12 Statue of Liberty Facts They Didn’t Cover in History Class
Everything you need to know about Lady Liberty, the iconic statue welcoming people to NYC since 1886.
New York City is full of “it girls,” but none are more iconic than Lady Liberty. Standing at Liberty Island since 1886, the Statue of Liberty is a symbol of not just NYC but the entire country, welcoming thousands of visitors every day.
You probably know that Lady Liberty, or The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World if you’re looking for her government name, was a gift from France to the United States. The robed woman (and Roman goddess) holding a torch up to the sky was sculpted by Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi out of copper before Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel’s engineering company created her steel framework.
There’s a lot of lore surrounding this epic monument. But Matt Housch, an archivist and historian at the National Park Service, and more specifically the Statue of Liberty National Monument, told Thrillist that many of the fun facts floating around don’t tell the full story—and many aren’t even true. So we consulted experts to fact check some common misconceptions and find these 12 lesser known facts about The Statue of Liberty.
1. She hasn’t been hit by lightning nearly as much as people say
If you scour the internet, you might find intel that Lady Liberty is struck by lightning as many as 600 times a year. However, according to Housch and others, that’s inaccurate.
In the 1980s, the statue underwent restoration as part of its 100th anniversary. That assessment included looking at the statue’s lightning protection, where Mike Violette and his father Norm found she’s actually only been struck by lightning around 6,000 times in her entire (at the time) 100-year history. That leaves the accurate count of lightning strikes at around six per year.
2. The torch has never been open to the public
Visitors can walk around the outside of the statue and climb to the top to walk inside the crown, but the rest of the structure is closed to visitors. Some say that Lady Liberty’s torch was closed to the public beginning in 1916 due to the "Black Tom" explosion, which occurred in a railroad yard in New Jersey. In actuality, the torch has never been available to the public, according to Housch.
There was a gate installed in 1888 on the statue’s right shoulder to stop people from climbing up the arm, and a 1901 newspaper clipping also details the fact that visitors are forbidden. Though some people have been given special permission over the years, it’s a regular part of statue myth that the torch or any other portion of the statue was generally open to the public. After all, it’s a 40-foot-tall iron ladder with an open air balcony… think of the lawsuits.
3. She regularly has some work done
The Statue of Liberty was famously and proudly restored in 1986. But that was not the first restoration effort she underwent, contrary to popular opinion. In the 1930s, the Work Progress Administration made substantial restoration efforts. They even took the spikes on her headpiece down.
Because of her copper exterior, the monument will need to be repaired every 50 years or so. It stands the test of logic that her first major restoration was around her 50th anniversary, then again around her 100th anniversary. “We are currently looking at what kind of work she needs for her 150th anniversary,” says Housch.
4. She was shopped around
Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, the monument’s sculptor, wanted to make a statue—but he didn’t really care how it would take shape. Before Bartholdi’s design for the New York City landmark was off the ground, he had approached leaders in Egypt about creating a huge sculpture for the opening of the Suez Canal entitled “Progress Carrying The Light To Asia.” After Egypt said no, he came up with the design for the Statue of Liberty and dedicated it in 1886.
Although he would later deny the design wasn’t made specifically and entirely for New York in the New York World, “Progress Carrying The Light To Asia” was a robed woman holding a light, and we all know what Lady Liberty looks like.
5. She actually wasn’t copper for all that long
It’s relatively common knowledge that the statue’s current greenish, seafoamish hue is far different from her original copper patina. What is commonly misunderstood, according to Housch, is how long it took her to look that way.
Many accounts say she began turning green after 30 years. But evidence suggests that it actually only took a few years for the elements to begin turning the copper a greenish shade in some areas.
Interestingly enough, due to atmospheric changes in the New York Harbor from changing air-pollution laws, her top bright white patina layer began to run off over the years. Today, you’ll find remnants of the top white layer washed onto the granite of her supporting pedestal.
In addition, although it’s suggested on a plaque near the statue that all her copper was sourced from Norway, that probably isn’t entirely accurate because different parts of the statue seem to be turning slightly different shades of green as they weather differently due to the different source locations.
6. Crowdfunding but not as patriotic as it seems
The American Committee, a private group Joseph Pultizler was a part of that sought to finance the statue, didn’t meet their fundraising goals. So Pulitzer, feeling embarrassed, according to Housch, turned to the public.
He published a now-famous ad in the New York World asking everyday people for their donations and even published a number of the names of people who donated for extra incentive. There’s a romantic notion of school children helping get the statue built, according to Housch.
7. Her crown is actually rather small
New Yorkers know the feeling all too well: When you look at an apartment online and walk in to tour it for the first time only to realize with stunning clarity that your real estate agent had access to an extremely wide-angle lens. Lady Liberty’s crown is a lot like that.
Movies and overall reputation make the statue’s crown seem large, but it’s truly a very small, tight space, Housch, who has worked in the space himself, said. Many people who make it up to the top are disappointed by its dimensions, he said.
8. She worked out her arm too much
In the run-up to the statue being finished, the statue’s historian said, there was an aesthetic choice made to slightly change the way the lady was holding her arm.
This, during the first restoration in the 1930s, caused quite a stir for those assessing her. Many were alarmed by the amount her arm seemed to be swaying and moving in the wind. The WPA repaired it, of course, but those tasked with keeping the statue in tip-top shape decided she needed to lay off the arm workouts.
9. She’s a great hunting perch for birds
Over 3 million visitors flock to the Statue of Liberty every year, but birds like to visit too. Paraben Falcons will often use the statue as a really great hunting perch, according to Housch. From the lofty lookout, they’ll hunt other birds that are also around the monument’s stately figure and are able to find good sources of food on the island.
10. The rays on her crown don’t represent the seven seas, continents or even the seven dwarves
You might stumble upon the idea that the spiked rays projecting out of Lady Liberty’s crown are representative of something. As this particular monument is arguably one of the most famous pieces of art in the world, Housch says, viewers are welcome to interpret what different elements mean.
But as far as the statue’s sculptor is concerned, the sculpture is a Roman goddess, whose crown has projecting rays of light coming off it, as is described in the sculptor’s patent application.
11. She may be based off the sculptor’s mother
The lady who watches over New York Harbor has striking features, but art historians don’t have a solid answer as to which strong woman the sculpture is based on.
The most common claim about her visage is that the piece was inspired by Bartholdi’s mother, Charlotte. The source of this claim is most likely a newspaper article wherein a French Senator, who also served as vice president of the Franco-American Union that was fundraising for the French side of the Statue of Liberty project, told an interesting story:
"Mr. Bartholdi said to me: 'Come with me to the Opera, you will see why we are going.' I accepted, and entered a dark stage box. In the corner was a lady of imposing appearance. Finding myself near Bartholdi, I said to him: 'That's the Statue of Liberty!' He pressed my hand, saying: 'Yes, it is.' Do you know who that lady was? It was Bartholdi's mother!”
It’s still very much up for debate amongst historians. So much so that a 2014 book entitled Liberty's Torch even suggested that Bartholdi may have modeled the face after his brother, Charles.
12. She wasn’t a very good lighthouse
Lady Liberty made a career pivot to statue after finding her tenure as a lighthouse unsuccessful. The first federal department to be put in charge of maintaining the Statue of Liberty was the US Lighthouse Board, it’s true. It’s also true a light used to shine from her torch that could be seen from very far away.
Since New York Harbor had plenty of other lighthouses seafaring folks used for navigation, however, she wasn’t exactly in high demand for navigators. So in 1902, the US Lighthouse Board was sick of maintaining the giant structure and oversight was passed onto the US Department of War.