Reminder of the significance of the Statue of Liberty

When I first visited the Statue of Liberty in the 1970s with my parents we were able to climb all of the way up to the crown; with the pandemic, visitors now aren't even allowed inside the base of the statue

There was a very interesting movie in the museum that detailed the incredible work that went into designing and building Bartholdi's sculpture in France, then completely disassembling it for shipment to the US and reconstruction here

The original torch, damaged beyond repair, was removed in 1984 but is now displayed in the museum; the flame the Statue now holds is a gilded, closed copper shell lit from the outside as Bartholdi originally intended

Raleigh-born Lillie Blake said at the dedication - In erecting a Statue of Liberty embodied as a woman in a land where no woman has political liberty, men have shown a delightful inconsistency which excites the wonder and admiration of the opposite sex

The only way to reach the Statue of Liberty is with Statue Cruises either from Battery Park in lower Manhattan or from Jersey City; no private boats are allowed to dock on Liberty Island

Through urging the American public to donate money towards the pedestal in his newspaper NY World, Pulitzer raised $100,000+ in 6 months- more than enough to ensure the pedestal's completion

The new $70 million, 26,000 sq ft museum may be visited by all who come to the island, as opposed to the museum in the pedestal, which only 20% (during non-pandemic times) of the island's visitors have access to

It was French political thinker and staunch abolitionist Edouard Laboulaye who first conceived the idea of a statue to honor liberty, affirm the historical French-American alliance and celebrate the centennial of US independence

Jersey City has the third-highest density of any US city with 100,000+ people, behind only New York City and San Francisco; the city's population peaked in 1930 but redevelopment of the waterfront has created Wall Street West

Almost 5 million people each year visit Liberty Island; the 7 rays of the Statue’s crown represent the 7 seas and continents of the world; there are 31 tons of copper in the statue and 125 tons of steel

Eiffel's design is one of the earliest examples of construction in which the structure exterior is not load bearing, but instead supported by an interior framework; he included 2 interior staircases so visitors could reach the crown observation point

In 1985, the great US Congresswoman Barbara Jordan spoke these prescient words - Liberty can gradually suffer erosion just like the Statue itself has suffered erosion. You have to attend to Liberty.