Statue of Liberty National Monument

1 week ago

Sharing this Independence Day post from our friends @NorthEastRegionArcheologyThis Independence Day, we want to reflect upon Statue of Liberty National Monument, one of the most powerful symbolic landscapes in the United States. The Statue of Liberty is amongst the most recognizable symbols of the values that represent our American ideals. Liberty Island, home of the statue, was utilized by the Lenape people and their ancestors for at least the last 1500 years. Following European colonization, the island has been held privately and publicly, and was used for different purposes as the needs of the people who interacted with it changed. It has served as a military encampment and fort, it has been covered almost completely in housing for people to support those operations, and, for a brief period in the 1730s, it even operated as a quarantine station for the sick. Ahead of the Revolutionary War, it was burned to punish Tory sympathizers residing there. In the lead up to the War of 1812, construction began on an eleven-pointed star-shaped fort built to defend New York Harbor from a British naval threat that never came. Fort Wood was completed in 1814 and served again as a quarantine station until the Civil War when it was briefly used as a prison. In 1877, Liberty Enlightening the World, or, as we know her, The Statue of Liberty, was presented to the United States as a gift from France. Fort Wood was selected to be the location where the statue would be erected, with the fort itself serving as her base. Until 1937, the statue and the military shared the island until it was transferred to U.S. Department of the Interior control, and military operations ceased. Liberty Island and the Statue of Liberty are amongst the greatest symbols of what it means to be an American, and evidence of thousands of years of uses, identities, and motivations are mixed into the soil Lady Liberty stands upon. Just as time and humanity have shaped what the landscape of the island has become at different points in history, time and humanity will continue to shape and reshape wider American landscapes, identities, and ideals. Justice, inclusivity, and opportunities for all are ideals we strive for on this Independence Day and those to come. ...

Statue of Liberty National Monument

2 months ago

Today is International Museum Day

We wish to raise awareness that museums are an important means of cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures and development of mutual understanding. The historic immigration station at Ellis Island was restored and reopened as a museum in 1990. Last year, we opened the Statue of Liberty Museum. Millions of people from around the world have visited our iconic sites and have immersed themselves in this meaningful experience.

Learn more about our museums at www.nps.gov/stli and www.nps.gov/elis
Although we are temporarily closed, you may watch this amazing EarthCam timelapse showing the construction of Lady Liberty’s new neighbor from start to finish.
youtu.be/n3LN9cbG348

In accordance with guidance from the White House, CDC, and local public health authorities, the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service are working to gradually increase access to national parks in a safe manner. The NPS will continue to work with state and local officials as these changes are implemented.
The health and safety of our visitors, employees, volunteers, and partners continues to be paramount. In our parks, our operational approach will be to examine each facility function and service provided to ensure those operations comply with current public health guidance. Decisions on a phased resumption of operations will be made on a park-by-park basis and regularly monitored.
[Image Description: Top photo: The glass façade of the Statue of Liberty Museum is trimmed in copper and features a green roof and an outdoor viewing decks for visitors. The areas are separated by granite staircases. Bottom photo: The elaborate immigration building is constructed of brick and limestone. A long ramp leading to the main doors is covered by an iron and glass canopy.]

#InternationalMuseumDay #MuseumMonday ...