Pointer Helped Restore Lady Liberty

There are many man-made monuments and statues that are known the world over.  The Eiffel Tower in France, the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Christ The Redeemer in Brazil, to name a few.  Each of these structures has meaning and symbolism, important to the countries where they stand.  The United States, too, has many remarkable statues and monuments, but perhaps the most universally recognized is the Statue of Liberty.

A little bit about Lady Liberty

Sometimes regarded simply as Lady Liberty, the Statue of Liberty was a gift from France in 1886. From concept to the final unveiling in October of 1886, she took 21 years to complete. She towers over New York Harbor from her home on Liberty Island.

The sculptor was Auguste Bartholdi.

There have been many children's books written about the Statue of Liberty, but in 2010, an extensive history of the Statue of Liberty was written by independent scholar Yasmin Sabina Khan entitled Enlightening the World: the Creation of the Statue of Liberty.

There are many attributes that make the Statue of Liberty special. Khan writes, “As a work of art and a feat of large-scale construction, the Statue of Liberty commands attention from her pedestal. … Confidently offering reassurance and hope, her strong presence in New York Harbor invariably causes visitors to marvel at her.  Her vitality as a visionary monument and iconographic symbol further distinguishes this statue from all others.”

According to Khan, “Discussing the statue’s meanings at a meeting of the New Enlightened Society in 1876, Bartholdi referred to America’s tradition of providing, as the revolutionary Thomas Paine exulted 100 years earlier, an ‘asylum for the persecuted lover of civil and religious liberty.’ The Statue of Liberty, Bartholdi believed, would fit in this tradition and manifest the exceptional character of the New World.”

So what does Grosse Pointe have to do with the Statue of Liberty?

Over the course of the 20th Century, the Statue of Liberty suffered all assortment of damage and decay. In the early 1980s President Ronald Regan charged Lee Iacocca with helping to raise money from the private sector to restore Lady Liberty to her original glory. 

According to Iacocca, “By 1982, a century's worth of weather, pollution and sightseeing had left Lady Liberty's crown, torch and gown badly in need of a comprehensive refurbishing. So it was a great honor for me to accept President Reagan's request that I lead a private sector effort to raise funds for the restoration and preservation of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.”

With his leadership, hundreds of million dollars were raised to restore the Statue of Liberty.  Iacocca remarked that he was overwhelmed by the number of Americans sending money in to the support effort.  One day he had opened up a letter from a child. Inside he found two one-dollar bills. It was the child’s spending allowance for the week. “Spend it wisely” quipped the child in the letter. 

But who would restore this precious monument? While most of the work happened on the inside of the statue, there were portions of Lady Liberty’s exterior that needed repair. 

A five-person team of coppersmiths was charged with the task of completing the exterior restoration. A native of Grosse Pointe, Thomas Donahue, led the team.  He graduated from in 1975. He was an exceptionally talented artist and received a five-year scholarship to Pratt University. Before being charged with the task to restore the Statue of Liberty, Donahue had worked for the Metropolitan Museum of Art restoring priceless art and artifacts.

In an interview published in the June 26, 1986, edition of the Grosse Pointe News, Donahue shared his experience. “It was kind of humorous installing this enormous bib around the neck. ... The Goodyear Blimp flew by that day—right at eye level.  There were always camera crews up there documenting our work. It was rather crowded at times.”

Donahue, who admitted that he was not terribly fond of heights, said that climbing the scaffolding every day was a little nerve-wracking. Anyone working on the restoration was clipped into the statue with climbing gear and ropes. 

When it came to the actual restoration, sophisticated rubber molds were used so that any copper replacement would be precise. Additionally, copper was then artificially aged so that any new pieces would blend in with the green patina of the rest of the statue. 

'That gallant lady … '

The re-dedication of the Statue of Liberty after the many years of renovation took place in July of 1986. Just before the restored statue was unveiled, President Regan, standing alongside First Lady Nancy Regan, said to thousands of onlookers, " ... now we will unveil that gallant lady. Thank you and God bless you all."  

If you would like to step back in time and view the president’s remarks and the unveiling of the Statue of Liberty, you can click here and see it for yourself.  You'll even get to see a little bit of Dan Rather at the end of the clip. I’ll warn you in advance, if you have even the smallest ounce of patriotism running through your veins, a fondness for our former president, or grew up watching Dan Rather every night on CBS, you’ll definitely get goosebumps. 

The next time you happen to catch yourself in New York gazing upon the Statue of Liberty, remember that her face was meticulously and carefully restored to its original grandeur by a team of artists and coppersmiths led by a former resident of our sleepy Midwest town.