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The Statue of Liberty is one of the greatest sculpture monuments of its time. One of the most popular tourist attractions in the world and is one of the most progressive and innovative statues of its time, its design and architecture surpass all feats in its construction and how it was built. Gustave Eiffel was the genius behind the design of the Statue of Liberty, who was a world renowned known engineer best known for his famous Eiffel tower that is still to this day one of the most captivating towers in the world. Eiffel introduced a new form of design that was innovative, structurally sound and at the same time possessed an amazing unique brilliance to his work. Eiffel changed the world of design and architecture. The Statue of Liberty is a timeless masterpiece and is a representation of technology and innovation in a progressive era, for these reasons the Statue of Liberty should be preserved for the future.

The Statue of Liberty was completed in 1886, in the New York harbor, from the site of the viewer the monument is 300 feet high in feet, it is an amazing sight to witness. The Statue is not just amazing for its looks but it is amazing for the way in which it was built. The Statue of Liberty is an example and a product of its innovative and progressive timeframe. Technology was on the rise in the late 1800’s and steel and iron were being used in innovative ways that no one thought could ever be used. The United States Navy was producing and constructing warships that were made of iron and steel in huge quantities. In the 1870’s the prototype telephone was invented by Alexander Gram Bell. Thomas Edison just invented the light bulb as well as the phonograph. This innovative and progressive timeframe crossed into Architecture and design and was being utilized throughout the country. During the time in which the Statue of liberty was built the scheme on how it was built was a progressive scheme and was being used in many different ways during that period according to Marvin Trachtenburg. He goes on to say that in that progressive time frame there was a combination of new and traditional structures that were also built with the same unit masonry shell and a visible internal structure entirely or partly iron. This mode was employed in a variety of new building types, including early factories, commercial buildings, markets, galleries, and stores, the railway stations were the most widespread example of such combinations. (Marvin 446)

The Statue of Liberty was definitely typical of its time. The statue was given as a gift from France and was to represent a token of friendship between France and America as they fought together for independence from Brittan in the American Revolutionary war. The statue carries a torch of light in her right hand which is a beacon of light and holds a tablet in her left hand with the inscription July 4, 1776 which was to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the United States as a nation the day the declaration of independence was signed. The sculptor Fredric Auguste Bartholdi choose to sculpt after the roman goddess Libertas, who was the roman goddess of freedom. (History ch.) The Statue of Liberty as a symbol had huge significance not just on France and America but to the world as well. The Statue of Liberty is not just a symbol of friendship it is a symbol of modern technology being conveyed thru the art of architecture and sculpture on the highest stage. The French choose to honor the United States in the highest way and form and the Statue of Liberty had to be flawless, in terms of design and construction to commemorate the friendship between the two countries. The Statue of Liberty was also typical of its time in terms of technology and innovation on initial construction and design of the statue. The boom and wave of technology had just hit the United States and was being seen in through newer inventions and innovative ways of thinking, from Edison’s invention of the light bulb to Alexander Gram Bell’s invention of the telephone, these newer technical ways of thinking were being transformed into the arts like the Statue of Liberty. Marvin describes the masterpiece as a “granite pedestal surmounted by a Neo classical colossus fabricated of hammered copper. Completely hidden within is the extraordinary structural program that supports the visible forms. The foundation block constitutes the largest concrete mass of its day. The concrete core of the pedestal walls is reinforced by ferrous elements that are run along the inner surface in the form of heavy iron straps bolted to massive cross yokes of steel girders anchored in the masonry at the top and bottom. But the armature of the statue itself-connected by huge bolts of the above mentioned cross girders-is the most remarkable of the monuments supports. The core of his wrought-iron structure is a tapering pylon of massive angle grinders cross-laced into a rigid unit, from which secondary, much lighter trust work reaches toward the interior skin of the statue. The actual connection of the skin is effected by a system of flexible, springlike iron bars (that allow for thermal expansion of the statue), while a powerful, cantilevered beam rises to carry the asymmetrical load of the torch arm.

The copper shell of Frederic Auguste Bartholdi’s statue is entirely hung from his multilayered skeleton, like a modern curtain wall, being nowhere self supporting at only 2.5 mm in thickness.”(Marvin 446) The genius behind the design of Statue of Liberty is by far an intricate systematic new way of design that was progressive in its design and was only seen in other works that were also designed by Gusave Eiffel that were as well typical of the progressive timeframe. One of the most famous towers in the world today, the Eiffel Tower, this was also built around same time frame in 1887, one year after the Statue of Liberty, and was very similar in design to the Statue of Liberty. Both the Eiffel tower and the Statue of Liberty had a systematic intricate design to them, the Eiffel tower had 18,000 pieces to its construction that all served a detailed constructive and aesthetic purpose which was also known for its grandeur, not just for its design but size as well. The Eiffel Tower is almost 1,000 feet tall and is also constructed of iron, and can with stand the worst nautical winds based on the way it was designed, both the Eiffel tower and the Statue of Liberty were progressive monumental feats in how they were constructed and were both considered High-Technology architecture that made them typical of its progressive and technical timeframe. The Statue of Liberty sets itself apart from most of the architecture in the modern world because before the construction of the Statue of Liberty, the modern world of architecture had a Victorian gothic theme that was considered the traditional norm. This was seen in the Houses of Parliament in London constructed in the mid 1800s by Sir Charles Barry, most churches and houses had the same style and theme around Europe of the time. With the help of technology the Statue of Liberty broke away from those traditional norms and in its style and design progressed forward and elevated a shift towards a high technology based architectural movement that was seen in the late 1800’s.

The Statue of Liberty also contrasted with the Eiffel tower in many ways, the most noticeable examples is the Eiffel tower is built of iron with iron as its exterior, the iron is puddled iron and is arched that serves a design and supporting purpose. The ornamental arches at the bottom of the base of Eiffel tower serve more of an aesthetic purpose and do not serve a structural purpose at all. The base at the bottom of the Statue of Liberty is a foundation piece that supports the weight of the Statue which is 450,000 pounds. The Statue of Liberty was built of hammered sheets of copper and has an iron interior that is used for support. The Statue of Liberty received a lot of acclaim from the time it was built to commemorate the 100 years of the United States as a Nation and represent the relations between two nations and serve as a symbol that resembled freedom and rebellion today it still receives high acclaim.

The Statue of Liberty has been seen on stamps that have been minted, the 15 cent, the 3 cent, 8 cent and 11 cent stamp all have the Statue of Liberty on them also the New York quarter was minted with Lady Liberty’s picture on it. The Statue of Liberty receives millions of tourist each year all captivated by its beauty and design it is one of the most popular places to visit in America. The Statue of Liberty has been seen in television ads and was also seen in the movie “The Planet of The Apes” and has also been in the popular television show “fringe”. Every fourth of July, the United States day of independence hundreds of people flock to the Statue of Liberty to see a firework show that is on display with Lady Liberty there standing tall and proud representing freedom and hope for a country. People today are very captivated by the Statue and it has become not just a national landmark but a symbol of the spirit of freedom. The Statue of Liberty is an icon to the United States and is a national landmark but it is more than that, It has become a symbol that is American, the Statue of Liberty was the first sight immigrants saw while coming to America, it was not just a symbol of freedom to Americans back then till now but to other nations as well who were fleeing a country or wanting to flee a country.

My personal reactions to the work of the Statue of Liberty were good on discovering the actual architecture of the statue, it is hard to get past all the popularity, build up and hype that the Statue of Liberty is surrounded in. The Statue is designed very intricately and has a unique hidden design that goes unnoticed, I didn’t know it was such a breakthrough in architecture in terms of High Technology architecture and had such an amazing hidden interior. I think that is what I like about the Statue the most is most people including me do not know of the hidden science or genius underneath the surface, if they can get past through all the glamour and hype they can find an amazingly sound systematic engineering marvel that goes unnoticed for its engineering and actual design. In closing I think the Statue of Liberty should be preserved for its architecture and its design not its story and hype behind the statue of liberty. The Statue of Liberty created a wave of Technology and science integrated through architecture, the world we live in today we are faced with technology growing in extremely fast measures. The Statue of Liberty was a statue that made the leap and changed architecture based on its systematic design, interior and exterior. Its design catapulted a new wave and style that was high tech architecture in an innovative time period. The Statue of Liberty was a statue that shifted with times and changed the world as we know it, for these reason the Statue of Liberty should be preserved for future generations.

Works Cited

Marvin Trachtenburg, Architecture. From pre history to post modernity, N.Y. 2006.
Website, http://statueofliberty.org/Statue_History.html
Website: http://www.history.com/topics/statue-of-liberty

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