Did you know more than 12 million immigrants entered the U.S. through the Ellis Island gateway during the ’80s and the Statue of Liberty welcoming them with its all affection?

The Liberty Enlightening Statue!!

Statue of Liberty, a colossal statue in the Upper New York Bay, commemorates the friendship of the peoples of the United States and France. The statue represents several features-

•Â Â Â  It is 305 feet high statue.

•Â Â Â  It represents a woman holding a torch in her right hand.

•Â Â Â  And a tablet in her left hand bearing the date of the Declaration of Independence.

•Â Â Â  The torch measures 29 feet.

•Â Â Â  It is accessible via a 42-foot service ladder inside the arm.

•Â Â   A spiral staircase leads to an observation platform in the statue’s crown.

Striking Facts about Statue of Liberty!!

Let’s check out-

1.    The Statue of Liberty was not a gift to America.

Auguste Bartholdi, the statue maker, decided to set up a country he had never visited by building a huge lighthouse in the shape of a woman. When no funding emerged, he made a plan by charging visitors admission to watch the statue’s construction in a dusty workshop.  And also sold souvenirs to made this unique statue.

Interesting, no?

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2.    It was originally designed for the Suez Canal in Egypt.

Bartholdi had visited Egypt and was enchanted by the project underway to dig a channel between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. He then planned to build and designed a colossal woman holding up a lamp and wearing the loose fitting dress to stand as a lighthouse at the entrance of the Suez Canal. Wow!

3.     Americans were not ready to welcome Bartholdi’s statue.

So how excited were Americans of giving a home to this new monument? Initially, support was extremely lackluster and it took about 15 years to the completed statue as well as American citizenry began to embrace it.

4.    The statue’s torch was exhibited in Philadelphia

The torch was exhibited to great success at the 1876 world’s fair in Philadelphia. And more interestingly, fairgoers paid admission to climb up into the torch and take in the view from the top. With the funds raised from that exhibition, Bartholdi finally had enough money to build the statue’s head.

5.    It Was Supposed To Be A Lighthouse.

When Grant authorized the use of Liberty Island for the statue, he specified that the Statue of Liberty would be a lighthouse. That would give the Lady a purpose, but unfortunately, the engineers were never able to successfully light it enough to serve that purpose.

6.     Planned For The Statue To Be Covered In Gold.

In order to make the statue visible after dark, Bartholdi proposed that Americans raise the money to gild the statue. It was really tough task to gather enough money to place the statue in New York which can be cover in gold. And unfortunately, no one was paying the enormous cost of covering in gold.

Want to know more? Then take a break from your daily hectic life and plan a remarkable trip to discover the charm of this antique Statue of Liberty!