Did you know that the Statue of Liberty faces the direction of the ‘Old Country?’
French Artist Auguste Bartholdi (born 1834) designed the Statue of Liberty as a gift to America. It was positioned to face the Old Country of France, to welcome the immigrants TO America. Bartholdi also had a little help from Mr. Eiffel (yes, as in Eiffel Tower) as he was known for building bridges. According to my Audio Tour, (please double check with Wiki, but I think these facts are correct from memory) the Statue was designed in the same way a bridge was designed…with some flexibility and built to withstand high winds off the water. Thin layers of nickel no thicker than a penny, were attached separately to create our beautiful Lady.
Then there was her Pedestal to deal with. An old Fort was located on this island. Mr. Pulitzer (yes, as in Pulitzer Prize) rallied to raise money for a custom made pedestal to be created to hold up the sculpture on top of the existing Fort.
Its hard to believe that having lived here all of my life in NY, that I have never been to the Statue of Liberty or Ellis Island. The Statue is absolutely breathtaking close up. It is such a positive icon, filling me with pride and hope for the future.
Visiting Ellis Island was also a thrill. We learned how the immigrants went through the system here in NY to become citizens. From all the paperwork to medical exams there was a lot involved.
Unfortunately we did not have time to look up our ancestors names on the computer database to view copies of their documents. I guess we’ll have to go back!
