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New York - New York City - Statue of Liberty Perhaps the best-known piece of sculpture in America, Bartholdi's huge female figure of Liberty Enlightening the World, commands the Upper Bay from the east end of twelve-acre egg-shaped Bedloe Island. The 151-foot figure, atop a 142-foot granite and concrete pedestal, portrays Liberty as a woman stepping from broken shackles. The uplifted right hand holds a burning torch, while the left hand grasps a tablet representing the Declaration of Independence, inscribed "July 4, 1776." The statue, of hand-hammered copper plates supported by an inner iron framework, weighs 225 tons. The upheld arm, three hundred feet above sea level, is forty-two feet long and twelve feet in diameter at its thickest; the width of the head is ten feet, of the eyes, two and a half feet. Weathering of the copper has covered the statue with a soft verdigris. A circular stairway of 168 steps leads from the top of the pedestal to the spiked crown. From sunset to sunrise, ninety-two 1,000-watt bulbs floodlight the structure and fifteen more illuminate the torch. The statue is a gift of the French people to commemorate "the alliance of the two nations in achieving the independence of the United States of Americay, and attests their abiding friendship." Although'the French historian, Edouard Laboulaye, first proposed the gift and helped to form the Franco-American Union for this purpose in 1875, credit for originating the idea of a monument to Franco-American friendship must go largely to Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, who chose the site and modeled the statue. The project became the controlling passion of his life, and he worked indefatigably to raise funds on both sides of the Atlantic to bring the plan to completion. Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, the French engineer, built the supporting framework. By 1879 one million francs had been raised by popular subscription. The statue was formally presented to the United States in Paris, July 4, 1884; but the American share of the plan, the building of a suitable pedestal, was slow in realization. In 1884, when fifteen feet of masonry had been raised, work ceased for lack of funds, and it was not until a year later, after Joseph Pulitzer of the New York World took to writing daily editorials on this state of affairs, that a sum sufficient to complete the pedestal (designed by Richard M. Hunt) was subscribed. The statue was shipped in 24 cases aboard the French ship Isère in May, 1885. President Cleveland dedicated the monument on October 28, 1886. Bedloe Island was called Minissais (lesser island) by the Indians, and Great Oyster Island by the colonists. Isaac Bedloe (or Bedlow), who received it from Governor Nicolls, was the first white owner. His widow is said to have sold it in 1676 to "James Carteret of New Jersey for 81 pounds of Boston money." The Corporation of the city of New York bought it for one thousand pounds in 1758; ownership was transferred to the state of New York for fortification purposes in 1796 with the proviso that the city be allowed to use it as a quarantine station whenever necessary. Between 1793 and 1796 the French fleet had used it as a hospital base. The star-shaped rampart (now the base for the pedestal of the statue) was built in 1811 and later named Fort Wood, for one of the heroes of the Battle of Fort Erie. During more than two centuries of varying ownership, Bedloe Island held a farm, a pesthouse, a gallows, a military prison, and a dump. The Lighthouse Board had jurisdiction over the statue until 1901, when the War Department assumed control. It was declared a national monument in 1924. In September, 1937, jurisdiction of the island in its entirety passed to the National Park Service of the Department of the Interior. The National Park Service, with WPA help, renovated the statue in 1938, as part of extensive improvements which include landscaping the whole island and providing a more attractive approach to the statue. The new boat landing will face the New Jersey instead of the Manhattan side. The date set for completion of this program is 1942. Annually about three hundred thousand visitors come to the island. Statue of Liberty Art Print Buy at AllPosters.com Proud to be an American - Mini Art Print Buy at AllPosters.com Statue of Liberty Art Print Buy at AllPosters.com The Great Lady Art Print Buy at AllPosters.com New York Opportunity and Income New York Career Guidance