S is for the Statue of Liberty

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

statue-of-libertyThe Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World was dedicated on October 28, 1886, 130 years ago. It was “a gift of friendship from the people of France to the United States and is recognized as a universal symbol of freedom and democracy.”

Here are some fun facts:
Total overall height from the base of the pedestal foundation to the tip of the torch is 305 feet, 6 inches (93.1 m)
Height of the Statue from her heel to the top of her head is 111 feet, 6 inches (34 m)
The Statue has a 35-foot waistline (10.67 m)
Total weight of the Statue of Liberty is 225 tons, or 450,000 pounds (204116.567 kg)

The Statue of Liberty was “designed by sculptor Frédéric Bartholdi in collaboration with engineer Gustave Eiffel” – yes, THAT Eiffel. “Atop its pedestal (designed by American architect Richard Morris Hunt), the Statue” at the entrance to New York Harbor “has welcomed millions of immigrants to the United States.”

The New Colossus is a poem written by Emma Lazarus (1849–1887) “in 1883 to raise money for the construction of the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. In 1903, the poem was engraved on a bronze plaque and mounted inside the pedestal’s lower level.” The most famous part is:
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

I have never been to the Statue of Liberty, despite living within 200 miles of it almost all my life. Now I HAVE seen it, on a ferry going from Manhattan to Staten Island several times. But I understand that actually “visiting Liberty Island is one of the most rewarding experiences” one can have. The Daughter expressed a desire to visit there, the last time we were in New York City in 2013, but it didn’t work out.

Indeed, I wish I had gone last century. “For over a decade, the National Park Service has implemented a reservation system. This is very different from the way past generations once accessed the Statue of Liberty. The National Park Service strongly recommends making advanced ticket reservations.”

And I KNOW this to be true: “There are many aggressive, unauthorized ticket sellers who will try to sell tickets to the Statue of Liberty near Battery Park in NYC. These individuals will often try to scam people through misrepresentation and over-charging… Ferries provide transportation to both Liberty Island (site of the Statue of Liberty) and Ellis Island.”

I expect we’ll go there eventually.

ABC Wednesday – Round 19

Author: Roger

I'm a librarian. I hear music, even when it's not being played. I used to work at a comic book store, and it still informs my life. I won once on JEOPARDY! - ditto.

20 thoughts on “S is for the Statue of Liberty”

  1. I’ve seen it seen it on a ferry going from Manhattan to Staten Island too, but wish I’d gone to see it up close. The other people with me didn’t want to so I missed out.

  2. I’d like to visit both the statue and Ellis Island one day, the latter because it’s website has been a boon as I researched my family history for those that went to America.

  4. Give me your tired, your poor,
    Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
    The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
    Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
    I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

    Are these the ‘deplorables’ that were referred to?

  5. One of my greatest pleasures was visiting both the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

    It was about 12 years ago and I will never forget it.

    I even found my Grandpa’s name on one of the plaques there.

  7. Very appropriate post for S and the USA right now ~ as usual very informative also ~ I fortunately got to visit it as a child ~ Amazing sculpture and place ~ We are fortunate.

    Wishing you a peaceful week ~ ^_^

  8. wonderful post for the letter ‘s’! And I love the intro on ABC Wednesday. If my loving husband was still here, he’d agree whole-heartedly with you. I tried and tried to be quiet, but…sometimes he loved taking his half of the road down the middle, and that drove me crazy. Then he’d retort that it was not a drive but a short walk for my going crazy. I still miss that guy.

  10. Hi Roger,
    I haven’t been to New York…I’ve been to ‘Old York’ in Yorkshire UK.I would dearly love to see the Statue of Liberty but highly unlikely now.
    So, thank goodness for t’internet, a source of joy for me as I’ve met so many lovely and interesting people, I learn somethig new every day.
    I did know that a French person had designed the Statue of Liberty but no more than that, so thank you for this most interesting piece,
    Best wishes,
    Di.
    Abcw team.xx

  11. I have been even in the Statue of Liberty long time ago when it was still allowed. I was a little disappointed I thought it was much higher ! The view out of the crown was wonderful.

  12. Thanks Hildred for this poem:

    Give me your tired, your poor,
    Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
    The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
    Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
    I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

    I hope that this statue is not going to be an empty symbol, but remains a promise for the future as it was meant to be.

  15. This is the first time I have joined in Round 19 and it is already the letter S. Good to be back playing along and visiting other meme entries. Very topical choice!

  17. I was familiar with the first two lines of the poem which are famous, however I wasn’t aware it was from a poem..

  20. It’s funny how we don’t visit in our own back yard. I lived just across the Indiana state line from Chicago growing up but only went to the city to visit after I was grown up!

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