I came across an interesting tidbit the other day regarding the Statue Of Liberty. Having never been one to over indulge myself in the too finer points of American history other than those parts of history which are unmissable such as the civil war, wild west, Vietnam, Watergate and Hendrix etc. etc. I found it quite intriguing.
The statue was designed by a frenchman named Eiffel who was also the bod who knocked up the Eiffel Tower in Paris. When the Eiffel Tower was built it was destined only to stay up for one year as display of the strength and durability of the latest building material of the day, steel. It proved to be so popular that it was left in place to become as it is today, the enduring symbol of all things French.
The Staue Of Liberty underneath its hundreds of meters of copper sheeting has within it a mini Eifel Tower as the basis of its form. It has the same centralised elevator system that visitors use to rise to the top veiwing platform inside the crown. The statue was given to the Americans by the people of France in 1884 and arrived in New York in 1885.
During the several centuries before its arrival, ships that came and went through the waterways that surround New York used to dump all of their garbage overboard at the same spot each time they passed by. This dumping ground eventually rose up out of the bay and became large enough to be considered an island. The local north american indians of the time refered to it as, ``white mans oyster´´, I guess because it opened up from out of the ocean at the hand of the white man. After a succession of different owners and name changes this water born rubbish tip was finally purchased by a guy named Bedloe who quite naturally named it after himself. Bedloe Island was then selected to become the site of this unique historic gift from the people of France. On the day of the statues centenary celebrations in 1985 it was renamed Liberty Island.
I will leave you to garner what you will as to the subtle philisophical nuances surrounding the foundations of this symbol of american liberty and justice.
