Statue’s facelift shapes up

Press, 23 December 1985, Page 15

Statue’s facelift shapes up

by

TOM BRIDGMAN

NZPA staff correspondent Washington She was a wilting centenarian with an ailing right arm, a damaged crown and a fractured nose. Now from beneath a thick scaffolding framework the Statue of Liberty, the symbol of freedom and a new life to millions of American immigrants in the early part of the century as they sailed into New York harbour, is emerging in her original glory. A new gold-1 eafed flame torch glistens in the wintry sunlight high above the harbour marking the progress in the SUS 62 million ($124 million) centenial renovation of the monument. On Independence Day, July 4, next year President Reagan will officially relight the torch and begin a celebration in honour of the statue’s one-hundredth birthday. The new 15ft, 24 tonne

torch, built by French artisans to replace Frederic Auguste Bsirtholdi’s deteriorated 1884 original, will have its new lights installed in a few months. The flame, like its base, is solid copper but has been covered with several pounds of gold leaf that by night will reflect floodlights and on sunny da;?s be seen for miles. Other wort: on the Statue of Liberty has involved patching the nose, cleaning the weatherteaten exterior and also, importantly, correcting original design problems. “We found it wasn’t just a matter of cosmetics,” said Edward Cohen, a managing partner in the consulting engineers for the project “We just couldn't buy her a new dress and dab on some make-up. We had to fix her internal problems.” Work on tine statue, a gift from the people of France in 1886, has involved

strengthening the raised arm, shortening and realigning one of the spikes in the crown which had drooped on to and punctured the arm, and replacing corroded supports for the copper skin. Internal work has also meant installing a new spiral staircase, two new elevators and ventilation and beating systems for the 8500 visitors a day who make the trip out to the statue. The Statue of Liberty renovation is just part of a larger project that included rejuvenation of Ellis Island, the immigrant reception centre on another island just to the south. All told SUS23O million ($460 million) are being spent on the projects, all raised through corporate donations and public fundraising. On Ellis Island, where about 16 million immigrants were processed, at a rate of about 5000 a day during the peak years of its use from

1900 to 1924, the great hall into which the poor of Europe came to begin their new fife is being restored to its 1924 appearance, as will the baggage room and one. of the inquiry rooms. A number of the dormitories will be converted into conference rooms and artifact display areas. The final renovation will include a library and research centre, two theatres and two auditoriums.

The island is set to reopen for visitors in July, 1987, when the work on the main building is complete but work on other buildings on the island will continue in time for the centre’s centenary in 1992. Part of the renovation project and upgrading of the museum also entails the making of an oral and visual history of those who worked and passed through Ellis Island. The National Parks’ Ser-

vice plans to interview 200 former immigrants and immigration officials throughout the country. They range in age from 67 to 102. Tape recordings and transcripts of the interviews as well as photographs will be housed in the museum. Eastman Kodak is working on building a file of hundreds of thousands of photographs of people-and their immigrant forebears which visitors will be able to call up on computer terminals.

The symbolism of the Statue of Liberty to the thousands who passed through Ellis Island was recalled by one immigrant in a recent interview.

Seymour Rexsite, who came from Poland in 1924, recalled his first view of the statue as “very, very, overwhelming.” “We saw it through the mist of rain,” he said. But “everybody was on deck, no matter.”