Saturday, 22 October 2011 21:55 Written by R.W. Daniel J. Schultz, PGH

The Statue of Liberty – Liberty Enlightening the World

As the Statue of Liberty will be celebrating her 125th Anniversary on October 28, 2011, I thought I would repeat my 2004 historian’s report.

The Statue of Liberty is one of the most recognizable monuments in the world, representing freedom to all who have followed her guiding light to our shores.  “Lady Liberty” was, in fact, a real lighthouse from 1886 to 1902 when she was under the care and operation of the US Lighthouse Board.  The light had a keeper to maintain the electric light and could be seen for 24 miles at sea.  The flame of the torch had glass inserts in its sides that helped her light shine brightly.  The power to generate the light came from an electric plant on the island.  The “Statue of Liberty” is also known as “Liberty Enlightening the World”, and it remains a symbol of hope to millions of people who see her standing in the harbor.

Edouard de Laboulaye, French historian and admirer of American political institutions, suggested that the French present a monument to the United States as a token of mutual friendship, with the United States providing the pedestal and site.  Its designer, a Freemason, was Bro. Frederic A. Bartholdi (1834-1904) who conceived its design while on a visit to America.  As his ship sailed into New York, Bartholdi had a vision of a woman standing on a pedestal, holding a torch and welcoming immigrants to a new life in a free land.   

He began work about 1874 in Paris.  He made several models and one, 36 ft. tall, enabled him to compute the statue in sections.  Wooden molds were made and sheets of copper 3/32nds of an inch thick were hammered into shape on them by hand.  Gustave Eiffel, creator of the Eiffel tower, designed a framework of four steel supports.  The completed statue was 151 ft. 1 in. tall.


Frederic Bartholdi was one of the early members of Lodge Alsace-Lorraine, Paris (Oct. 14, 1875) which was composed of prominent intellectuals, writers and government representative.  When his famous statue “Liberty Enlightening the World” was achieved, Bartholdi convened his Lodge to review it, even before the statue was shown to the U.S. committee.  On June 19, 1884, the Lodge, as if it were a pilgrimage, went in a body to review his masterpieces.  On July 4th, 1884 the finished statue was presented to the American Ambassador in Paris, Levi Morton.  

On Aug. 5, 1884, the Grand Master of Masons in New York, William A. Brodie, laid the cornerstone of the pedestal with full Masonic ceremony.  The total cost of the Statue and pedestal was estimated at $500,000.  On November 13, 1884 Bartholdi delivered a lecture and gave the Lodge a report on the history and various methods used in the execution of the statue.

In 1885, the Statue arrived dismantled.  Each piece was classified and marked so that it could be reassembled on the island with accuracy and efficiency.  The pieces were packed in 214 specially constructed cases which, when filled, varied in weight from a few hundred pounds to several tons.  The pedestal was made of concrete with granite facing.  Steel girders were built into it to connect the framework of the statue.  The first rivet of the statue was driven July 12, 1886, and the last on Oct. 28, 1886.  On that day, President Grover Cleveland accepted the Statue on behalf of the United States and said in part:  “We will not forget that Liberty has here made her home; nor shall her chosen altar be neglected”.

The “Statue of Liberty” history has been one of much change.  The statue was put on a granite pedestal inside the courtyard of the star-shaped Fort Wood in New York Harbor.  The United States Lighthouse Board was responsible for the operation of the Statue until 1901.

After 1901, the care and operation of the Statue was placed under the War Department.  A Presidential Proclamation declared Fort Wood a National Monument on October 15th, 1924 and the monument’s boundary was set at the outer edge of Fort Wood.  In 1933, the care of the National Monument was transferred to the National Park Service.  On September 7, 1937, jurisdiction was enlarged to Bedloe’s Island.  In 1956, the island’s name was changed to Liberty Island.  On May 11, 1965, Ellis Island was also transferred to the National Park Service and became part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument.

In May of 1982, President Ronald Reagan appointed Lee Iacocca to head up a private sector effort to restore the Statue of Liberty.  Fundraising for the $87 million restoration began under a public/private partnership between the National Park Service and the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc.  In 1984, at the start of the Statues’ restoration, the United Nations designated the Statue of Liberty as a World Heritage site.

Copper played an essential role in the restoration of the Statue inside, as well as outside.  High-alloy copper saddles and rivets now secure the copper skin of the skeleton underneath.  The copper fastenings ensure structural strength, and guard against any reaction problems.

On August 5, 1984, a plaque was placed on the pedestal, that reads “At this site on August 5, 1884, the cornerstone of the Pedestal of the “Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World” was laid with ceremony by William A Brodie, Grand Master of Masons in the State of New York.  Grand Lodge Members, Representatives of the United States and French Governments, Army and Navy Officers, Members of Foreign delegations, and distinguished citizens were present.  This plaque is dedicated by the Masons of New York in commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of that historic event.”  Signed M.W. Calvin G. Bond, Grand Master of Masons, along with the name of the Masonic Anniversary Committee and the Deputy Grand Master.

Lady Liberty was the focal point of waves of immigrants, who came (and still come) to the shores of the United States from all over the world.  Their first glimpse of the Statue was one they never forgot, for it meant the end of poverty and oppression and the beginning of New Hope.  The “melting pot” of America was created by millions of immigrants, who knew that freedom and opportunity were open to them in the new land, which they helped settle and build from the Atlantic to the Pacific.  

The Statue depicts a woman escaping the chains of tyranny, which lie at her feet.  Her right hand holds aloft a burning torch that represents liberty.  Her left hand holds a tablet inscribed with the date “July 4, 1776” (in Roman numerals), the day the U.S.A declared its independence.  She is wearing flowing robes and the seven rays of her spike crown symbolize the seven seas and continents.

To prepare for the Statue’s centennial year in 1986, a French-American rehabilitation project repaired and cleaned the Statue, replacing its glass-and-metal torch with one covered in gold leaf.

Visitors can ride an elevator or climb 192 steps to an observation area at the top of the pedestal.  The museum inside the pedestal details the history of the monuments and features the original torch and flame.  The full climb of 354 steps (the equivalent of a 22-floor building), would take the most ambitious visitor from the pedestal to the crown via two spiral stairways, one for ascending and one for descending.  An observation platform in the head at one time offered outstanding views of New York Harbor and New York City for 30 people.  The Statue was closed for a few years as a result of  9/11.  However, the pedestal itself was re-opened to the public the beginning of August 2004.

In 1903 the sonnet “The New Colossus” by American poet Emma Lazarus was inscribed in bronze at the base of the Statue.  It reads:

"Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land:
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles.   From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” Cries she
With silent lips.  “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!”

God Bless America – May her light forever shine brightly!

Daniel J. Schultz, PGH.
Masonic Historian