Do you know why lady liberty’s torch has been closed to the public since 1916?
Lady Liberty was named “Liberty Enlightening the World” by Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi. Bartholdi was the French man who conceived the idea of building a colossal statue to be gifted to America to celebrate and honor the love of liberty that bonded the French and American people. Lady Liberty stands 305 feet tall on an 89-foot-tall pedestal set in a star-shaped foundation.
The Statue of Liberty’s pedestal sits atop the remains of Fort Wood, originally one link in a chain of defenses protecting New York City and its vital harbor. The fort was built between 1808 and 1811 in the shape of an eleven-pointed star and was occupied by the War Department as an army post until 1937.
Bartholdi, a trained architect and talented sculptor, designed the statue on his own initiative. He raised money in France and in the U.S. to build the statue. Work began in 1870. Bartholdi used sheets of hammered copper to fashion the statue, and Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel (yes-that Eiffel) designed the statue’s steel framework. “It was to be a monument to the Franco-American alliance of 1778, which was forged during a fight for liberty.”
The statue was intended to be given to the U.S. in 1876 to honor the centennial of the Declaration of Independence, but the massive project needed more time. By 1878, Liberty’s head was complete. It was on display at the Paris World’s Fair.
Lady Liberty, was dedicated by President Grover Cleveland on October 28, 1886. She was not green then. The copper she was made of did not fully oxidize until about thirty years later. “Her title in full was, “Liberty Enlightening the World.” The tablet in Liberty’s left hand is inscribed with the date “JULY IV MDCCLXXVI” – July 4, 1776, the date of the United States Declaration of Independence.”
The Emma Lazarus poem, “The New Colossus”, associated with Lady Liberty was not part of the dedication ceremony of 1886. The poem was written upon request in 1883 from the pedestal fund raising committee. The poem was included in a collection of poems published as a book commissioned by the committee to help raise the money needed to complete the pedestal.
In 1901 Georgina Schuyler found the book containing the poem in a New York used book store. She was so touched by the poem, that she “set on a mission to have a plaque engraved with the five lines from the poem that are so familiar now.” The plaque was placed inside the second story of the statue’s pedestal in 1903. Today it resides in the Statue of Liberty Museum, in the base.
“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!”
Emma Lazarus died in 1887, long before the plaque bearing her words was placed in the pedestal beneath Lady Liberty. The Statue of Liberty was designated as a National Monument in 1924. Employees of the National Park Service have been caring for the colossal copper statue since 1933.
Originally, Liberty’s torch and crown were opened to the public. However, after the “Black Tom” explosion on July 30, 1916, the torch was closed.
What was the “Black Tom” explosion? According to an article in the Smithsonian magazine, America had been selling massive quantities of munitions to the British, despite at the time claiming neutrality in World War I. Black Tom Island, which was not far from Liberty Island, where Lady Liberty stands, was a major munitions depot. It is believed that 50 tons of TNT, and 69 railroad freight cars were storing more than a thousand tons of ammunition, awaiting shipment to Britain and France.
At 2:00 a.m., an explosion equivalent to an earthquake measuring up to 5.5 on the Richter scale was felt. People were jolted awake in Manhattan, New Jersey, Brooklyn and further away. Heavy plate-glass windows were shattered and a mist of ash spread. It is said observers witnessed munition shells rocketing across the water and exploding a mile from the fires on Black Tom Island.
Dozens were injured, and it is believed fewer than ten people died. At first it was thought that carelessness in tending to smudge pots lit to keep mosquitos away had caused the explosion. It took years of investigations to determine that it was operatives working for Germany who were to blame.
Lady Liberty’s torch has remained closed to the public ever since. The arm was believed to have been weakened due to the explosion. In 1986, a new torch was added during an extensive renovation of the statue in honor of the centennial of its dedication. The copper flame was covered in 24K gold. The original torch was removed and is now on display inside the Pedestal lobby. The new torch was never opened to the public.
After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Liberty Island closed for 100 days. The Statue of Liberty itself was not reopened to visitors until August 2004. In July 2009, the statue’s crown was again reopened to the public, though visitors must make a reservation to climb to the top of the pedestal or to the crown.
According to The National Parks of New York Harbor Conservancy, about four million people visit the Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island each year. The Statue of Liberty, aka Lady Liberty, is recognized as a universal symbol of freedom and democracy.