Engineering Wonders of the World
Volume III

BUILDING THE STATUE OF LIBERTY. 255 pieces together the engineers were enabled to pierce the necessary holes for the rivets at the edges where they over- lapped. When the statue was taken down in France the pieces were packed in frames of wood, to prevent damage by _ , . bending, and Foundations. _ , brought over to New York in a French war vessel. While the sculptor and his assistant had been busy in Paris the Americans had com- menced operations at Bedloe’s Island by preparing a suitable base, and erecting a handsome pedestal to carry the monu- ment. Naturally, it was de- sired that the foundation should be a particularly solid one. It is, in fact, a solid piece of concrete, one of the largest monoliths in the world, 65 feet high, 91 feet square at the base, and 66 feet 7 inches square at the top. It rests upon a soil composed of stiff clay, gravel, and boulders. Upon this foundation was built the pedestal, a particularly handsome construction, towering 89 feet in height. The erection of the monument was a very tedious and slow process. It meant work at great heights, and in so confined a space as to prevent the employment of a Erec*ion °* large number of men. It was most essential that the rivet- ing should be done very carefully ; otherwise there would be unseemly lines. The pieces were temporarily stored in a great shed at the foot of the pedestal, and lifted as required by a derrick on to a huge platform built round the top of the pedestal. Here the protecting THE LEFT FOOT AND PART OF THE DRAPERY OF THE STATUE. cover of wood was removed, and the piece was raised by rope and tackle into its proper position, and held in place until enough rivets or small temporary bolts had been inserted to secure it. All the rivets were then driven and the section bolted to the frame, or rather to the supporting bars. The outer heads of the rivets were of copper and countersunk. tn this manner the shell was carried upward piece by piece, until the monument stood com- plete. No part of the ironwork is in direct contact with the copper, a thorough insulation being obtained by shellacking the adjoining surfaces and interposing a strip of asbestos.