The Statue of Liberty: Building an Icon

Summary

The Statue of Liberty, a symbol of freedom and democracy, was a groundbreaking 19th-century engineering feat. Conceived by Edouard de Laboulaye and designed by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, it faced significant financial and technical challenges. With Gustave Eiffel's innovative engineering, the statue's flexible iron framework supported its thin copper skin. Fundraising campaigns and public support were crucial for its completion. Today, it stands as an icon at the gateway to America, a testament to human engineering prowess.

Takeaways

• 🗽 The Statue of Liberty is a globally recognized symbol of freedom and democracy, located in New York Harbor.
• 🏗️ It was a groundbreaking engineering achievement of the 19th Century, setting records for its height, concrete pour, and copper usage.
• 🎉 Conceived by Edouard de Laboulaye in 1865, the statue was intended to celebrate the centenary of American independence and the friendship between the United States and France.
• 🗝️ French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi designed the statue, which represents the Roman goddess Libertas.
• 🤝 France was responsible for financing the statue, while the United States provided the site and constructed the pedestal.
• 💸 Fundraising campaigns were conducted on both sides of the Atlantic to finance the statue and its pedestal.
• 👷‍♂️ The statue's construction involved top French professionals, including architects Eugène Viollet-le-Duc and Gustave Eiffel, who contributed to its innovative design.
• 🔨 The statue's skin is made of copper sheets, hammered to a thickness of less than 2.4 mm, making it lightweight for its size.
• 🌪️ Eiffel's design allowed for flexibility, enabling the statue to withstand winds and temperature changes without damage.
• 🌐 The statue was assembled in France, disassembled for shipping, and then reassembled in New York on its completed pedestal.

Q & A

What is the symbolic meaning of the Statue of Liberty?

The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of freedom and democracy, representing hope for millions and synonymous with the ideals of the United States.

Who conceived the idea of the Statue of Liberty and why?

The Statue of Liberty was conceived by French political intellectual and anti-slavery activist Edouard de Laboulaye in 1865 to celebrate the centenary of American independence and to honor the friendship between the United States and France.

Who was the sculptor responsible for designing the Statue of Liberty?

French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi was responsible for designing the Statue of Liberty, which he began in 1870.

What was the original name given to the Statue of Liberty?

The original name given to the Statue of Liberty was 'Liberty Enlightening the World', which she retained until 1924 when she became a National Monument and was officially renamed 'The Statue of Liberty'.

How was the Statue of Liberty financed and by whom?

France was responsible for financing the statue itself, while the United States was responsible for providing a site and constructing the pedestal. Fundraising campaigns were conducted on both sides of the Atlantic to finance each element.

What was unique about the construction of the Statue of Liberty's right arm?

The right arm, bearing the torch, was one of the first parts to be fabricated and was displayed at the Centennial International Exhibition of 1876 to help gain public support for the project.

Who were the key professionals involved in the statue's construction?

Key professionals involved in the statue's construction included sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, and engineer Gustave Eiffel.

What was innovative about Gustave Eiffel's design for the Statue of Liberty?

Gustave Eiffel's design was innovative because it used a central iron pylon as the primary support for the structure, which was an early example of curtain wall construction where the exterior is not load-bearing and is instead supported by an interior framework.

How did the Statue of Liberty withstand wind and temperature changes?

Eiffel's design allowed the statue to be flexible, enabling it to withstand winds and temperature changes without cracking. The statue can move by as much as 3 inches in strong winds.

What was the process for assembling and shipping the Statue of Liberty to the United States?

The statue was originally assembled in France, then disassembled, packed into 214 crates, and shipped to the United States aboard the French Navy ship Isère.

Who designed the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty and what were the construction challenges?

Richard Morris Hunt designed the pedestal, which was an impressive construction feat in itself. The construction challenges included securing funding and the largest mass concrete pour at the time to create the pedestal.

How long did it take for the Statue of Liberty to fully oxidize and turn green?

It took more than 20 years after its unveiling in 1886 for the Statue of Liberty to fully oxidize and turn the distinctive green color we see today.

Outlines

00:00

🗽 The Birth and Challenges of the Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty, a symbol of freedom and democracy, was conceived by Edouard de Laboulaye to celebrate the centenary of American independence and honor the friendship between the US and France. French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi designed the statue, representing the Roman goddess Libertas. The construction was an engineering marvel of the 19th century, involving significant financial and technical challenges. The statue was originally assembled in France and then disassembled for shipment to the US. Fundraising campaigns were conducted in both countries to finance the statue and its pedestal. The statue's construction was a collaborative effort, involving the expertise of architects like Eugène Viollet-le-Duc and engineers like Gustave Eiffel, who designed the statue's innovative iron support structure.

05:00

🏗️ Engineering Masterpieces: The Statue and Its Pedestal

The Statue of Liberty's construction was a testament to 19th-century engineering prowess. Gustave Eiffel's design allowed the statue to flex in high winds and temperature changes, preventing cracking. The statue was manufactured and assembled in Paris before being shipped to the US. The pedestal, designed by Richard Morris Hunt and built by General Charles P. Stone, was a massive concrete structure with reinforcing girders to withstand wind loads. The statue was reassembled on the pedestal in 1886 and officially unveiled later that year. It took 30 years for the copper statue to oxidize and turn the iconic green color. The statue stands as a symbol of freedom and a testament to human engineering capabilities.

Keywords

💡Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty is a colossal statue located in New York Harbor, symbolizing freedom and democracy. It is a landmark and a beacon of hope for millions. The video script discusses the statue's construction as one of the greatest engineering achievements of the 19th Century, highlighting the financial and technical challenges faced in its creation.

💡Edouard de Laboulaye

Edouard de Laboulaye was a French political intellectual and anti-slavery activist who conceived the idea of the Statue of Liberty in 1865 to celebrate the centenary of American independence and to honor the friendship between the United States and France. He is a key figure in the narrative of the statue's origin.

💡Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi

Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi was the French sculptor who designed the Statue of Liberty, representing the Roman goddess Libertas. His design and efforts are central to the video's story, detailing the statue's creation and the public campaigns to raise funds for its construction.

💡Fundraising

Fundraising was essential for the construction of the Statue of Liberty, as both France and the United States initiated campaigns to finance the statue and its pedestal. The script mentions the public's involvement, such as paying to view the statue's arm at the Centennial International Exhibition, to contribute to the project.

💡Eugène Viollet-le-Duc

Eugène Viollet-le-Duc was the initial architect and chief engineer for the Statue of Liberty, known for his work in restoring Notre Dame in Paris. He designed the internal structure of the statue, choosing copper for the skin and employing the 'repoussé' method to shape it, which is crucial to understanding the statue's construction techniques.

💡Gustave Eiffel

Gustave Eiffel, known for the Eiffel Tower in Paris, was hired after Viollet-le-Duc's death to continue the engineering of the Statue of Liberty. He introduced a central iron pylon and a flexible design that allows the statue to withstand wind and temperature changes, illustrating his innovative approach to the statue's structural integrity.

💡Curtain Wall Construction

The Statue of Liberty is an early example of curtain wall construction, a technique where the exterior is not load-bearing and is instead supported by an interior framework. This design by Eiffel is highlighted in the script as innovative for its time and essential for the statue's ability to flex under environmental stress.

💡Pedestal

The pedestal of the Statue of Liberty is a significant part of the statue's overall structure, standing 89 feet tall. The script describes the challenges in securing funding for the pedestal and the engineering feat of constructing it with concrete and granite, making it a cornerstone of the statue's stability.

💡Richard Morris Hunt

Richard Morris Hunt was the architect chosen to design the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. His original design was revised due to financial constraints, leading to the use of concrete, which was a large-scale construction method at the time. His work is integral to the video's discussion on the statue's construction.

💡Joseph Pulitzer

Joseph Pulitzer, a newspaper publisher, played a pivotal role in raising the remaining funds needed for the statue's pedestal through a public campaign. His efforts are highlighted in the script as a significant part of the statue's financial story, demonstrating the power of public engagement in completing the project.

💡Oxidation

The process of oxidation is mentioned in the script in relation to the Statue of Liberty's color change from copper to the iconic green patina. This natural chemical reaction is a result of the statue's exposure to the elements over time, adding to its historical significance and visual identity.

Highlights

The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of freedom and democracy, and one of the world's most recognizable landmarks.

The statue faced significant financial and technical challenges during its construction.

It was the tallest statue in the United States for over 130 years after its completion.

The Statue of Liberty held records for the tallest iron structure, largest concrete pour, and largest use of copper in a single structure.

Edouard de Laboulaye, a French intellectual, conceived the statue to celebrate American independence and Franco-American friendship.

French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi began designing the statue in 1870.

The statue was named 'Liberty Enlightening the World' and later renamed 'The Statue of Liberty'.

France financed the statue, while the United States provided the site and constructed the pedestal.

Fundraising campaigns were launched in both France and the United States to finance the statue and pedestal.

Bartholdi fabricated the right arm with a torch to gain public support, which was displayed at the 1876 Centennial International Exhibition.

The statue's head and shoulders were constructed and displayed at the 1878 Paris Universal Expo.

Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, the architect behind Notre Dame's restoration, was the initial chief engineer for the statue's design.

Gustave Eiffel redesigned the statue's internal structure with a central iron pylon, a precursor to the Eiffel Tower.

The statue's copper skin was attached to an iron armature using innovative construction techniques.

Eiffel's design allowed the statue to be flexible, enabling it to withstand winds and temperature changes.

The statue was assembled in Paris, then disassembled and shipped to the United States in 214 crates.

Joseph Pulitzer's fundraising campaign helped secure the remaining funds needed for the pedestal's construction.

The pedestal, designed by Richard Morris Hunt, was an impressive construction feat with poured concrete walls and reinforcing girders.

The Statue of Liberty was unveiled on October 28, 1886, and took 30 years to oxidize into its distinctive green color.

The construction of the Statue of Liberty was a collaborative effort involving leading professionals from both Europe and America.

Transcripts

In New York Harbour stands a statue that is synonymous with freedom and democracy;

one of the world’s most recognisable landmarks and a symbol of hope for millions.

But to truly appreciate this iconic structure you need to understand the financial and technical

challenges it faced in becoming reality.

This is the construction story behind one of the greatest engineering achievements of the 19th Century.

Still the tallest statue in the United States – more than 130 years after its completion

– the Statue of Liberty was a record breaking construction project.

At the time, the giant undertaking held titles such as the tallest iron structure ever erected

the largest concrete pour ever undertaken and the largest use of copper in a single structure.

The Statue of Liberty was conceived to celebrate the centenary of American independence,

by a French political intellectual and anti-slavery activist named Edouard de Laboulaye.

He proposed the statue in 1865 to honour both the centennial and the United States’ friendship with France.

Five years later – in 1870 – French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi began designing the statue;

a robed female figure representing the Roman goddess Libertas.

Following a visit to the US, where Bartholdi met with many prominent Americans,

including President Ulysses S. Grant, the project was announced in 1875.

The statue was given the name “Liberty Enlightening the World”, a title she would keep right

up to 1924 when she became a National Monument and was officially renamed “The Statue of Liberty”.

While France would finance the statue, the American’s would be responsible for providing

a site and constructing the huge pedestal upon which the statue would stand.

To finance each element, ambitious fundraising campaigns began on both sides of the Atlantic.

While overall plans for the statue remained to be finalized, Bartholdi began fabricating the right arm,

bearing the torch, to help gain public support for the project.

The arm was shipped to America and displayed at the Centennial International Exhibition of 1876,

the first official World's Fair.

For a fee of 50 cents, visitors could climb a ladder to the balcony,

with the money raised going directly towards funding the project.

When the exhibition closed, the arm was transported to New York where it remained on display in

Madison Square Park for six years before being reunited with the rest of the statue in France.

In a similar vein, the head and shoulders were also constructed and became one of the

main attractions at the 1878 Paris Universal Expo.

During construction, models of the statue were put on sale, tickets to view the construction

workshop were offered and the French government authorised a lottery.

By the end of 1879, some 250,000 francs had been raised.

To make his colossal statue a reality, Bartholdi sought out the expertise of France’s top professionals.

First he hired his mentor, Eugène Viollet-le-Duc,

the architect responsible for the restoration of Notre Dame in Paris.

Acting as chief engineer Viollet-le-Duc, designed a brick pier within the statue,

to which the skin would be anchored. For the skin itself, Viollet-le-Duc choose copper.

These sheets would be shaped using a method called “repoussé”,

in which the copper was heated and then struck with wooden hammers.

The copper was hammered to less than a tenth of an inch (or 2.4 mm) thick,

creating a statute that is considerably light given its volume.

When Viollet-le-Duc died unexpectedly in 1879, the innovative Gustave Eiffel was hired to replace him.

While Eiffel retained Viollet-le-Duc’s copper cladding, he abandoned the brick internal pier,

instead opting to take a more modern approach.

He designed a central iron pylon standing 92 feet (or 28 meters) tall that acts as

the primary support for the structure; a forerunner for his famous tower in Paris.

Originally assembled in France, the pylon serves as the spine of the statue supporting

a secondary skeleton “or armature” that conforms to the outer contours.

The armature alone contains over a mile of iron bars, each 2 inches wide.

The 300 sections of copper sheet, weighing a total of 80 tonnes, were attached to the armature

using 1500 U-shaped copper saddles and some 300,000 copper rivets.

Eiffel’s then-innovative design makes the statue one of the earliest examples of curtain wall construction;

the structure’s exterior is not load-bearing, and is instead supported by an interior framework.

With his experience of bridge building and engineering to accommodate wind loads,

Eiffel opted not to create a rigid structure.

The flexibility of his design allows the statue to withstand the winds across New York Harbour

and the Atlantic, and temperature changes, which could force stresses to accumulate in the skin,

leading to cracking.

In a strong wind the statue can move by as much as 3 inches, while the arm can deviate up to 5 inches.

Combining Eiffel and Viollet-le-Duc’s designs, the entire statue was manufactured and then

assembled in Paris between 1881 and 1884.

It was then disassembled, packed into 214 crates and shipped to the United States

aboard the French Navy ship, Isère.

The prefabricated statue was met with great fanfare in New York Harbour on June 17, 1885

– before the pedestal’s completion.

On Bartholdi’s trip to New York in 1871, he marked a small island in the harbour as

an ideal location for his statue.

Fortuitously, the island – home to a disused army base – was already owned by the US Federal Government.

With a signed resolution from President Grant, the island was selected as the site for the statue

– its 11-point star-shaped “Fort Wood” was to become pedestal’s base.

While it may seem hard to believe today, securing funding for the project was actually extremely difficult.

With just $150,000 USD raised the project stalled, prompting Joseph Pulitzer

– publisher of New York newspaper The World – to launch a campaign to raise the remaining $100,000.

Pulitzer achieved his target, with a staggering 80% of the funds being received in sums of less than one dollar.

The neoclassical pedestal – standing some 89 feet, or 27m tall – was an impressive construction feat in itself.

Richard Morris Hunt, a founder of the American Institute of Architects, was chosen to design the structure

while General Charles P. Stone was appointed engineer-in-chief.

Hunt's original concept would have seen the pedestal constructed from solid granite,

but financial concerns forced him to revise his plans and instead embark on the largest mass

concrete pour undertaken to date.

The final design called for poured concrete walls, up to 20 feet or 6.1 m thick, faced with granite blocks.

To accommodate the anticipated wind loads, four huge reinforcing girders,

formed into a square were set into the concrete 29-feet, or 9 metres, up the pedestal.

A second square of girders was placed 55 feet, or 17 metres, higher, a few feet from the top of the pedestal,

with the two sets connected by the iron tie beams.

The statue itself was then anchored to these beams making Liberty and her concrete base one entity.

When the pedestal was completed in 1886, the statue was rapidly reassembled on top of it.

More than 20 years after it was first imagined, on October 28, 1886

the copper coloured statue was finally unveiled.

It would take a further 30 years to fully oxidise and become the distinctive green colour we see today.

Realising this icon was a significant undertaking that engaged leading professionals of the time

on both sides of the Atlantic.

Today the Statue of Liberty stands proud at the gateway to America;

an enduring symbol of freedom and democracy, and of what human engineers are truly capable of.

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