstone of the Statue of Liberty in a ceremony among fellow Lodge members. At the moment and the

Masons involvement Brody said why call upon the Masonic fraternity to lay the cornerstone of such a structure as is here to be erected?. No institution has done more to promote Liberty and to free men from the trammels and chains of ignorance and tyranny then has Freemasonry. This moment was celebrated a century later with the installments of a plaque at the base of the monument.

10 Secrets of Statue of Liberty.

4. Damage Control.

In 1916 a group of German spies attacked the munitions facility at black Tom Island. Setting off a catastrophic explosion that affected buildings across the region and could be heard as far away as Maryland. Bunches of dynamite bound for England and French forces were being prepared for shipment when the spies sabotaged the explosives. Thousands of windows from buildings across the city shattered in the wake of the blast and seven lives were lost. Less than a mile away from the compound

explosion the Statue of Liberty shook and shuddered as shrapnel impacted into the Head, Arm and Torche. The total damage to the statue was fairly minor in comparison to other parts of the region. No repair cost ended up totaling nearly $100,000 the equivalent to 2.3 million dollars today. The damage sustained by the torch bearing arm took the brunt of it. For public safety reasons the interior path to the torch was closed following the incident and remained so to this day.

3. Muse Confusion.

Millions of people look at the Statue of Liberty daily. Whether they are looking directly at it or at some sort of representation of it in popular media. As such the face of the mother of freedom has become

recognisable by many. But whose face is it really, one account tells of a meeting between bartholdy and French Senator Jules bazarian at an opera house in which the sculptor confessed the identity of his muse. When the senator reached bartholdi's box, as the story goes, he parted the curtain to find a real living version of the Statue of Liberty before his eyes. Responding to the Senators astonished, Bartholdi supposedly told him do you know who this lady is? she's my mother however in 2014 a different truth was proposed when French writer Natalia Salman claimed her ancestor Sarah had been part oldies inspiration giving details in her book Lady Liberty! I love you. The story goes to Sarah Solomon's husband and off they had made a fortune in

California before meeting the famous sculptor in their travels. The couple visited Paris and met with Bartholdi at his studio at that time the artist was so awestruck by her features that he incorporated them into his work. At the end of the day however the truth may never be known as to what women really inspired such an iconic symbol of

freedom.

2. Intercontinental Replicas. 

Within the United States the Statue of Liberty has grown to iconic prominence as a symbol of everything the USA stands for. It's earned a litany of nicknames over the years with Americans affectionately referring to her as America's freedom the green goddess the mother of exiles the spirit of American independence and many more patriotic titles. But outside of the States this world-renowned structure has many

doppelgangers though at a fraction of the size. The original model for the Statue of Liberty can be found within the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris. Not far from there on the man-made island the senn river, another incarnation sites on display in commemoration of the French Revolution. But these smaller

versions aren't exclusive to France

modern editions. Appeared with a LEGO version and a deconstructed art project placing the Statue of Liberty right around Times Square.

10 Secrets of Statue of Liberty.

1. Almost gold.

Prior to becoming the great green lady in the water, the Statue of Liberty was actually copper. Chemical Reactions with the environment eventually developed into a layer of patina giving the great patriotic structure a more verdant hue. But, this effect was almost avoided entirely when sculptor Auguste Bartholdi considered

coating the statue in a layer of gold. He had hoped for the statue to double as a lighthouse, but attaining the brightness needed to operate, as such proved troublesome giving birth to the extravagant notion of a gilded exterior. The price of such an endeavor would have been insanely expensive and raising funds just to place the statue in New York Harbor was tough enough. As such that plan never came to fruition. It was made a one footed gold Statue.