Designed by the French sculptor Bartholdi august, the Statue of Liberty was a gift of the French people to the American people. It was inaugurated on October 28, 1886. The first lift was commissioned in 1906 to give access to the top of the pedestal. In 1933 President Franklin D. Roosevelt transfer ownership of the statue of "Liberty National Monument" to the "National Park Service", which still owns today. Five years later saw the first major renovation of the statue, pedestal, the pedestal and walks. The monument was partially rebuilt between 1984 and 1986, in particular the replacement of the torch and the re-axis orientation of the arm, which was 60cm too close to the head before. April 2004 marks the start of major improvements to visitor safety, changes made until July when to reopen the statue for the first time since the attacks of 11 September 2001. From April to July 2009 other works allowed changing the double staircase leading to the crown rotations. The statue reopened July 4, 2009, the day of American independence.
Chronology
1811 : Installed by the corps of military engineers from USA, Fort Wood is built on Bedloe's Island (now Liberty Island) as part of the defenses of the port of New York.
1865 : Professor Edouard de Laboulaye and sculptor Auguste Bartholdi considering the design of a statue commemorating American independence.
1870 : Bartholdi designed the statue.
1875 : Bartholdi ends the first plaster model. The France starts fundraising to finance the final statue. She receives an official name: "Liberty Enlightening the World."
1876-1884 : Workers workshops "Gaget and Gauthier" of Paris built the 300 copper pieces of the statue, which form a huge puzzle. The whole weighs 88 tonnes.
1877 : The US Congress formalizes the location of the future statue on Bedloe's Island.
1880 : Bartholdi contact the engineer Gustave Eiffel to design the internal structure of the Statue.
1881 : The US Committee for the construction of the statue is launching a competition for the construction of the base. The architect Morris Hunt was retained.
1884 : The pedestal of the works are stopped due to lack of funding. John Pulitzer, publisher of "the World" newspaper, received $ 102,000 in funding through an aggressive national campaign among the middle classes.
1885 : The statue was dismantled in Paris and crating and loaded aboard the Isere, a military frigate, which took charge of New York, where she manages 4 months later.
1886 : The pedestal is over and the statue is finally assembled. On October 28, 1886 is the date of the inauguration as a gift from France to the United States.
1906 : The first elevator is installed in the base. It allows to climb to the top of the base effortlessly for the first time.
1924 : President Calvin Coolidge stands the statue to the status of national monument.
1933 : President Franklin D. Roosevelt transferred the statue to the "National Park Service".
1937 : The US military definitely downgrades Fort Wood.
1937-1938 : The "Works Progress Administration" (WPA) is renovating certain areas of the statue as the support of the halo or the steps of the pedestal. WPA implements measures to prevent rainwater from seeping into the base
1956 : An official act of Congress renames "Bedloe's Island" in "Liberty Island".
1965 : President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a presidential proclamation that adds Ellis Island to the list of buildings of the "National Park Service", under the responsibility of "Liberty National Monument". The NPS builds the "American Museum of Immigration" (American Museum of Immigration. "
1984 : UNESCO means the Statue of Liberty as belonging to the World Heritage Site, the only of the State of New York.
1984-1986 : The French and American engineers work to restore large parts of the statue to its centenary. The team preserved or repaired exterior, especially the torch which was replaced and corrected the position of the arm outstretched, head tilted too since its inception. It also refit the lift, suppressed the interiors and changed the Gustave Eiffel structure, replacing it with a steel structure.
2001 : After the attacks of 11 September the statue is closed to the public. Liberty Island was reopened on December 20, but the pedestal and the statue remains closed.
2004 : Access to the top of the fort and lookout Wood pedestal was reopened to the public, but the crown remains closed.
2009 : Improved double staircase leading to the crown rotation, work on which began in April. On July 4, the crown is open to the public after eight years of prohibition.
2011 : On October 28, the famous statue of the 125th anniversary of its inauguration. The next day the monument is closed for other safety and comfort improvements. The webcams of the torch are installed.
