Situated on Liberty Island in New York Harbour, NY, the Statue of Liberty stands as a symbolic gift from France to the United States. Crafted by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and constructed by Gustave Eiffel, this statue was dedicated on October 28, 1886.
In 1916, an explosion during World War I damaged the statue, prompting a restoration led by sculptor Gutzon Borglum. As part of the repair, some of the original copper in the torch was replaced with amber glass. Unfortunately, this allowed rain and snow to seep in, leading to significant corrosion over time.
By 1985, the torch needed complete replacement. The original 3,600 pound torch was removed and placed in a small museum at the based of the statue. In 2016, a decision was made to construct a larger, modern museum, prompting the need to relocate the torch.
Rambusch Lighting, the general contractor on the project, brought H&L in to consult on the relocation. H&L's specialty is in unravelling particularly tangled situations. Some see obstacles, but we see opportunity. In the case of the Statue of Liberty torch, our challenge was to safely dismantle and reassemble the historic piece, which was originally constructed using solid copper rivets. Given the age and fragility of the structure, reinstalling those rivets wasn’t feasible.
H&L came up with a ingenious solution for this - simple brass bolts. Brass was chosen for it’s softness, ease of shaping, and would not damage the already fragile copper.
Crafting three lengths, H&L transformed six-sided brass bolts into round shapes, then hammered the tops for an authentic appearance. Solder and a blue stone chemical were applied to achieve an aged copper look, creating exact replicas.
We are very proud to have worked on such a project. The consultation and input H&L provided to this historic project is an excellent illustration of our process and how we can deliver expertise and a fresh perspective on key deliverables. That’s why we offer in-depth consultation as one of our core services. We bring a sharp eye and craft-driven expertise to complex challenges and have helped guide many successful outcomes.
Read more about our consultation process here and how we applied our process to this project, here.
And if you are looking for a second opinion on your project or have a particularly complex issue that needs a fresh eye, we’re here for that too. Tackling tricky challenges in historic building restoration is our specialty, and we welcome the opportunity to provide, and we welcome the opportunity to provide consulting advice, with the same exacting attention to detail we bring to all our commissions.
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