The Statue of Liberty Is Hollow
The Statue of Liberty is a thin copper skin around an iron frame, and the Park Service has drawn that frame sheet by sheet. These are the drawings, photographs and reports behind the episode.
What we read
- Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) NY-138, Statue of Liberty, National Park Service. Measured drawings, addendum 2006–2011, 36 sheets. Library of Congress.
- Sheet 1 of 36 (LoC 2-1), Liberty Island Site Plan and credits: Ananta Patel, Dana Lockett, 2011.
- Sheet 12 (2-12), Statue, Platform Plans: Susan Bruns, 2006; Dana Lockett, 2011.
- Sheet 17 (2-17), North Pedestal Elevation: Ryan Pierce, Dana Lockett, 2011.
- Sheet 32 (2-32), Statue, Section C-C: Adam Everett, 2006; Ryan Pierce, Dana Lockett, 2011.
- Sheet 35 (2-35), Statue, Section F-F: Cory Edwards, 2006; Ryan Pierce, Dana Lockett, 2011.
- Photographs NY-138-11, -47, -79, -86, -90, -94, -96, -102, -143, -149 and -220, by Jet Lowe, HAER, 1984–1988.
loc.gov/item/ny1251 - Drawings from Gustave Eiffel's office, sent to Richard Morris Hunt, architect of the pedestal (Hunt Collection, AIA/AAF). Library of Congress.
- Framework elevations, "Pile intérieure", c. 1881.
- Wind load diagram, "Epure de résistance aux efforts du vent", 14 Nov. 1881.
loc.gov/item/2010649598 loc.gov/item/2026164147 - Construction photographs, 1876–1883 (Paris views from Bartholdi's 1883 album). Library of Congress.
- Hand and torch, Philadelphia, 1876 (Centennial Photographic Co.).
- Head at the Paris Exposition, 1878.
- Iron pylon in its scaffold, head at left (Albert Fernique).
- Copper skin rising on the frame (Pierre Petit).
- Lower half skinned, head and torch at its feet (Albert Fernique).
- Plaster left hand on its wooden lath frame (Pierre Petit).
- Shaping copper sheets (Pierre Petit).
- Hammering copper (Pierre Petit).
- Wooden molds (Pierre Petit).
- Bartholdi's model (Pierre Petit).
loc.gov/pictures/item/97502738 loc.gov/pictures/item/97502744 loc.gov/pictures/item/2020634759 loc.gov/pictures/item/2020634765 loc.gov/pictures/item/2020634761 loc.gov/pictures/item/2020634757 loc.gov/pictures/item/2020634762 loc.gov/pictures/item/97502750 loc.gov/pictures/item/2020634764 loc.gov/pictures/item/2020634766 - A. Bartholdi, US Design Patent D11,023, 18 Feb. 1879, drawing sheet. USPTO.
patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pdfs/USD11023.pdf - Scientific American vol. 52 no. 24, 13 June 1885, p. 375, Fig. 2, anchoring of the statue (engraving, "Butt del."). Internet Archive.
archive.org/details/sim_scientific-american_1885-06-13_52_24
Also useful
- NPS, Statue of Liberty Historic Structure Report (2011).
npshistory.com/publications/stli/hsr.pdf - NPS, Statue Statistics.
nps.gov/stli/learn/historyculture/statue-statistics.htm - CRM Bulletin vol. 9 no. 2 (NPS, 1986).
- Garabit viaduct span: Structurae.
structurae.net/en/structures/garabit-viaduct
Notes
- Her height of 305 feet, ground to torch, is the Park Service's own figure. The drawings measure from other levels, so we did not read it off a sheet.
- The 200 tons of wind is our arithmetic from General Charles Stone's 1885 design values: about 4,000 square feet of surface at 100 pounds per square foot. It is a design load on paper, not a measured force.
- The Garabit viaduct's arch spans 165 metres, about 540 feet. The 2011 structure report gives 455 feet; we used the span published for the bridge itself.
- The diagrams in the video are our own drawings made to explain the sheets, not copies of them.