The Statue of Liberty underwent extensive conservation and restoration work in the 1980s, including the replacement of the torch due to damage from previous modifications and a bombing. The original torch is now in the Statue of Liberty Museum, and the new torch is covered in 24K gold.
The Statue of Liberty may seem like a timeless symbol of freedom, but a century after it was erected on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, the Statue of Liberty had begun to show its age.
Extensive conservation and restoration work was undertaken between 1984 and 1986 in preparation for the statue’s centennial. This included the removal of Lady Liberty’s torch, which had to be replaced after a series of ill-advised changes over the years.
In 1886, before its enshrinement, the US Lighthouse Board decided to install nine arc lights inside the flame, cutting parts of the copper skeleton. And after “Black Tom” saboteurs detonated bombs in New York Harbor in 1916, the torch was further weakened. Most of the copper was replaced with amber glass, but the glass leaked during storms, causing damage to the statue’s arm.
Finally, the original was replaced with a new torch covered in 24K gold. After extensive renovations, the Statue of Liberty reopened to the public in 1986.
Read more about Lady Liberty and her torch:
The original torch was displayed inside the statue’s pedestal for more than 30 years, but today it sits proudly in the Statue of Liberty Museum, which opened in 2019.
The torch of the Statue of Liberty is illuminated with 16 searchlights, which can only be accessed by a narrow 40m staircase inside the statue.
The statue’s copper skin is 0.094 inches (2.4 mm) thick, the width of two US pennies. Its familiar green patina is the result of a thick layer of oxidation, which helps keep the copper from wearing out.
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