Free
Millions of immigrants from all over the world have passed by the majestic symbol of freedom on their way to a new life in a new land.
More than 3 million people come to visit the Statue of Liberty every year. Here’s how the Lady measures up.
Right Arm and Torch
Liberty’s right arm is 42 feet long, and the torch she carries is 24 feet tall. The torch represents Liberty enlightening the world with freedom.
Hand: 16 feet, 5 inches
Index Finger: 8 feet
Crown and Rays
This is the highest point of the statue that is now open to the public. The crown has 25 windows, and the seven spikes symbolize Liberty’s divine halo.
Longest Ray above Crown: 11 feet, 6 inches
Eye: 2 feet, 6 inches wide
Nose: 4 feet, 6 inches long
Mouth: 3 feet wide
Hair
Pulled into a bun, in the style of the nineteenth century, Liberty’s hair is thick and wavy.
Left Arm and Tablet
In her left hand, Liberty holds a tablet with the date of the signing of the Declaration of Independence written in Roman numerals: July IV, MDCCLXXVI.
Clothing
Dressed like other statues of classical Roman goddesses, Liberty wears a palla, a cloak fastened at the left shoulder with a clasp. Beneath it is a stola, which falls to her feet.
Copper Plates: 350, approximately 3⁄32 inch thick, form the “skin” of the statue.
Steps
There are a total of 354 steps from the foundation to the crown. A double spiral staircase, one for going up and the other for going down, rises inside the hollow statue.
Feet
Liberty is wearing sandals, and has her right foot raised, as if she is in motion. Each sandal is 25 feet long, or U.S. women’s shoe size 879.
Shackle
At the bottom of the statue is a broken chain that disappears under Lady Liberty’s clothing, then reappears just in front of her left foot. It is a symbol for the recent breaking of the chains of slavery after the U.S. Civil War.
Observation Balcony
Atop the pedestal, below the statue’s feet, there is an observation deck where visitors can walk outside. On a clear day, they can see for 15 miles.
Pedestal
Ten stories high, the pedestal has 20-foot-thick concrete walls. They are covered with granite blocks. The workers who built the walls mixed pennies, nickels, and dimes into the wet concrete to celebrate a job well done.
Emma Lazarus’s now famous poem was written as part of the fund-raising campaign. It is displayed in the statue’s museum, which is located on the second floor in the pedestal. ▼
The New Colossus
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
—Emma Lazarus, 1883
