Liberty Enlightening the World

Today we visited the Statue of Liberty. Monday is Miles' birthday, and since we won't have the whole day (school and work day!) we decided to do what Miles would have wanted to do on his birthday -- go to the Statue of Liberty. This is actually something we've wanted to do since we got here, so it was a good excuse.

We're fortunate, Liberty State Park is only about 10 minutes away. From there you can SEE the Statue of Liberty, and there's tons of grass and park and a walk along the Hudson. We went there before to see the Statue when we first got here. Also from there you can park and take a ferry over to Liberty Island, which is what we did.



Once on the ferry, you can view back to Jersey City. So Jersey City is just south of Hoboken, in fact, there's no real delineation, they just run together. "Historic" downtown Jersey City has experienced, like so much of this area of Jersey, huge amounts of growth and re-development. It's very "Pearl District" -- old warehouses and buildings being either renovated or demolished and rebuilt. The other thing that is spurring growth to Jersey City is that TONS of banks and Manhattan-based financial companies are moving offices here because it's significantly cheaper than Manhattan, hardly anybody lives in the city anymore anyways, and it's way convenient for many people. So while Deutsche Bank, UBS, and others are busy building new buildings, Goldman Sacs blew them all away with this gargantuan in the south of Jersey City:


Yes, it really is THAT BIG. It literally is twice as tall as any building around it. Maybe the picture doesn't do it justice, but for some reason, this building just blows me away.

Anyways, the ferry to Ellis Island offered great views of the Manhattan skyline:


The ferry ride was cold, but not too long. We didn't realize we'd be island-hopping. We thought it was straight to the Statue of Liberty and back, but it actually takes a first stop on Ellis Island, then to Liberty Island, then back to Jersey.


Our first view of Lady Liberty!


First stop, Ellis Island.


Which was actually amazing. Walking into the main hall, you can feel the history of the place. The construction was modeled after the old train stations, with a huge arched ceiling:


There were room after room of old artifacts, murals, pictures, etc. At one time, that room was the main entry for millions of immigrants, and there were pictures of how they had it divided up over the years. On one particular (record-setting) day, they processed over 11,000 people -- in a single day!! There was also a kiosk where you can look up relatives names if they had been processed between 1892 and 1924.

After using the computer, we went outside to the huge wall they have, and looked up relatives. I found Jacob Heintz, and Kristal found Louis Klein. It was pretty amazing. Here was a shot outside by the wall:


After doing Ellis island, we had some time to kill while we waited for the ferry to take us to Liberty Island, so the boys and I played tag out front:


The ferry picked us up, and after chilling for a while inside where it was warm, we found our first good views of the the Statue, so we went outside and started snapping pics. I think I must have taken 20+ pictures, but here is the best one:


Now, since being on this little adventure of ours out east, we've done some "touristy" things -- Cheesy lodge in Wyoming (The C'mon Inn -- remember!?), Mount Rushmore, The Empire State Building, and now the Statue of Liberty just to name a few, and I have to admit, I haven't been disappointed with a single one of them. I don't know if it's because we're older now and appreciate things like that more, but I'll tell you -- everything has truly been awesome.

The Statue of Liberty is no exception. I was actually amazed -- not only was the size of her outrageous, but the construction and physical characteristics were incredibly compelling. But first, a few more pics after we landed:





Look at that picture, for example. You can see the "seams" in the outer covering of the skeletal framework of the statue. Some 180 panes of copper each 3/32" thick (about two pennies) comprise the exoskeleton. The craftsmanship is easy to take for granted, but truly amazing to behold that close up. The whole interior skeletal structure of her, which was a marvel to build, was designed by Gustave Eiffel three years before he started design of the Eiffel Tower. Frederic Bartholdi, the statue's designer, toiled for years to raise funds necessary to build it.

The other striking thing is the "green" color. It's brighter than you think it should be! She is, of course, constructed in the exterior by copper, which undergoes a kind of oxidation over time called patination. It took thirty years for the shiny copper she was originally built with to patinate into the green you now see. Looking over the New York skyline, this "technique" has been used on many buildings constructed in the early 20th century.

We walked out on the base of the pedestal and took a bunch of pictures. You can then go into this long "museum" on your way up the pedestal to the viewing area at the base of the actual statue. This museum was fascinating, and despite the unfortunate perception the US now has amongst our international community, it instills a sense of national pride for what our country used to stand for.


After freezing our butts off for 45 minutes while waiting for the ferry, we made it home. It really was a lot of fun, and this is the sort of thing we could do several times with visitors so inclined. It's close, and really worth doing.

Oh, and just in case I'm not the only one who has ever wondered what's under the robe: