The statue of Liberty has been an iconic American backdrop for many celebrations and American patriotism. It secures the symbol of freedom, and it welcomed immigrants to the land of opportunities. We might be very familiar with the statue of Liberty, but we might not know many things about it, check if you know about all the following facts about the Statue of Liberty:
Symbol of freedom:
If you take a closer look at the statue, you will be able to see that the chains are broken, and it lies on her feet. This is a perfect symbolisation of a woman who is free from oppression and servitude. The chains were initially designed to be placed in her hands, but the American financiers did not like the idea, and so the French designer had to replace the chains with a tablet.
Crowd-funded:
The pedestal on which the statue was supposed to stand was not yet been completed when it was sent to America as the French designer did not have enough funds to complete it. An entrepreneur named Joseph Pulitzer started a paper campaign asking for donations to complete the pedestal for the statue of liberty. Americans gladly made contributions, and it is said that even children gave donations and a total of $270,000 was raised, and the pedestal was completed, and the statue was erected in the year 1886.
Colour of the Statue:
The Statue of Liberty has not always been greenish-blue in colour. When it arrived in New York, it was in the colour of a new penny.
Visitors were allowed to climb up to the torch of the statue:
Until the year 1916, tourists were allowed to climb up the torch of the figure, but these privileges were revoked due to the Black Tom incident. There was a massive explosion in the New York Harbour, and the blast shook the entire city, and it was equivalent to an earthquake measuring about 5.5 Richter. The windows in the statue of liberty were shattered, and from then on, it was closed for visitors.
Seven Spikes on the crown:
The spikes that you see on the crown of the statue are not a part of the crown. They are meant to be halo, and there are seven because they represent the seas and the seven continents. Rays were temporally removed from the crown in the year 1938 to replace the rusted support.
Sister statue for the Suez Canal:
The French designer who had designed the statue of Liberty had offered to make another statue for the entrance of the Suez Canal. He said that the statue would symbolise to carry the light to Asia. The idea was declined as the budget for creating the statue was very high.
Nicknames:
Just like all of us have nicknames, the statue of Liberty also has lots of nicknames. Some of them are “Everybody’s gal”, Aunt Liberty, America’s Great lady, Giant Goddess, Green Goddess, lady of Harbour etc.
