The Statue of Liberty then and now

A gift from France, the Statue of Liberty -- which also served as a lighthouse in its early years -- was designed by Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi. The money for the base and pedestal, however, came from American pockets,with newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer among the most passionate in raising funds. In this picture, the forearm and torch of the statue is seen on display at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876. The public could pay fifty cents to climb to the balcony of the torch.

Taken circa 1880, these pictures show the two great minds behind the Statue of Liberty: sculptor Auguste Bartholdi (right), and French engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel. The latter, the man behind the Eiffel Tower in Paris, was responsible for the statue's internal structure, around which was wrapped the sculpted copper cladding.

Originally published in the Strand Magazine circa 1884, this picture shows the left hand of the Statue of Liberty under construction. Sixty men worked for almost ten years to complete the 225-ton monument. (This number didn't include designer Bartholdi and his assistants.)

This 1886 photo shows the construction of the pedestal for the Statue of Liberty. The stone-built structure was designed by Richard Morris Hunt.

In this picture taken circa 1935, military aircraft fly over the statue.

Steeplejacks remove the spiked crown from the head of the Statue of Liberty for renovation before the 1939 World's Fair. The fair attracted hundreds of thousands of participants from seven continents, which the rays of Lady Liberty's crown represent.

As part of an effort to encourage New York City's residents to buy war bonds, this flood-lit, 55-foot high version of the Statue of Liberty was erected in the Times Square area in 1944.

Fireworks explode around the Statue of Liberty during the American Bicentennial celebration on July 4, 1976.

"From her beacon-hand glows world-wide welcome," Emma Lazarus wrote in a poem now engraved inside the monument. In this 1985 picture, Robert Gohard, a member of a French restoration team, puts finishing touches of gilding on the statue's new torch.

Scaffolding is taken down after a massive renovation that took place in the mid-1980s. The statue was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1984.

From 1984 to 1986, the statue remained closed to public for restorations in preparation for its centennial, a project that cost $62 million. In this picture taken a day before the grand reopening, small sailing ships and pleasure boats gather to to observe the celebrations.

Lady Liberty looks out across to the site of the destroyed World Trade Center a few days after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The 305-foot high symbol of democracy was closed to visitors immediately after the towers fell.

The Statue of Liberty is lit up for a party thrown by French champagne maker Moet & Chandon in September 2006

After being closed to the public for nearly eight years, the government decided to reopen the statue to visitors on July 4, 2009 (the base was reopened in 2004). Here, a journalist climbs up the internal staircase in May 2009.

The original torch from the Statue of Liberty sits in a lobby at the entrance to the monument on Liberty Island May, 2009. It was replaced with a gilded version in the mid-1980s.

Ferry riders view the Statue of Liberty on July 4, 2009, the day its crown was reopened. The crown had been closed since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Downtown Manhattan is seen in the background in a view from the crown of the Statue of Liberty, July 2009.

Frederick Sciulli, 54, of Norfolk, Va., sticks his head out of a window of the Statue of Liberty's crown, which opened after nearly eight years, July 2009.