11 Facts About the Statue of Liberty That Most Americans Probably Don’t Know

The Statue of Liberty

Most people know she’s big, green, and French. But Lady Liberty’s got way more stories behind that stern expression. Here are 11 facts that might just change how you see America’s favorite statue.

The Statue’s Original Copper Color

The Statue of Liberty wasn’t always green. When it first arrived in New York Harbor in 1886, the statue shone like a new penny against the sky. Over the years, the copper exterior slowly changed color as it reacted with air and seawater.

This natural process created the blue-green coating that now protects the statue, which is as thick as two pennies stacked together. The statue contains enough copper to make 30 million pennies or 435,000 charging cables for phones.

How the Statue Moves in the Wind

The statue’s thin copper skin connects to a frame that lets it bend slightly. When strong winds blow, the main structure can move up to 3 inches, while the torch sways up to 6 inches.

Gustave Eiffel designed this special frame before he built his famous tower in Paris. His design uses 1,500 copper saddles and 300,000 copper rivets that work together to let the statue move safely in any weather.

How Americans Paid for the Base

France gave America the statue, but U.S. citizens had to pay for its base. The project almost failed in 1884 when the building committee ran out of money, falling $100,000 short.

Publisher Joseph Pulitzer saved the project through his newspaper, The New York World. He promised to print every donor’s name, no matter how small their gift. More than 120,000 people gave money, and most donated less than a dollar.

The Hidden Chains at the Statue’s Feet

The statue has broken chains and shackles partly hidden under its robes. These metal pieces were placed there on purpose by the sculptor, Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi.

The chains were added in the 1870s as a symbol of freedom from slavery, which had ended about twenty years earlier. They remind visitors that the statue stands for both welcoming newcomers and celebrating freedom from oppression.

The Statue’s Relationship with Lightning

Lightning strikes the Statue of Liberty about 600 times every year. Special rods installed in the 1980s help protect it from damage.

When lightning hits, the electricity travels safely through the copper statue into the ground. During big storms, these strikes can make the whole statue light up for a brief moment.

The Face Behind the Statue

Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi used his mother Charlotte’s face as a model for the statue. Though the 151-foot statue shows his mother’s serious but kind expression, he changed some features to make them look more classical.

The statue’s face now looks toward France across the ocean. Its strong nose and jaw match the style of sculpture that was popular in the 1800s.

The Stairs to the Crown

Visitors must climb 354 steps on a narrow, spiral staircase to reach the statue’s crown. The stairs wind up the equivalent of a 20-story building, and each step is only about 18 inches wide.

The staircase dates back to 1886, and there’s no elevator. Only around 300 people can visit the crown each day, and tickets often sell out several months early.

The True Weight of Lady Liberty

The statue weighs 450,000 pounds, and just its copper skin weighs as much as 27 grown elephants. The designers created a special frame using triangles to hold all this weight.

The statue stays steady even in strong winds and changing temperatures because its pedestal goes 154 feet to the ground. This deep foundation keeps the statue firmly in place on Liberty Island.

The Statue’s New Torch

Workers replaced the original torch in 1984 because water had damaged it over many years. The new torch is covered in gold leaf that sparkles in the sunlight.

The gold coating is very thin—about 1/5000th of an inch—and took 86 sheets to cover the whole torch. You can see the old 1886 torch in the Statue of Liberty Museum.

Copies of the Statue Around the World

More than 100 copies of the Statue of Liberty stand in 40 different countries. Paris has a 37-foot version near the Seine River, and Las Vegas has one half the size of the original.

Tokyo also has its own Lady Liberty, which stands one-quarter as tall as New York’s statue. While these copies honor the same ideas of freedom, none are built quite like the original.

The Statue During World War II

The statue’s torch stayed dark from 1942 to 1945 during World War II to help hide New York City from enemy attacks. For 1,000 nights, the usually bright torch remained unlit.

Soldiers used the statue’s base to watch ships coming and going from New York Harbor. Even without its light, the statue gave hope to troops leaving and returning home.