Lady Liberty has held her light high since she was first dedicated in October 1886. She provides a beacon for the underrepresented and oppressed citizens of the world, along with symbolizing the American Dream. It’s impossible to look at the Statue of Liberty without feeling at least somewhat emotional. That’s because she represents the best of American culture. This quintessential piece of America actually came from France, which helps highlight America’s importance in making freedom accessible to all.
10 Interesting Facts About the Statue of Liberty
If you’ve ever wondered ‘what is the Statue of Liberty made out of’ or wanted to know other interesting facts about the Statue of Liberty, be sure to read on. We’re here to fill you in on everything that makes Lady Liberty tick!
1. She’s Made Out of Copper
Although her green hue may make you think otherwise, the Statue of Liberty was made mostly out of copper. When she first arrived in the U.S., she was colored like a penny, rather than the green tint known as patina that everyone has come to know. So, where did her patina come from? Her physical location. You see, copper develops bluish green encrustation whenever it’s continuously exposed to the air and water. It took her about 30 years to transition from a dull brown into the patina you see today.
2. She Has Ginormous Feet
Cool facts about the Statue of Liberty include that she wears size 879 sandals. This definitely makes the joke from The Simpsons about Marge wearing size 13AA seem tiny by comparison. Each of Lady Liberty’s feet measure an astounding 25 feet in length, and it was necessary for her exact shoe size to be calculated. As they jokingly said about Lady Liberty in a different episode of The Simpsons, “This enormous woman will devour us all!”
3. She Was Meant to be a Lighthouse
The Statue of Liberty was originally envisioned as a lighthouse for the New York Harbor. In fact, this was part of her official job from 1886 to 1902. However, even with her burning light, it was impossible to see her from Manhattan. Therefore, it’s a good thing that New York City gave up on this idea. We love taking boat tours to see Lady Liberty, but we’re glad that we’re not relying on her light to lead the way.
4. She Led to One of the First Examples of Crowdfunding
Believe it or not, the Statue of Liberty wouldn’t exist without the power of crowdfunding. Although she’s known to have been a gift from the French, it’s important to realize that the French government wanted nothing to do with paying for her creation. As a result, Frederic Auguste Bartholdi not only built her but also did extensive crowdfunding to pay for Lady Liberty. Bartholdi got French citizens involved, even going so far as to offer rewards for each donation. In total, he raised more than $250,000. That’s worth over $8.3 million today.
5. Her Pedestal Was Also Crowdfunded
French citizens paid for Lady Liberty, but it was up to Americans to provide her with a pedestal. When the Statue of Liberty arrived, her pedestal was only half built. In fact, the many pieces of Lady Liberty were kept in crates on Ellis Island for almost a year. Joseph Pulitzer, a famous journalist and the namesake of the Pulitzer Prize, decided to raise money for the completion of the over-budget pedestal. He brought in around $100,000, or $3.2 million in today’s money, and the project was finally finished.
6. She Led to the First Ticker Tape Parade
Lady Liberty was supposed to be dedicated a full decade before 1886. Due to several issues with construction, though, she wasn’t completed in time for the Declaration of Independence’s centennial celebration. When she finally opened, New York City hosted a parade in her honor. Everyone was excited, including people who worked for the New York Stock Exchange. To showcase this, they took ribbons from their ticker tape machines and threw them down into the crowd. We might use shredded paper or confetti now, but the Statue of Liberty led to the first ticker tape parade in history.
7. She’s Surprisingly Thin-Skinned
Although she stands 305 feet high (151 feet without her pedestal) and weighs approximately 312,000 pounds, she has a surprisingly thin layer of copper holding her together. It’s been estimated that her copper covering is only about as thick as two pennies stacked together. What’s inside her, then? One of many Statue of Liberty fun facts is that her insides consist of scaffolding.
8. German Spies Caused Her Torch to Shut Down
Lady Liberty invited people to view her torch close up until 1916. That’s when German spies placed munitions in Jersey City, which blew out windows all the way to Times Square. Flying debris from the explosion damaged her torch and arm, which made it unsafe for visitors to enter her torch. It took America 68 years to repair the torch. In 1984, it was replaced with a 24-karat gold leaf. The original torch is now an interesting part of the statue’s lobby.
9. She Was Intended as a Celebration of Abolition
Sculptor Frédéric Bartholdi and French abolitionist Édouard de Laboulaye intended Lady Liberty to celebrate the end of slavery. Meanwhile, African American newspapers believed the statue represented hypocrisy, due to the South’s Jim Crow laws. What was seen by the French as freedom was actually much more complicated. Although Black people no longer had to fear slavery in the U.S., they were still denied the full equality, liberty, and justice that Lady Liberty represented.
10. Thomas Edison Wanted Her to Speak
Thomas Edison wanted Lady Liberty to ‘speak’ through a giant gramophone. Despite being credited with inventing the phonograph and the light bulb, Edison wasn’t able to convince people that the Statue of Liberty needed to speak, and his idea was voted down. How different would this article of fun facts about the Statue of Liberty have been if she’d been able to talk?
See the Statue of Liberty Up Close
People still flock to see Lady Liberty almost 140 years after she was dedicated. 3.7 million people visited the Statue of Liberty in 2023, and the statue peaked with 4.5 million visitors in 2016. Clearly, the pandemic dampened enthusiasm for going on a big group tour but seeing Lady Liberty up close is something you’ll never be able to forget.
The good news is that you don’t have to go to Ellis Island and fight the crowds in order to get a fantastic view of the statue. Instead, book our Statue of Liberty tour to see her from onboard one of our boats. You can join a group of 6 or 16 passengers, and we’ll take you to see Lady Liberty, along with other well-known attractions such as the Manhattan skyline, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the Empire State Building. You can even get a selfie with the iconic statue in the background!
New York Harbor Tours is dedicated to providing a truly memorable experience for each of our guests.