Raising her lamp beside New York City’s immense harbor, the Statue of Liberty is one of the most vivid emblems of America. Despite the fact she is French, given to the American people to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the statue has come to symbolize the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. Its spirit has long been evoked by the poem Emma Lazarus wrote in 1883 to help raise funds for installing the Statue of Liberty. Called “New Colossus,” the poem ends with these famous words:
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!”
The Statue of Liberty sits on a 12-acre island, and can be visited by ferry only (daily; $10; 866/STATUE4). It’s about a mile from Manhattan, via the Circle Line ferry from Battery Park, but it’s much easier to reach from Liberty State Park in Jersey City, off New Jersey Turnpike exit 14B. (Both ferry routes also visit Ellis Island, where some 12 million immigrants entered the United States.) There is no admission fee for the Statue of Liberty, but to avoid waiting in line, visitors should order a time pass ($1.75), which gives access to the statue at an appointed time. Visitors can explore the base of the Statue of Liberty, and gaze up inside, but her torch and crown are off-limits.
