Liberty

Statue of, a colossal statue on Bedloe's Island in the harbor of New York. It was designed by Bartholdi, and was presented by the people of France to the United States in 1881. The pedestal is of stone. It was built by New York subscriptions. It cost with the mounting of the figure $350,000. The statue is of bronze, bolted to an iron skeleton or framework, and cost $250,000, making the entire cost $600,000. The bronze alone weighs 100 tons. The work was completed in 1886. The pedestal is a square structure. The top is 149 feet above the water level. The statue proper, from heel to tip of torch, is 151 feet high, the tallest known. The total structure rises 301 feet above the water level. Some idea of the size of the figure may be had from the dimensions of some of the parts. The index finger is eight feet long. The finger nail is ten by thirteen inches. The waist is thirty-five feet in diameter. The eyes are thirty inches apart. The head measures ten feet from ear to ear. The interior of the head is reached by an inner stairway and accommodates a party of forty. The torch is large enough to hold eight persons. The lighthouse service of the government maintains a light in the torch so that the statue serves a purpose as a lighthouse. See Bartholdi