Happy 129th Birthday to the Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty was dedicated 129 years ago today, on October 28, 1886. Conceived by politician Edouard Rene de Laboulaye, designed by sculptor Frederic August Bartholdi, and built by architect Gustave Eiffel, Liberty Enlightening the World was a gift to the United States from the people of France. Cared for by the National Park Service, the statue has served as a welcoming figure to millions of immigrants, a cultural touchstone for generations, and a symbol of freedom for the world.

Taking on the role of guardian to the poor and persecuted, Lady Liberty became known as the “Mother of Exiles” and a plaque engraved with Emma Lazarus’s poem “The New Colossus” immortalized the statue’s call to “give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” 

 

 

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”