Named after the Roman Goddess Libertas, the Lady Liberty or the Statue of Liberty is placed on a 12-acre Liberty Island in New York Harbour.
The French gifted the Americans to commemorate 100 years of American Independence. In 2009, the Statue of Liberty was declared a symbol of the nation. We bring you a short note on what you should take note of before you explore Lady Liberty in all her glory.
DimensionsThe iconic structure stands 151 feet, and if we include the Pedestal and the Foundation, the total height is 305 feet. The waist of Lady Liberty is 35 feet, and her nose is 4 feet and 6 inches long. The feet of Lady Liberty holds a shoe with a gigantic US size of 879, roughly close to 8 feet. The total weight of Lady Liberty is 450,000 pounds.
Opening hours and best time to visitThe Statue of Liberty is open all days of the week except for Christmas day, December 25. The opening time remains constant at 8 am for all the seasons, with the closing time varying per season. We recommend you go in later afternoons or evenings for the best experience. It takes approximately one hour to cover this incredible destination over a cruise. If you wish to cover the Pedestal and the Crown, we recommend you keep 5-6 hours aside.
Period 1 lasts from January 1 to May 26, and Period 4, lasting from October 10 to December 31, has a closing time of 3:30 pm. Period 2, lasting from May 27 to September 4, has a closing time of 5 pm. Season 3, from September 5 to October 10, closes at 4 pm. The attraction closes at 1:30 pm on Christmas Eve, December 24.
The Statue of Liberty Cruise tickets are available for $23.5 per person.
Reaching the Statue of Liberty
There are ferry rides that depart from 8:30 am in the morning from Battery Park and Liberty Statue Park. The last ferry departs from the mainland around 3:30 pm. The last ferry from Liberty Island departs at 5 pm or 5:45 pm, depending on the low or peak season.
The history behind the Statue of Liberty
In 1865, the French president of the Anti-Slavery Society, Edouard de Laboulaye, proposed to build a fortified statue to represent liberty and freedom to celebrate the alliance of France and the United States of America during the American revolution and to celebrate the centennial celebrations of the American Independence. The French Sculptor Auguste Bartholdi built the statue with engineer Gustave Eiffel in France, who took 9 years working seven days a week and 10 hours daily to complete it. Auguste designed the Statue, and Eiffel gave the frame structure to this iconic statue.
The iconic monument is designed to represent a woman holding a torch up in one hand over her head, dressed in Arab peasant garb initially was eventually transformed into a Greco-Roman goddess. Upon completion of the sculpture, it was dismantled into approximately 350 pieces, packed in 214 crates, transported via ship from France to New York, and presented to the USA on their Independence Day in 1886.
It took four more months to reassemble it and place it at the port of New York on October 28, 1886, providing a much broader meaning over the years. The statue was placed on the Pedestal that was designed by an American architect, Richard Morris Hunt. Finally, the then President Grover Cleveland officially launched the Statue of Liberty. This year, in October 2023, the Statue of Liberty will turn 138 years old.
Materials used for designing Lady Liberty
The structure is an iron frame plastered with a thin sheet of pure copper that gave it an initial reddish brown color that eventually transformed into a blue-green shade due to the corrosion and chemical reaction between the metal and water over time. The iconic masterpiece used 125 tons of steel and 31 tons of copper. The torch was also initially coated with copper, but over the years, it required a renovation in 1916, where the copper layer was chipped off and installed with glass windows. Finally, the original torch was taken off and is displayed at the museum with a freshly gold-leaf coated torch replacing the same.
The Statue of Liberty Poem
Emma Lazarus, an American poet wrote the New Colossus or the Statue of Liberty poem to raise funds for constructing the Pedestal in 1883. The funds kept flowing, but the poet never got recognition for her work in the funding campaign. However, after Emma died in 1887, her friends began a campaign to celebrate her work and poem, which turned out to be a nationwide success that led to the poem being carved on a bronze plaque and mounted right next to the lower level in 1903.
The Pedestal of the Statue of Liberty
The Pedestal is an entire building with 215 steps. It houses a museum that enlightens about the rich history of the iconic Statue of Liberty. The entrance is a white tent behind the Statue, where you need to flash your ticket at the entrance to get admission. There are 2 floors where exhibits are placed and a 10th-floor observatory. The torch exhibit on the first floor has the original torch that Lady Liberty used to hold before being replaced due to natural corrosion. The Mother of Exiles, which became the Statue of America, and the Statue of popular culture, along with plenty of pictures, sketches, documents, and artifacts, are placed on the second floor.
Key tips: Avoid carrying food, beverages, strollers, tripods, umbrellas, and backpacks, as they are not allowed. You can rent storage lockers for $2 for 2 hours. However, this locker facility only accepts cash. Also, while booking your pedestal reserve tickets online, select the option to receive your tickets by email and print them at home to avoid the queue.
Crown of Lady Liberty
The Headpiece of Lady Liberty, also known as the Crown, is a diadem representing sovereignty. There are 7 spikes on the Crown; each spike represents an ocean and a continent. Many people refer to the spikes as a sun ray that offers a halo feeling to represent her divinity. There is a separate entrance labeled as a Crown Entrance to go up. The 25 windows on the Crown represent the rare gemstones on earth. You can visit all the way up to the Crown but be sure you can hold your nerves at such height and the physical endurance to go all the way up and come down as it is equivalent to climbing up and down a 22-story building. Kids below 4 years are not entertained here. You must physically collect the tickets from the Will Call counter by displaying your ID. As the interiors are not temperature controlled, be ready to adapt to the outside temperature on your way up.
Key tips: Don’t bring a camera, bottled water, and any form of medication, as these are not allowed while going up the Crown. Renting a locker is the best way to deposit your stuff and collect it back while returning.
Your New York City tour is incomplete if you miss the Statue of Liberty. This fabulous destination features in the travel bucket list of every traveler or tourist who has ever stepped into New York City. It promises iconic views, a boat ride, great vibes, delightful food options, and several walking, cafe, and bike tours.
