NEW YORK CITY -- She’s 151 feet tall, wears a size 879-size shoe and has a 35-foot waist. But Lady Liberty is much more than the sum of her parts.
The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of enlightenment, a beacon for immigrants, a metaphor for America.
She’s also been a bit of a lightning rod for controversy, as disenfranchised and left-behind Americans have long objected to the false hope she represents.
Indeed, the story of America’s most famous work of art is a surprisingly long and complicated one, told in a new museum on New York City’s Liberty Island, a few hundred feet from the lady herself.
Operated by the National Park Service, the museum opened in spring 2019, but was shuttered for much of 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. It replaces a much smaller museum, located inside the statue’s pedestal, that could only accommodate a small fraction of the attraction’s millions of annual visitors.
The statue’s story dates back more than 150 years to Paris, France, where a group of French intellectuals, protesting political repression in their own country, proposed a large gift to the United States in honor of the nation’s 100th birthday.
French artist Auguste Bartholdi modeled the work after the Roman goddess of freedom, Libertas.
He traveled to the United States in 1871 to scout a location for his creation, and selected what was then known as Bedloe’s Island in the middle of New York Harbor, visible to every ship arriving and departing. It would not be renamed Liberty Island until 1956.
Bartholdi built the statue in France, funding the creation, in part, by charging the thousands of visitors who showed up to watch him work.
The museum recreates some of that excitement, with large, historic photos of Bartholdi’s studio, plus videos showing modern-day artisans creating a replica of the statue’s giant foot.
Instead of stone or bronze, deemed too heavy and costly, Bartholdi used an ancient metalworking technique called repousse, shaping a thin layer of copper around an interior steel frame created by Gustav Eiffel, of Eiffel Tower fame.
Bartholdi placed a seven-ray crown on the statue’s head, symbolizing reason; a tablet in her left arm, inscribed with the date July 4, 1776 (in Roman numerals); broken chains at her feet, representing the emancipation of slaves and the end of tyranny; and a torch in her right hand, signifying progress.
He named her “Liberty Enlightening the World.”
After completion, the statue was disassembled, packed in crates and shipped to New York City. As many as 1 million people showed up to celebrate its grand opening in October 1886.
But not everyone was happy. On the date of the dedication, a group of New York suffragists protested the use of a female figure to symbolize liberty when American women did not have the right to vote.
Many African American journalists were unimpressed, as well. The Cleveland Gazette, featured in one exhibit, wrote on Nov. 27, 1886: “It is proper that the torch of the Bartholdi statue should not be lighted until this country becomes a free one in reality. ‘Liberty enlightening the world’ indeed. The expression makes us sick.”
Visitors are invited to weigh in on the idea, as well, at an interactive exhibit where participants can select the concepts that most represent liberty to them (among the choices: citizenship, independence, justice, home, religion, opportunity and privacy). Their answers are featured on a swirling digital wall at the museum.
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Also at the museum:
*A 10-minute film in three parts, in three adjoining theaters, which offers both a retelling of the statue’s history and its modern-day legacy, narrated by Diane Sawyer.
*An exhibit on the statue’s ongoing use in popular culture – from decorative plates to Barbie dolls to Legos.
*The centerpiece attraction, Bartholdi’s original torch, damaged in 1916 and finally replaced in 1986, in a gallery all its own.
The Statue of Liberty's original torch, on display at the new museum on Liberty Island in New York.
The Statue of Liberty in pop culture, as seen at the new museum on New York's Liberty Island.
A replica of the statue's massive foot, on display at the Statue of Liberty Museum on Liberty Island in New York Harbor.
Outside, the museum features a living roof, along with stunning views of the Manhattan skyline.
From the museum, it’s a short stroll to the statue, which sits atop the 151-foot high pedestal designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt. The pedestal, built atop the remnants of Fort Wood, was the United States’ contribution to the project.
Access to Liberty’s crown remains off-limits due to its tight spaces amid coronavirus concerns. Visitors can, with a special ticket, climb to the top of the pedestal and walk its circumference, with terrific views across the harbor to Lower Manhattan.
About a half-mile from Liberty Island is Ellis Island, home to the National Park Service’s Ellis Island Immigration Museum. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 million immigrants arriving in the U.S. were processed on the small island. Self-guided tours of the museum include access to the Registry Room, a restored dorm, exhibits on the immigration movement and more.
Entrance to both Ellis and Liberty islands is free, although there is a fee for ferry service, which stops at both sites ($23.50 for a general ticket, $23.80 for a ticket with access to the pedestal). Ferries depart regularly from Battery Park in Manhattan and Liberty Park in New Jersey. Advanced purchase ticketing is strongly encouraged. Information: cityexperiences.com/new-york/city-cruises/statue.
View of New York Harbor and Lower Manhattan from the Statue of Liberty pedestal.