My World Tuesday - Statue of Liberty

In 2007 we visited the Statue of Liberty with 2 of our grandsons. Prior to their visit, Michael had told us there were three things he wanted to see someday: the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty and the Liberty Bell. We also were attending the first birthday party for our youngest grandson in nearby New Jersey and only told the boys that's here we were going. The New York part was a surprise. They got their first look at NYC from the Jersey Turnpike. We checked into the hotel and then took a drive into the city. Taking a wrong exit got us to the Holland Tunnel rather than the George Washington Bridge. We went down towards the Battery, turned west along the Hudson, then cut into the center of the city. Saturday we visited the Statue of Liberty. Liberty Island is in New York Harbor and is only accessible by ferry. Here is the view waiting to board the ferry.

The ferry also stops at Ellis Island, once the port of entry for many who immigrated to the US.

And we got a grand view of Ms Liberty as we approached the island.

Here's a shot of Marianne and the boys with the Manhattan skyline.

We had passes to visit the museum gallery and observation level of the pedestal. After September 11, 2001, the island was closed for 100 days. Access to the museum and pedestal (but not the statue itself) was reopen in August 2004. The original torch was removed in 1984 due to corrosion and is now on display in the museum.

The museum tells the story of the creation of the statue and has examples of the formed copper that makes up its exterior.

Access to the crown observation area may be reopened, but it is a 22-story climb. Here is a view of the pedestal and statue. The observation deck is a narrow walkway just above the windows. It is 90 feet above ground.

And here is the view looking down.

On our way back to the hotel we made another pass through the city. So the boys got to see a number of landmarks from ground level: Empire State building, United Nations, Times Square, Central Park, Holland and Lincoln tunnels, the George Washington Bridge. Sunday we celebrated Winston's birthday and drove back home. For more views from the pedestal see my (link Bridges of NY) post yesterday.

Liberty and Independence

Independence National Historic Park occupies several city blocks in the old part of Philadelphia near the Delaware River. The Liberty Bell is now on display in its own building, room for information displays like in the photo above. The bell is at the end of the building with a view of Independence Hall through a glass wall. The picture below shows the bell from the glass wall.

Independence Hall, completed in 1756, was originally the State House of the Province of Pennsylvania. The building contained a room for the judiciary, assembly meetings and an office, meeting room and space for official business by the governor.

The tower features clocks on each side, still keeping time after all these years

The judges sat in the chairs shown below. The jury sat in seats along the walls to the left and right, The witnesses sat on a raised platform to the left of the judges and the defendant stood in the dock in front of the judges.

In this room, representatives for the colonies met to draft, revise and adopt three of the most significant documents in our history: the Declaration of Independence in 1776; the Articles of Confederation in 1781; and the Constitution in 1787. The Constitution was not ratified by the states until amended to add the Bill of Rights. Although the furniture is from theat period, the only original item is the chair where George Washington sat as he presided over the meetings (facing the other tables and chairs).

For more photos of our trip to Philadelphia see Marianne's blog and my other blog.