The Statue of Liberty by Edward Berenson

The newly analyzed blueprints show Eiffel's handiwork, including calculations and the iron trusswork designs that would support the Statue of Liberty. Even today, Lady Liberty can sway up to 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) and the torch up to 6 inches (15.2 cm) in 50 mph (80 km/h) winds, according to the NPS. At the time, Eiffel was known for designing railroad bridges, and he used that knowledge to make the statue flexible enough to sway in the wind without toppling over.

Laboulaye commissioned the sculptor Bartholdi to design the statue, which was modeled after the Roman goddess of liberty, according to the National Park Service (NPS).īartholdi realized that he needed an engineer to give the copper statue structural integrity. After the American Civil War, Laboulaye and his fellow abolitionists decided to recognize America's milestone with a gift. He loved America, but was an abolitionist who raised funds for freed slaves. The French poet Édouard de Laboulaye first conceived of the statue. Only later did the statue turn into a beacon for immigrants, especially with the addition of Emma Lazarus' poem - 'Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free' - that was cast onto a plaque and placed inside part of the statue in 1903. The Statue of Liberty was originally intended to celebrate the end of slavery, according to the statue's new museum, The Washington Post reported last year. (Image credit: Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps Inc.) A gift from France The red ink shows the changes made to the original design.

The Statue of Liberty by Edward Berenson