The Lady Gets a Makeover

Lady Liberty – How’s She Doing?

‘The Lady gets a Makeover’

compiled from multiple sources

The Statue of Liberty was one of the earliest beneficiaries of a cause marketing campaign. A 1983 promotion advertised that for each purchase made with an American Express card, American Express would contribute one penny to the renovation of the statue. The campaign generated contributions of $1.7 million to the Statue of Liberty restoration project.

Face of Statue of Liberty was uncrated on Liberty Island (Bedloe’s Island) in 1885.

Note wrought iron bars, shaped to match, and attached to the copper skin, which provided support of the skin to connect to the iron framework The dark color was the result of oxidation of the copper material, which turned deeper brown, black, and after about twenty years, the light green color of fully oxidized copper.

Uncrated              Replica showing relative size

Replica of foot showing relative size

Centennial Exposition 1876, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania World’s Fair and later in New York, so America was given a “sneak preview,” of what was to come.

Statue of Liberty Museum and Observatory

Built into the pedestal’s massive masonry are two sets of four iron girders, connected by iron tie beams that are carried up to become part of Eiffel’s framework for the statue itself. Thus, Liberty is integral with her pedestal.

In 1916, floodlights were placed around the base of the statue. Also in 1916, the Black Tom explosion caused $100,000 worth of damage ($1.98 million in 2008 dollars) to the statue, embedding fragmentation and eventually leading to the closing of the torch to visitors.

The Black Tom explosion of July 30, 1916 in Jersey City, New Jersey was an act of sabotage on American ammunition supplies by German agents to prevent the materials from being used by the Allies in World War I.

Also in 1916, Gutzon Borglum, sculptor of Mount Rushmore, modified the original copper torch by cutting away most of the copper in the flame, retrofitting glass panes and installing an internal light. After these modifications, the torch severely leaked rainwater and snowmelt, accelerating corrosion inside the statue. It was also confusing to birds.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt rededicated the Statue of Liberty on its 50th anniversary (October 28, 1936).

The Statue of Liberty was engineered to withstand heavy winds. Winds of 50 miles per hour cause the Statue to sway 3 inches (7.62 cm) and the torch to sway 5 inches (12.7 cm). This allows the Statue to move rather than break in high wind load conditions.

In 1984, the statue was closed so that a $62 million renovation could be performed for the statue’s centennial. Chrysler chairman Lee Iacocca was appointed by President Reagan to head the commission overseeing the task. He was later dismissed to avoid any ‘conflict of interest.’

Workers erected scaffolding around the statue, obscuring it from public view until the rededication on July 3, 1986. The scaffolding-clad statue can be seen in the 1984 film ‘Desperately Seeking Susan,’ in the 1985 film ‘Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins,’ and in the 1985 film ‘Brewster’s Millions.’

Inside work began with workers using liquid nitrogen to remove seven layers of paint applied to the interior of the copper skin over the decades. That left two layers of tar originally applied to plug leaks and prevent corrosion. Blasting with baking soda removed the tar without further damaging the copper. Larger holes in the copper skin had edges smoothed then mated with new copper patches.

Each of the 1,350 shaped iron ribs backing the skin had to be removed and replaced. The iron had experienced galvanic corrosion wherever it contacted the copper skin, losing up to 50% of its thickness. Bartholdi had anticipated the problem and used an asbestos/pitch combination to separate the metals, but the insulation had worn away decades before. New bars of stainless steel bent into matching shapes replaced the iron bars, with Teflon film separating them from the skin for further insulation and friction reduction.

The internal structure of the upraised right arm was reworked. The statue was erected with the arm offset 18″ (0.46 m) to the right and forward of Eiffel’s central frame, while the head was offset 24″ (0.61 m) to the left, which had been compromising the framework. Theory held that Bartholdi made the modification without Eiffel’s involvement after seeing the arm and head were too close. Engineers considered reinforcements made in 1932 insufficient and added diagonal bracing in 1984 and 1986 to make the arm structurally sound.

Besides the replacement of much of the internal iron with stainless steel and the structural reinforcement of the statue itself, the restoration of the mid-1980s also included the replacement of the original torch with a replica.

A new torch replaced the original in 1986, which was deemed beyond repair because of the extensive 1916 modifications. The 1886 torch is now in the monument’s lobby museum. The new torch has gold plating applied to the exterior of the “flame,” which is illuminated by external lamps on the surrounding balcony platform.

1916                                    1986

New stairs replaced the original iron stairs, a newer elevator was installed within the pedestal, and climate control systems were upgraded.  The Statue of Liberty was reopened to the public on July 5, 1986.

Click here to: Our Lady Liberty “How’s She Doing?” – The French Kiss

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