Ex ICtbrtB SEYMOUR DURST ■i. ' Tort nieiuv ^m^erdam. of KORT NEW AM.S T E '^'^^^^^^jj^^^ NEW YORK ) . 1651 IVhen you \eave, please leave this book Because it has been sa d "Ever'ihing comes t' him who waxts £xcept a loaned book. OLD YORK LIBRARY - OLD YORK FOUNDATION Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library Gift of Seymour B. Durst Old York Library I PHOTOGRAPHIC VIEWS OF THE STATUE oi LIBERTY AND NEW YORK HARBOR. FROM RECENT ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHS. CHICAGO AND NEW YORK: RAND, McNALLY & CO., PUBLISHERS. 1901. Digitizeculpl. ,r, An-ii--tc liartholdi, who were .li^eusv.-.i:^. ..ne cveuinii in i'>--. tlie 1 1< -^e of the American Civil War. tlu Slalne of Liberty cnil' i In t!u- sup;- gcstion that the French people ought to join wili lin Ann l u an people in erecting, in America, a monument that -'ui-iM n-t only commemorate the sympat' r 1 < • > ili at I iance gave to the United States in a i ir i iiaau inde- pendence, but should serve a^ a i-i ta.al mia-e Uetore the world of the idea of liberty. As this double purpose was in view, a mere shaft or memorial structure, however stately, wm;''' '■ ' . ■ ■ ,■ ' .1 .•■''I--!.; a'a! iimMc llL^aifi,' wa-- nci.- a- tav- tiaiaL^'h; to 1..- ;i . t:.a, > a 1 :ae \va^ thai Har- thokli (who was about t Elates) was bidden to make it his special oi idea to the Amer- ican public, excite interc-i in it, a.-.^var the proper site, and finally to propose a design for the statue. Full of the inspiration of this purpose, Bartholdi — already famous in Europe as a painter and sculptor, and soon after- ward well known in the United States through his bronze foun- tain and other works at the Centennial Exposition, and his graceful statue of Lafayette in Union Sqn.na Xrw A'ork— sailed for America, and found the place (<>\- lia- ^t.itne the moment his eyes rested upon the ne w woi-hl, A-, the -teamer sailed up the magnilicent harbnf "i' Xaw N'-i k. h i- ]>a-scngers crowded to the rails eager for a lirst glimpse ol the new land to which they were coming with such hope and confidence. " Here, at the gates," said Bartholdi to himself. " shall stand our figure of Freedom, welcoming, with the light of Liberty, the newcomer to these liberal shores." When he returned to France his design was ready, popular subscription lists had been opened in all ptirts of the French and American n-iml.lic-. and im-par.>'- at once begun for the erei ii..n <•( i!u- statue. U w .< ■ the majestic mien of the la^ai a lU. iii.iiah-1 .1 , ..h is^.h . ; ■ .jKjrtions were de- o'lad 111". 11 far v.i>t. r thai) a:;\ thiiia. !a r.-i..i'. .re attempted. The niassuu .Meiiiia ill .it 'llaiii in laa\]it. -.s a- i mly 62 feet high ; the ligurc i>i 1'.. ,i i . ,ai, > ,. . iH th^ haah .a Lah^: .Maggiore, 66 feet, that of Arniinius, in We-tplia'.i.i. abo-r, f.-et, while the Colos- sus of Rhodes 111 ii ever e.xi-ie'l i wa- -ah |..-- iVet high. Bar- tholdi pUumed a height of more tliaii i iis. l-hir -U'.h a li-iu-e a solid con-tiia : hie, and tile >.T,!pi..r decided upon buildin.- Ii:- -•...•.i.... . e.-ni- 1-111- 11 iif an ir-n I'raiiieW ' 'l a ehala d with thin plates of e(")p- [leialient ttnil haiiiinered inln the recpiired form. 'Ih) aeecjm- plish this a model was first made one-sixteenth of the ultimate size, from which a second model, four times as large, was copied in plaster. From this a third, and finally corrected model of full size was constructed, by erecting a framework of wood covered with a shell of plaster perfected in details by the chisel. From this full-size model were then constructed molds of wood in as many sections as necessary (about 300), into which the copper sheets, etveh from one to three yards square and an ei-Iitli .if an iia.h tha h, aeii' 1h nl and hammered until each htiil assnnu h tlie ie.|iiiri.'i h.rni. and w as prepared to take its place in the completed whole. All the shaping was thus done from the inside, and mainly by skillful hammering. This is known as repousse work. Meanwhile the interior framework, or skeleton, was under construction from designs by Eiffel, the great engineer, who distinguished himself by building the very lofty '• Eiffel Tower" which was the most conspicuous feature of the last world's fair in Paris. Tlic mi>iH\- 11' ■' ■ was rai-cd by meansof fair-, t iitLriaiiu: ii ii.iinv- c irculated in all parl< 'if I-raii. I - ' >,ili>jriptinns were of great am. mill aii-l th. I i i s i anie slowly, so that the work had to ],v siis|u ii.l.-.l ii-iu iiir.>_' to time, but it was never aban- doiK-'l. 'I'hc haii'l an.l t..r..li were first nia].a!il.lir,:<, Treasurer; Joseph W. Drexel. Parke (h.ilwin. I \N' I'mehot, V. Mumford Moore, and Fre.leiuk A I'.iits This committee still exists, but some of the (. 1 1.^111. d iiiemhers have died, and have been replaced bv Cnuhus X. I'.liss, Charles Stewart Smith, Samuel P. Avery, and David II. King, Jr. All these gentlemen devoted niueh time, attention, and money to the undertaking, and are . iimk 1 to be remembered with patriotic gratitude, c-,] a s. Butler, Spaulding, and King. It is not too nil lat had not Mr. King placed his great ability anil . j . : .^e as an engineer at the disposal of the com- mittee tin ].. .lestal could not have been built, nor the statue ereit. l, until vears after the time when it was completed. The mainsiuuig of continuous life in this committee is Mr. Rieliaril I'uitler, whose perpetual interest sustains the effort to iiu re ise the fund and to carry to completion the plans f,,r the In aiitiu iii:< of Bedlow's Island as a worthy setting for the graiul muiiument it upholds. This committee, as soon as formed, secured from Congress the appropriation of Bedlow's Island, and began collecting money to pay for the pedestal, which was to be our part of the memorial. But this proved a very difficult matter. Americans, as a nation, are not prone to enthusiasm over a sentiment, and subscriptions (chiefly from New York City) came in slowly. Designs were drawn by the eminent architect, Richard ^I. Hunt, and the foundation of the pedestal was at length begun in April, 1SS3, after which the work progressed until December, 1SS4, when it stopped. The whole project seemed likely to fail, when T/ic U'or/ii, a New York newspaper, urged so effectively upon the people the ghjry of the cause, that over $100,000 were raised, enabling the committee to finish the pedestal in 1SS6. The statue itself had meanwhile been standing on view in Paris, and now preparations were made to take it down and send it to New York. The French government made a formal presentation of it to the American people, and delegated a war- ship to carry it across the ocean, and other ships to participate in the celebration of its reception at New York. In Jlay, 1SS6, it was embarked upon the transport Iserc, and on the 17th day of June it reached New York, where great preparations had been made to receive it. A naval demonstration by war- vessels, yachts, and hundreds of private steamers, and a great military parade in the city, terminated in a banquet to the officers of the French ships and made a magnificent fete day. The erection of the statue was immediately begun. Sunk into the pedestal, sixty feet below the top, were massive steel cross-beams, and at the top another series of cross-beams, con- nected (as may yet be seen) with those below them by strong ties. These formed the immovable anchorage to which the statue is bolted. Erected upon them arc the four great stanchions or central supports which form the core of the framework, and these approach one another until they nearly meet in the head. These stanchions, firmly bolted and braced together, support the whole structure, and do it in a scientific way, for every one of the tangled web of braiu liin^ I't .mi^ and braces, which now appears so confusing;, was phunl w Ik i c it is only after ean fal stnil\ and laknlatn.n. Tile slicll of the statue consists ,,( „ , plains, Imi iIksl- arc sn thin and jiliable, and of such wiru d shapes, tluU no one ^an lie expected to help sustain tlu- reni.nnder. Each one, tlnrefiMw is net onl\- strengthened hv il.ii enppcr bands, but is sniij.. .rtcil by its own system of iron braces (_ .irrvin^,;- its wci-lit ilircctl\- t.. tin,' central frame. Tlie total wci-ht <■( the phitcs is ci-lii v-ci-ht t'lns. In erecting sueli a gr-^-.it statue two tliin;^s had to lie cfm- sidcred that seem trilling, liut whidi. if nc-hctcd, mi-ht destroy the statue in one day, or eansi' it to uiindilc slowU- to pieces. One is the sun and the other the se a-I ii eezt, . Precautions had to be taken ae,,iinst tiK- desinictue elTects of both. The heat of the sun, rising sonn,'tinies to too de- grees Fahrenheit, would pull the statue out of shape unless means were provided allowing it to move upon itself, or rather upon the framework beneath the surface. "Each bolt will slip a trifle as the co])])er e.\i)ands in the hot August sunshine, and slide back a.:j,ain when the freezini;- winds blow and the vast li:. .uc. To ( i. n 1 li.n ]. s 1 ', Stom , V , S, A., was entiT.stcil I In ■ i iilo a- i li le.; ..1 t h 1 s strtutnre. 'Idle fomula- tion is based npoii a b.-.l ..i , i.iy. y gravel, a few feet above the level ol the bay, .uid > on asts , >\ .1 sti, piped pyramid of concrete, rising 52 feet 10 iiu hes, and ha\ ing within it a hollow center or shaft about 2(1 feet s, pi.^re. cm the top of tills concrete pyramid, 60 feet 10 inches abo\-c mean low-wattr niarh, and high above the surrounding walls of I'^ii t W 1. be.;ins the ju destal proper, a structure of .granite, simple, niassui . and gi.md. but not so ornate as to diminish the artistic \-, due of the si.itiie it s,ipp,,rts. "At its base the ]iedestal pl op, i- , " ^.i \ ( ; , im ,jt t , ' is oj feet square. In the tenti r of r.n li s,,|,.. at the b.i-. , i-. .h^.i-waw ( )n either side ol r\" do(ir is ,i p; oi,.-.. 1 1 1 rhs]., .ii st.ine. on whuh are placed the >aeitso| aiiiisot b-.eue .i;,d the riiited M.iteS in relief. A goo.l an ii:!.-. ir.r.d ein , 1 1-, produced by the rough stone-work .It the coriKas ,,i tli,. pch stal. At an elevation of 72 feet S inches the walls of the peilcsi.d leiede, leaving on every side ... a balconx- upon which doors from the inside open. The view from this b.di on\ is anion;..- the hnest that can be enjoye.l anynli. re in I'le \mmii\ of N\ ;v V.,rk."- l^ntering tlic do.n- ,if the p(.'dcstal \-oti lind \dni-si.'lf in a large eh.imber .ig.iinst w hose wall clings a stairway that winds Its w.iy to the fool of the st.ituc. Here, on the level of the balcon_\- at the summit of the pedestal, it divides into two narrow stairways, that a few feet above your head twist together about a central column and entwine it to the statue's head, 100 feet above. One of these is the ascending staircase, the other the descending one. Both have high guardrails, are fitted with resting-places at short intervals, and are lighted by electricity, so tliat tlieascentof the 154 steps is a simple and safe matter, which needs only to be done slowly, and will enable one to examine thoroughly the ingenious construction of the monument. A ladder runs uji the ri;_ lf in a ci rcular chamber, which i^ 111- iiii' i ioi ..I lib ',:a!M. '>, iMivlira l and whose win- dows h.< .k . n 1 1 ilii-..ii..;li ilic riiu of the c'.r-ULt jUNt underneath the great siiikr-liK«_' r.iys. The Stain. ■ Ml l,ibcrty is held as a trust by the United States, whu li li,i. rova nanted to care for it iieri)etually and to proxiili.- f.,r il- r iknnnn.ilion. 'I'he rU-etric power-house is nr.ir tlic -.-ntli >]i'>rr ..t the inland and i-- o])en to visitors. Bedlow V Klaiid and the Statue of Liberty are reached by the train and eoinini table fei rv steamboat, which makes an hourly trip duriu'^r tlie Size Ml line. in,. 13 X lO in Head l,..nr. hin I- ■ ^. 1/ 3 Hea.l thiekn.-s. Mmiu ear I.. car_ lo o Distance aeiMss ilic eye 2 6 Len.i;ih ..f n..s,. 4 6 Right arm, length --- 42 o Right arm, greatest thickness 12 o Thickness of waist 35 « Width of mouth 3 <> Tablet, length 23 7 Tablet, width 13 7 Tablet, thickness 2 o DIMENSIONS OF THE PEDESTAL. Feet In. Height of pedestal___ 89 o Square sides at base, Lack 62 o Square sides at tMp, ._a^li _ 40 o Grecian columns, above base 72 8 DIMENSIONS OF THE FOUNDATION. Feet In. Height of foundation 65 o Square sides at bottom 91 o Square sides at top - 66 7 DATES IN THE HISTORY OF THE STATUE. French-American Union 1S74 Work on arm began . . . 1S75 Arm and torch fini.shed 1876 Placed on exhibition, Philadelphia .1876 Liberty Island ceded by Congress 1877 Face and head completed 1878 Entire statue finished July 7, 1880 Mounted in Paris October, 1S81 Ground broken for pedestal April, 18S3 Ftmndation completed April, 1SS5 Pedestal completed 1886 First rivet driven on statue July 12. 1886 Statue completed October 28, 1S86 The statue weighs 450,000 pounds, or 225 tons. The bronze alone weighs 200,000 pounds. Forty persons can stand comfortably in the head, and the torch will hold twelve people. The total number of steps in the temporary staircase, which leads from the base of the foundation to the top of the torch, is 403; from the ground to the top of the pedestal, 195. The number of steps in the statue, from the jiedestal to the head, is 154, and the ladder leading up through the extended right arm to the torch has 54 rounds.