Restoration of the Statue of Liberty 1984-1986

The conservation-restoration of the Statue of Liberty spanned from 1984 to 1986. The Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi) is a colossal monument on Liberty Island in New York Harbor and is a part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. Much of the restoration effort was based on unprecedented restorative methods, owing largely to the fact that metallurgical repair work on such a scale had never been attempted before. Many professional scientists and engineers, government organizations and various consultants were called in to evaluate and deal with the various problems and tasks facing the restoration effort.

After the statue was restored, it was reopened during Liberty Weekend, on July 3–6, 1986.

The preparations for the centennial celebration of the Statue of Liberty began in 1979 when a group was first formed by the National Park Service (NPS), the custodians of the statue since 1933, to investigate possible development alternatives. A report titled "Analysis of Alternatives", published in December 1980, proposed measures to remedy the certain conditions confronting visitors to the Statue of Liberty, such as the long lines and waiting time to enter the crown of the statue. The proposed measures included the instatement of systems for numbered ticketing and early warnings that would allow visitors to estimate any possible waiting times and to be conveniently advised if and when to visit or enter the statue. The report also discussed ways to streamline ferry access both to and from Liberty Island and Ellis Island. The early report did not address the ever-deteriorating physical condition of the statue, which was already readily apparent.

The French American Committee for the Restoration of the Statue of Liberty was formed in May 1981. The Department of the Interior (of which the National Park Service is a bureau) later that month, on the 26th of May, agreed to a working relationship with the Committee. In June 1981, the Committee was incorporated as a non-profit foundation licensed by the state of New York to raise funds for the restoration effort. The Committee hired four French consultants said to have considerable expertise in their respective fields: an architect-engineer, a metals expert, a structural engineer and a mechanical engineer who were asked to compose a technical report on the physical condition of the statue. The French consultants visited Liberty Island in May, June, October and December 1981, before presenting a preliminary white paper to the National Park Service on the seventeenth of December in Washington D.C., entitled “French Technical Report on Restoring the Statue of Liberty".

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