Original subtitles

[ SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYS ]

Narrator: THE STATUE OF LIBERTY.

♪♪

AN ICONIC WONDER OF THE MODERN WORLD.

ONE OF THE PARADOXES ABOUT THE STATUE OF LIBERTY IS

IT'S TOTALLY FAMOUS

AND TOTALLY UNKNOWN, ALL AT THE SAME TIME.

♪♪

WHAT SECRETS IS SHE HIDING,

AND WHY WAS THIS LANDMARK BUILT ON THIS PARTICULAR SITE?

WHEN PEOPLE ARRIVE HERE,

YOU'RE IN AWE OF LADY LIBERTY

AND THE NEW YORK SKYLINE

AND PEOPLE RARELY LOOK DOWN AND REALIZE

THAT THERE'S A REALLY RICH HISTORY

BELOW THEIR FEET HERE.

TODAY, INVESTIGATORS ARE USING PIONEERING TECHNOLOGY

TO DISCOVER THE SECRET INSPIRATION

BEHIND HER INCREDIBLE METAL DESIGN.

SHE'S AN AMAZING STATUE FROM THE OUTSIDE,

BUT WHEN YOU GO INSIDE, IT'S EVEN MORE INTERESTING.

FOLLOWING A TRAIL OF CLUES THAT LEADS TO A LOST WONDER

OF THE ANCIENT WORLD,

CAN THEY SOLVE THE QUESTION THAT HAS PUZZLED PEOPLE

FOR OVER A CENTURY?

IT IS A HUMAN FACE,

AND SO WHAT FACE DID HE USE?

TO SOLVE THESE MYSTERIES,

WE'LL DECONSTRUCT

AND UPROOT

THIS MIGHTY MONUMENT.

WE WILL PIECE TOGETHER THE SECRETS

OF THE STATUE'S CONSTRUCTION

TO UNEARTH THE ASTONISHING ANCIENT HISTORY

AT THE HEART OF THIS GROUNDBREAKING LANDMARK.

♪♪

--Captions by VITAC-- www.vitac.com

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

[ POIGNANT TUNE PLAYS ]

AT THE ENTRANCE TO NEW YORK CITY STANDS A MIGHTY GUARDIAN:

THE STATUE OF LIBERTY,

ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS MONUMENTS IN THE WORLD.

♪♪

BUILT AS A GIFT FROM FRANCE TO AMERICA

TO MARK 100 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE,

SHE HAS BECOME AN ICON WOVEN

INTO THE FABRIC OF THE UNITED STATES.

BUT WHAT DO WE REALLY KNOW ABOUT THIS ENIGMATIC LADY?

♪♪

THERE ARE ALL KINDS OF UNKNOWNS.

THERE ARE SECRETS ABOUT THE STATUE OF LIBERTY.

THERE ARE MYSTERIES

AND IT'S REALLY A LOT OF FUN TO TRY TO UNCOVER THEM.

♪♪

Narrator: LOOKING OUT OVER NEW YORK FROM A STAGGERING 265 FEET,

THE STATUE IS AN ENDURING SYMBOL OF FREEDOM.

♪♪

MADE FROM 62,000 POUNDS OF THE PUREST COPPER,

SUPPORTED BY AN INGENIOUS METAL SKELETON...

♪♪

...ERECTED ATOP A MYSTERIOUS 11-POINTED STAR...

♪♪

SHE TRAMPLES ON THE CHAINS OF OPPRESSION

WITH HER ENORMOUS FEET.

♪♪

ENLIGHTENING THE PLANET WITH HER TORCH,

SHE'S ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST RECOGNIZABLE LANDMARKS.

BUT WHAT WAS THE REAL INSPIRATION

FOR THIS MAGNIFICENT STATUE?

WHO IS THIS MYSTERIOUS LADY?

[ SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYS ]

♪♪

THIS QUESTION STILL BAFFLES THE EXPERTS TODAY.

HISTORIAN AND AUTHOR ED BERENSON

HAS SPENT YEARS TRYING TO UNRAVEL THE IDENTITY

OF NEW YORK'S MOST FAMOUS RESIDENT.

WHEN WE TRY TO FIGURE OUT

WHAT THE INSPIRATION FOR THE STATUE OF LIBERTY WAS,

WE HAVE TO MAKE OUR OWN INTERPRETATIONS

BECAUSE BARTHOLDI DIDN'T WRITE DOWN VERY MUCH.

♪♪

Narrator: TODAY, ED JOINS A TEAM FROM THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

THAT IS USING LASER SCANNING TECHNOLOGY

TO CREATE THE MOST ACCURATE, EVER,

THREE-DIMENSIONAL IMAGE OF THE STATUE.

♪♪

IT'S THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY

TO GET A DETAILED VIEW OF HER FACE.

♪♪

I GUESS, FOR ME, SEEING IT IN 3-D AND CLOSE-UP,

IT'S FUNNY TO SEE HOW STERN HER FACE IS.

I MEAN, IT'S A STERN EXPRESSION.

THAT'S TRUE, YEAH.

IT IS A STERN EXPRESSION.

SHE'S GOT A LOT OF RESPONSIBILITY.

SHE REPRESENTS LIBERTY.

Narrator: COMPLETED IN 1886,

THE STATUE OF LIBERTY WAS DESIGNED

BY FRENCH SCULPTOR FRéDéRIC BARTHOLDI.

[ TRANQUIL TUNE PLAYS ]

EXPERTS BELIEVE HIS STATUE IS MODELED ON LIBERTAS,

THE ROMAN GODDESS OF FREEDOM.

Berenson: RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING, THE REAL NAME

OF THE STATUE OF LIBERTY IS LIBERTY ENLIGHTENING THE WORLD.

Narrator: THE SAME GODDESS OF FREEDOM

ALSO APPEARS ON THE GREAT SEAL OF FRANCE,

BUT, IS THERE MORE GOING ON HERE?

♪♪

[ SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYS ]

AT FIRST GLANCE, THE STATUE IS A MIX

OF SYMBOLIC AND CLASSICAL INFLUENCES.

♪♪

SHE CARRIES A TORCH IN HER RIGHT HAND,

LEADING THE WAY TO ENLIGHTENMENT.

♪♪

SHE WEARS A FLOWING ROMAN ROBE.

♪♪

AT HER FEET LIE BROKEN CHAINS,

A SYMBOL OF FREEDOM FROM OPPRESSION.

IN HER LEFT HAND, SHE HOLDS A TABLET

WITH THE DATE OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE,

BUT UNDERNEATH THE SYMBOLISM, HIDING BELOW THE HUGE,

SEVEN-POINTED CROWN THAT ADORNS HER HEAD,

COULD THIS BE THE FACE OF A REAL PERSON?

♪♪

Berenson: WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION FOR THE FACE?

WAS IT SOMETHING THAT HE HAD IN HIS MIND, IN HIS MEMORY,

OR DID HE ACTUALLY HAVE A REAL, HUMAN BEING WHO WAS HIS MODEL?

WE DON'T KNOW BECAUSE HE DIDN'T SAY.

Narrator: DESPITE THIS LACK OF EVIDENCE, MANY PEOPLE CLAIM THAT BARTHOLDI

BASED THE STATUE'S FEATURES ON A REAL PERSON.

♪♪

THEORIES RANGE FROM HIS WIFE TO HIS MOTHER.

WHEN HE CAME TO NEW YORK IN 1871,

HE WROTE TO HIS MOTHER EVERY SINGLE DAY

AND THOSE LETTERS HAVE SURVIVED.

Narrator: BUT IN NONE OF HIS LETTERS DOES BARTHOLDI EVER MENTION

THAT SHE INSPIRED THE FACE OF LADY LIBERTY.

IF IT HAD BEEN HIS MOTHER'S FACE,

WHY DIDN'T HE SAY SOMETHING TO HER?

I'D THINK SHE WOULD'VE BEEN PLEASED.

♪♪

Narrator: ED WANTS TO SOLVE THIS MYSTERY, ONCE AND FOR ALL.

[ SUSPENSEFUL CHORDS STRIKE ]

♪♪

-KENNY, HI. -HI. HOW ARE YOU?

-I'M ED. NICE TO MEET YOU. -NICE TO MEET YOU. HOW ARE YOU?

GOOD.

Narrator: KENNY LONG USED TO WORK

FOR ENGLAND'S METROPOLITAN POLICE FORCE.

HE SPECIALIZES IN IDENTIFYING KNOWN CRIMINALS IN LARGE CROWDS.

♪♪

THE TOOL OF HIS TRADE IS HIS BRAIN.

KENNY IS WHAT'S KNOWN AS A SUPER-RECOGNIZER.

SAY, FOR EXAMPLE, I LOOK AT YOUR FACE.

UNFORTUNATELY, I'M NOT GONNA FORGET THAT FACE NOW,

SO I'D NEVER DO NOTHING WRONG, IF I WAS YOU.

SO YOU HAVE BETTER ABILITIES THAN, SAY,

A COMPUTER WITH FACIAL- RECOGNITION SOFTWARE?

I'VE RECOGNIZED SOMEONE FROM THE BACK OF THEIR HEAD BEFORE,

FOR A BANK ROBBERY.

Narrator: HIS EXPERTISE HAS LED

TO HUNDREDS OF CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS.

♪♪

SO, IN THE CASE OF LIBERTY VERSUS THE PEOPLE,

WHO ARE THE PRIME SUSPECTS?

I'VE GOT A NUMBER OF PICTURES OF PEOPLE

CONNECTED TO THE HISTORY OF THE STATUE OF LIBERTY.

ED STARTS WITH THE PERSON BARTHOLDI WAS CLOSEST TO.

CHARLOTTE BARTHOLDI, THE MOTHER OF THE SCULPTOR.

AND WE KNOW THAT FRéDéRIC AUGUSTE BARTHOLDI

AND HIS MOTHER WERE VERY CLOSE.

NEXT UP IS ANOTHER POTENTIAL CANDIDATE.

BARTHOLDI'S WIFE IS JEANNE-EMILIE,

WHOM HE MARRIED LATE.

HE WAS 46 YEARS OLD WHEN HE GOT MARRIED.

ANOTHER POSSIBILITY IS THAT IT MIGHT NOT BE

THE FACE OF A WOMAN, AT ALL.

BARTHOLDI'S BROTHER, CHARLES,

WHOM HE WAS VERY CLOSE TO,

AND THERE WAS, IN FACT, RECENTLY, A THEORY

THAT BARTHOLDI USED HIS BROTHER'S FACE.

SO, OUT OF THESE POTENTIAL SUSPECTS,

WHO IS THE FACE OF LADY LIBERTY?

♪♪

AT FACE VALUE, IT'S A TALL ORDER.

KENNY IS MORE USED TO WORKING WITH POLICE MUGSHOTS

THAN HISTORICAL PHOTOS AND PAINTINGS.

♪♪

I WANNA TO DISCOUNT SOME PEOPLE, FIRST.

-MM-HMM. -SO LOOKING AT THIS IMAGE HERE.

-THAT'S HIS BROTHER. -LOOK AT HIS EAR RIGHT THERE.

-MM-HMM. -IT'S VERY, VERY FLAT.

NOT MUCH DETAIL AT ALL.

IF YOU GO TO THE STATUE OF LIBERTY

AND LOOK AT THE MODEL,

IT HAS LOTS OF DETAIL INSIDE THE EAR.

-RIGHT, YEAH. -SO, STRAIGHTAWAY,

-I'M GONNA TAKE THAT ONE DOWN. -SO YOU CAN TAKE THAT DOWN.

♪♪

Narrator: SO WHAT DOES KENNY MAKE OF BARTHOLDI'S WIFE?

THE EYES ARE TOO CLOSE TOGETHER.

THE JAW IS TOO ROUNDED, SO I BET THAT THERE WAS

NO INSPIRATION, WHATSOEVER, FROM THAT ONE AT ALL.

RIGHT. THE EYES ARE VERY CLOSE TOGETHER.

-THEY'RE VERY CLOSE. -I CAN SEE THAT.

Narrator: THAT ONLY LEAVES ONE PRIME CANDIDATE:

BARTHOLDI'S MOTHER.

WOW. THERE'S A LOT OF SIMILARITIES.

I'M LIKING THIS QUITE A LOT. -MM-HMM.

LOOKING AT BOTH THE IMAGES NOW,

NEXT TO THE STATUE OF LIBERTY,

IT LOOKS SO CLOSE.

IT'S JUST LIKE LOOKING AT THE SAME PERSON TO ME.

♪♪

[ SUSPENSEFUL FLOURISH PLAYS ]

IT'S AN EXTRAORDINARY REVELATION.

ED BELIEVES THEY MAY HAVE SOLVED

THE MYSTERY OF HER TRUE IDENTITY.

♪♪

NOW THAT YOU POINT OUT THESE RESEMBLANCES,

WHICH ARE REALLY CONVINCING,

IT MAKES ME WONDER WHETHER

HE USED HIS MOTHER'S FACE WITHOUT QUITE REALIZING IT.

IT'S VERY POSSIBLE, VERY POSSIBLE.

WHICH WOULD EXPLAIN WHY HE DIDN'T MENTION IT TO HER.

'CAUSE HE WOULDN'T HAVE KNOWN, WOULD HE?

HE WOULDN'T HAVE KNOWN.

♪♪

Narrator: THE STATUE'S CREATOR

MAY HAVE SECRETLY USED A FAMILIAR FACE AS HIS MODEL.

WHAT OTHER SURPRISES DID HE LEAVE BEHIND?

NOW, INVESTIGATORS DIG BENEATH HER FEET FOR ANSWERS.

♪♪

WHY WAS SHE BUILT ATOP AN 11-POINTED STAR?

♪♪

AND DID A LOST WONDER OF THE ANCIENT WORLD

INSPIRE HER ONCE-GLEAMING METAL FORM?

[ SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC CLIMBS ]

[ SUSPENSEFUL CHORD STRIKES ]

[ RUMBLING ]

[ RUMBLING ]

[ SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYS ]

Narrator: THE STATUE OF LIBERTY,

A MODERN MEGASTRUCTURE FAMILIAR TO BILLIONS ACROSS THE WORLD.

♪♪

NEARLY 150 YEARS AGO,

HER DESIGNER, A FRENCH ARTIST, FRéDéRIC BARTHOLDI,

KNEW WHAT HE WANTED HIS STATUE TO LOOK LIKE...

♪♪

...BUT HIS BIGGEST PROBLEM WAS FINDING A PLACE TO PUT HER.

♪♪

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE ARCHAEOLOGIST JOEL DUKES

IS ON A MISSION TO UNCOVER WHY THIS LOCATION WAS CHOSEN.

COULD'VE BEEN AT THE MOUTH OF THE HARBOR,

WHICH IS SEVERAL MILES UP THIS WAY.

IT COULD'VE BEEN ON MANHATTAN, AT THE TIP,

OR EVEN IN CENTRAL PARK.

ULTIMATELY, THOUGH, THEY DECIDED ON LIBERTY ISLAND.

♪♪

Narrator: SO WHY WAS LADY LIBERTY BUILT ON THIS VERY SPOT?

♪♪

HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT BENEATH THE STATUE'S FEET

IS A MILITARY FORT.

IT'S SHAPED LIKE AN 11-POINTED STAR...

♪♪

...AND IS FAR OLDER THAN THE STATUE AND ITS PEDESTAL.

♪♪

THOUSANDS OF PRECISELY CARVED GRANITE BLOCKS

MAKE UP ITS WALLS,

AND INSIDE SITS THE STATUE'S FOUNDATIONS:

A MASSIVE SLAB OF SOLID CONCRETE,

20 FEET DEEP AND WEIGHING 27,000 TONS.

♪♪

BUT WHY WAS IT ABANDONED

AND WHY WAS THE STATUE BUILT WITHIN IT?

♪♪

COULD THE UNUSUAL SHAPE PROVIDE A CLUE?

FORT WOOD IS A STAR FORT, HAS 11 POINTS ON IT,

AND THE INTERESTING THING IS THAT IT'S UNIQUE

AMONG THE FORTS IN NEW YORK HARBOR.

Narrator: IN FACT, THIS IS THE ONLY FORT OF ITS KIND

IN THE ENTIRE UNITED STATES.

SO WHY WAS THE DESIGN CHOSEN FOR THIS PARTICULAR SITE?

♪♪

JOEL THINKS HE'S FOUND A CLUE.

♪♪

THE CONSTRUCTION TEAM HAS UNCOVERED A CURVED WALL

RUNNING ALONGSIDE THE EXISTING STAR-SHAPED ONE.

Dukes: HERE'S THE ISLAND.

HERE'S THE FORT WITH THE 11 POINTS

AND THE OUTER WALL CURVED AROUND EACH OF THE POINTS LIKE THIS.

WHAT WE SUSPECT IS THAT THE WALL WENT

AROUND THE FORT, AT ONE POINT.

Narrator: THE MORE HE EXAMINES IT, THE MORE JOEL BELIEVES

IT MIGHT BE SOMETHING ELSE ALTOGETHER.

SO WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE IS THIS ISN'T ACTUALLY A WALL.

WHAT THIS IS IS A FOOT OR TWO, A SUPPORT FOR A MOAT.

Narrator: A MOAT INDICATES THE FORT'S OCCUPANTS NEEDED 360° DEFENSES,

MEANING THE THREAT OF ATTACKING SHIPS

WASN'T ALL THEY WERE WORRIED ABOUT.

PROTECTING FROM A LAND INVASION

WOULD'VE BEEN PART OF THE DEFENSES AT THIS FORT.

♪♪

Narrator: THE FORT'S UNIQUE, 11-POINTED SHAPE

GAVE DEFENDERS A HUGE ADVANTAGE,

DRAMATICALLY INCREASING THEIR FIELDS OF FIRE

AND REDUCING BLIND SPOTS.

CANNONS POSITIONED ON ONE SIDE OF THE FORT

COULD FIRE ACROSS TO THE OTHER...

[ BLASTING ]

HITTING ANYONE ATTEMPTING TO SCALE ITS WALLS.

♪♪

[ BLAST ]

THE FORT'S LOW PROFILE ALLOWED FOR THICK GRANITE RAMPARTS

PROTECTING IT FROM CANNON FIRE.

♪♪

[ BLAST ] BUT THE DEVELOPMENT

OF MORE POWERFUL ARTILLERY AND EXPLOSIVE SHELLS

MEANT THE FORT WAS SOON OUTDATED

AND IT GRADUALLY FELL INTO DISREPAIR.

♪♪

THE PROBLEM WITH THE DEVELOPMENT

OF THE FORTIFICATION OF NEW YORK HARBOR

WAS OFTEN THAT, ONCE A FORT WAS COMPLETED,

THE TECHNOLOGY ADVANCED SO FAR THAT THE FORT WAS

PRETTY MUCH OBSOLETE BY THE TIME IT WAS BUILT.

Narrator: BUT JOEL THINKS THIS UNUSUAL AND OUTDATED DESIGN

MIGHT BE THE VERY REASON WHY THE STATUE WAS BUILT ON THIS SPOT.

ONCE THE FORT BECAME OBSOLETE, THEY BEGAN TO REPURPOSE IT

FOR DIFFERENT THINGS, SUCH AS A BARRACKS AND A QUARTERMASTER'S

AND EVEN A LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER'S QUARTER WAS PUT OUT THERE.

Narrator: JOEL BELIEVES THAT,

BECAUSE THE FORT WAS NO LONGER OF MILITARY IMPORTANCE,

IT COULD BE EASILY AND CHEAPLY REPURPOSED,

THIS TIME, AS THE IDEAL BASE FOR A HUGE STATUE.

Dukes: I THINK THAT IT WAS REALLY FORTUNATE TO FIND FORT WOOD.

I THINK THE STAR DESIGN FITS REALLY WELL WITH THE PEDESTAL

AND THE STATUE OUT THERE ON LIBERTY ISLAND.

♪♪

Narrator: THE STATUE'S CREATORS

HAD FOUND THE PERFECT PLOT FOR LADY LIBERTY,

BUT HAD THEY UNWITTINGLY CHOSEN

A SITE OF HUGE ARCHAEOLOGICAL IMPORTANCE?

♪♪

WHAT CAN BRAND-NEW DISCOVERIES FROM THIS SITE

TELL US ABOUT THE HISTORY OF NEW YORK AND THE UNITED STATES?

AND HOW DID THEY BUILD SUCH A GIGANTIC STATUE?

[ SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC CLIMBS, CHORD STRIKES ]

[ RUMBLING ]

[ RUMBLING ]

[ SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYS ]

Narrator: THE STATUE OF LIBERTY.

IT WAS BUILT ON TOP OF AN ABANDONED 19th-CENTURY FORT

ON A SMALL ISLAND IN NEW YORK HARBOR

NO LONGER OF MILITARY VALUE.

♪♪

BUT ARCHAEOLOGIST JOEL DUKES BELIEVES THE SITE

COULD HOLD EVEN MORE HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE.

WITH ALL THE MODERN DEVELOPMENT THAT'S GOING ON HERE

IN NEW YORK CITY, IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE THAT

THERE'S SOME REALLY AMAZING HISTORY OUT HERE.

♪♪

Narrator: BURIED IN THE GROUND BEHIND THE STATUE,

ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE MADE A STRANGE DISCOVERY.

♪♪

UNDERNEATH THE TOPSOIL

LIE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF OPENED OYSTER SHELLS.

♪♪

TOGETHER, THEY FORM A THICK LAYER...

♪♪

THAT STRETCHES IN A WIDE BAND ACROSS LIBERTY ISLAND,

SURROUNDING THE STATUE.

♪♪

THE SHELLS COULDN'T HAVE SIMPLY WASHED UP HERE,

SO WHERE DID THEY COME FROM

AND CAN THEY REVEAL THE SECRETS OF THIS ISLAND'S PAST?

[ SUSPENSEFUL CHORD STRIKES ]

♪♪

THIS IS ONE OF THE OYSTER SHELLS

THAT WE'VE RECOVERED FROM THE SITE

AND 99% OF WHAT WAS RECOVERED HERE WERE OYSTER SHELLS.

♪♪

Narrator: IT'S EARLY MORNING AND A CREW IS CONDUCTING

STRUCTURAL REPAIRS AROUND THE STATUE,

SO JOEL IS ON THE LOOKOUT

FOR ANY MORE SHELLS THAT MIGHT BE UNCOVERED.

[chuckle] THE GROUND'S FROZEN.

INVESTIGATORS KEEP ARTIFACTS FOUND ON LIBERTY ISLAND HERE,

IN THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE ARCHIVES.

♪♪

SO THIS BOX IS ONE OF 22 FROM THE SITE

AND THEY HOLD OVER 6,800 ARTIFACTS THAT WERE EXCAVATED.

♪♪

Narrator: REMARKABLY, IT WASN'T JUST OYSTER SHELLS THAT WERE FOUND.

♪♪

AND THE DISCOVERY OF A STORAGE PIT

CONVINCED ARCHAEOLOGISTS THIS WASTE WAS MANMADE.

THE MATERIAL THAT CAME OUT OF IT,

IN ADDITION TO THE OYSTER, WAS A VARIETY

OF MANMADE OBJECTS OUT OF STONE AND CERAMICS.

♪♪

Narrator: THESE ANCIENT PILES OF TRASH ARE CALLED MIDDENS,

BUT THE QUESTION IS: WHOSE TRASH IS IT

AND WHY DID THESE PEOPLE COME TO LIBERTY ISLAND?

♪♪

ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING ITEMS WE FIND

THAT HELPED US DATE THE DEPOSIT

WAS THIS POINT SMALL ARROWHEAD MADE OF JASPER

AND IT'S ONE OF THE CLEAR INDICATORS

THEY WERE NATIVE AMERICANS THAT MADE THIS DEPOSIT.

♪♪

Narrator: OVER CENTURIES, THE NATIVE AMERICANS

EXPLOITED THE OYSTER-RICH WATERS AND FERTILE SOIL...

♪♪

...UNTIL THE ARRIVAL OF EUROPEANS

EVENTUALLY PUSHED THEM OUT OF THESE LANDS.

♪♪

BUT ONE MYSTERY STILL PUZZLES INVESTIGATORS.

WHY DID THEY CHOOSE TO LIVE ON A REMOTE ISLAND,

RATHER THAN THE MAINLAND?

JOEL BELIEVES THE ANSWER LIES ON NEIGHBORING ELLIS ISLAND.

BEHIND ME IS THE IMMIGRATION STATION.

BENEATH IT, WE FOUND A SHELL MIDDEN,

JUST LIKE THE ONE THAT WAS OVER ON LIBERTY ISLAND.

♪♪

Narrator: JOEL THINKS THESE TWO DISTINCT DEPOSITS

ARE A CLUE TO HOW THIS LANDSCAPE LOOKED IN THE DISTANT PAST.

♪♪

SCIENTISTS UNEARTHED MIDDENS NOT ONLY ON LIBERTY ISLAND,

BUT ALSO BENEATH THE MAIN IMMIGRATION BUILDING

ON NEARBY ELLIS ISLAND.

♪♪

THE ALIGNMENT OF THE MIDDENS

SUGGEST THEY ARE PART OF THE SAME TRASH HEAP.

IT WOULD MEAN THE TWO ISLANDS WERE ONCE CONNECTED

TO EACH OTHER, AND POSSIBLY TO THE MAINLAND.

[ SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC CLIMBS, CHORDS STRIKE ]

THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO,

THESE ISLANDS WERE JUST TWO SMALL HILLS

SURROUNDED BY TIDAL FLATS AND MARSHES.

OVER TIME, EROSION AND RISING SEA LEVELS

TRANSFORMED THE HILLS INTO SMALL ISLANDS...

♪♪

...RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HARBOR.

♪♪

Dukes: THOUSANDS OF YEARS, PEOPLE WERE COMING HERE.

NATIVE AMERICANS SEASONALLY WERE COMING HERE

AND EXPLOITING THE RESOURCES AND LIVING HERE

AND I THINK THE WHOLE DEPTH OF HISTORY HERE IS PRETTY AMAZING.

♪♪

Narrator: WITHOUT REALIZING IT,

THE STATUE'S CREATORS HAD CHOSEN A LOCATION RICH

WITH THE HISTORY OF NORTH AMERICA.

♪♪

BUT HOW, EXACTLY, WOULD HER CREATORS BUILD

SUCH A MASSIVE STATUE

AND WHERE DID THE INSPIRATION FOR HER METAL DESIGN COME FROM?

[ SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC CLIMBS, CHORD STRIKES ]

[ RUMBLING ]

[ RUMBLING ]

[ SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYS ]

Narrator: THE STATUE OF LIBERTY.

ONE OF THE MOST ICONIC SIGHTS IN THE WORLD.

HER CREATOR, THE FRENCH SCULPTOR FRéDéRIC BARTHOLDI,

CHOSE TO BUILD HIS STATUE ON AN ISLAND

ONCE INHABITED BY NATIVE AMERICANS.

HE MAY HAVE EVEN BASED HER FACE ON HIS OWN MOTHER.

♪♪

BUT WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION FOR THE REST OF HER?

♪♪

Berenson: WHY DID IT TAKE THE FORM IT DID?

IT'S NOT CLEAR. YOU HAVE TO REALLY KIND OF

ENTER ONTO A PROCESS OF DISCOVERY,

IN ORDER TO FIGURE THAT OUT.

♪♪

Narrator: THE WIDESPREAD VIEW IS THAT SHE IS BASED ON LIBERTAS,

THE ROMAN GODDESS OF FREEDOM,

AND, AT FIRST GLANCE, THE RESEMBLANCE IS CLEAR.

♪♪

BUT THERE'S ONE GLARING DIFFERENCE.

HER MOST ICONIC FEATURE IS OUT OF PLACE.

THE HUGE, SEVEN-POINTED CROWN THAT ADORNS HER HEAD

IS NEVER SEEN ON ROMAN DEPICTIONS OF LIBERTAS.

[ SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC CLIMBS ] COULD HER CROWN UNLOCK

THE LADY'S SECRET IDENTITY?

♪♪

ED THINKS BARTHOLDI WAS ACTUALLY LOOKING

EVEN FURTHER BACK IN TIME,

TO A MONUMENT THAT, EXPERTS BELIEVE,

FEATURED A VERY SIMILAR-LOOKING HEADPIECE.

Berenson: THIS IS THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES, AND THIS WAS AN IMAGE

FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE 19th CENTURY.

THIS IS WHAT PEOPLE THEN THOUGHT THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES

MUST'VE LOOKED LIKE.

Narrator: THE GIANT STATUE WAS ONE

OF THE SEVEN ANCIENT WONDERS OF THE WORLD.

110 FEET TALL, IT WAS BUILT TO REPRESENT

HELIOS, THE GREEK GOD OF THE SUN.

IT STOOD ON RHODES MORE THAN 2,300 YEARS AGO,

BUT WAS DESTROYED JUST 66 YEARS AFTER IT WAS BUILT.

IT WAS A GREAT STATUE, A HUGE STATUE,

CARRYING A TORCH,

WITH A CROWN THAT HAD SPOKES ON IT,

AND THOSE SPOKES REPRESENT THE RAYS OF THE SUN.

Narrator: SO, IS LIBERTY REALLY A SECRET HOMAGE

TO THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES?

♪♪

TO FIND OUT, WE NEED TO DISCOVER

WHAT THIS ANCIENT STATUE REALLY LOOKED LIKE,

RATHER THAN RELYING ON 19th-CENTURY ILLUSTRATIONS

BASED ON GUESSWORK.

♪♪

ON THE GREEK ISLAND OF RHODES,

ARCHITECT KATERINA MANOUSOU HAS SPENT DECADES HUNTING

FOR THIS LOST WONDER.

LEGEND HAS IT THE COLOSSUS STOOD

STRADDLING THE ENTRANCE TO THE PORT.

BUT THIS IMAGE IS VASTLY DIFFERENT

FROM THE STATUE OF LIBERTY.

♪♪

SO WAS IT REALLY HERE,

OR COULD IT ACTUALLY BE MUCH MORE SIMILAR TO LIBERTY,

BOTH IN TERMS OF ITS APPEARANCE AND POSITIONING?

SCIENTIFIC EXAMINATION OF THE AREA HAS PERSUADED KATERINA

THAT THE COLOSSUS COULD NEVER HAVE STOOD AT THE HARBOR.

♪♪

THE COLOSSUS WAS MADE OF BRONZE,

WHICH WOULD HAVE SUNK AFTER ITS COLLAPSE.

BUT FOLLOWING EXTENSIVE SEARCHES,

NO REMAINS HAVE EVER BEEN FOUND ON THE SEAFLOOR HERE.

♪♪

KATERINA IS CONVINCED THE STATUE DID EXIST.

IT JUST WASN'T BUILT WHERE MOST PEOPLE THINK,

WHICH MEANS IT COULD HAVE ALSO LOOKED MORE

LIKE THE STATUE OF LIBERTY THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT.

♪♪

KATERINA HEADS AWAY FROM THE HARBOR ENTRANCE,

TOWARDS THE PALACE OF THE GRAND MASTER,

OVERLOOKING THE PORT.

♪♪

ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE DISCOVERED THAT THIS WALL ENCASES

A MUCH OLDER, SOLID STONE SLAB.

IT'S THE PERFECT SIZE FOR A HUGE PLINTH.

♪♪

THE PALACE WAS BUILT IN THE 14th CENTURY,

LONG AFTER THE COLOSSUS COLLAPSED,

BUT KATERINA BELIEVES IT MARKS THE SPOT

WHERE THE HUGE ANCIENT STATUE WOULD HAVE STOOD,

NOT STRADDLING THE HARBOR, BUT TOWERING ABOVE IT,

JUST LIKE LIBERTY.

♪♪

THE LEGEND OF THE COLOSSUS

SEES IT STRADDLING THE HARBOR WITH ITS LEGS APART.

♪♪

BUT THIS IS A MEDIEVAL MISCONCEPTION

THAT HAS BEEN PASSED DOWN THROUGH TIME

LIKE A GAME OF WHISPERS,

WITH NO EVIDENCE IN ANCIENT DESCRIPTIONS.

♪♪

HISTORIANS ARE NOW CERTAIN

THE COLOSSUS NEVER STOOD AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE HARBOR.

[ SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC CLIMBS ]

INSTEAD, IT MUST HAVE BEEN POSITIONED INLAND,

TOWERING OVER THE HARBOR, ON A HUGE STONE PEDESTAL,

JUST LIKE THE STATUE OF LIBERTY.

♪♪

NEW YORK INVESTIGATOR ED BERENSON

BELIEVES KATERINA'S THEORY.

♪♪

HE THINKS THAT THE STATUE OF LIBERTY'S CREATOR

HAD ALREADY GUESSED THE TRUTH.

WE KNOW, AND BARTHOLDI SAID, THAT, IN TERMS OF THE STRUCTURE,

THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES HAD STRADDLED THE OPENING OF RHODES.

WELL, THAT COULDN'T BE REAL BECAUSE IT WOULDN'T HAVE

BEEN ABLE TO STAND UP AND HE UNDERSTOOD THAT.

♪♪

Narrator: SO IS THIS REALLY WHERE BARTHOLDI

GOT HIS INSPIRATION FROM?

Berenson: WE KNOW THAT HE WAS INTERESTED IN COLOSSAL STATUES.

HE WAS AMAZED BY THEM AND HE SAID THAT HE WANTED

TO BUILD SOMETHING JUST LIKE THAT.

WHAT BARTHOLDI DID IS HE AMALGAMATED THE TWO.

HE TOOK THE GODDESS OF LIBERTY

AND HE FUSED IT WITH THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES

AND OUT OF THAT CAME THE STATUE OF LIBERTY.

Narrator: THE STATUE'S CREATOR SET OUT TO BUILD

AN ANCIENT COLOSSUS IN A MODERN WORLD,

BUT HOW DID THEY CONSTRUCT A STATUE FAR BIGGER

THAN HER ANCIENT PREDECESSOR

AND HOW HAS SHE SURVIVED SO MUCH LONGER?

[ SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC CLIMBS ]

[ SUSPENSEFUL CHORD STRIKES ] [ RUMBLING ]

[ RUMBLING ]

[ SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYS ]

Narrator: THE STATUE OF LIBERTY.

ITS MAKER WANTED TO RESURRECT

THE GOD-SIZED MONUMENTS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD.

♪♪

BARTHOLDI'S KEY INSPIRATION, THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES,

COLLAPSED AFTER JUST 66 YEARS,

SO HOW DID HE BUILD SOMETHING EVEN BIGGER

WITHOUT SUFFERING THE SAME FATE

AND HOW DID THE CHOICE OF MATERIALS

AFFECT HOW SHE LOOKS TODAY?

WHEN SHE FIRST WENT UP, SHE WASN'T GREEN AT ALL.

THAT ALWAYS AMAZES ME.

♪♪

Narrator: 62,000 POUNDS OF THE PUREST COPPER

MAKE UP THE STATUE'S SKIN,

HAMMERED INTO OVER 300 PLATES.

EACH PLATE IS JUST 0.09 INCHES THICK.

♪♪

A LAYER OF GREEN PATINA,

IN PARTS AS THICK AS THE COPPER ITSELF,

COVERS EVERY SURFACE,

BUT STRIPPING AWAY 130 YEARS OF OXIDATION

REVEALS THE LADY'S TRUE COLOR.

♪♪

WHEN FIRST BUILT, SHE WOULD HAVE LOOKED LIKE

A GLEAMING GOLDEN COLOSSUS OF ANCIENT TIMES,

TOWERING OVER 19th-CENTURY NEW YORK.

♪♪

[ SUSPENSEFUL CHORD STRIKES ]

SO WHY DID BARTHOLDI CHOOSE COPPER PLATES,

ESPECIALLY WHEN THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES

WAS BUILT VERY DIFFERENTLY,

USING THE ANCIENT METHOD OF BRONZE CASTING?

♪♪

PAUL CAVANAUGH IS A VETERAN METAL WORKER AND SCULPTOR.

TO MAKE THE COLOSSUS, IT WAS NECESSARY

FOR EACH SECTION TO BE CAST INTO BRONZE

AND THEN THE BRONZE WOULD BE JOINED TOGETHER.

Narrator: JEFF BUCCACIO AND HIS TEAM STILL USE THE BRONZE-CASTING METHOD.

THEY HAVE THE SKILLS TO INVESTIGATE

WHAT TECHNIQUES IT TOOK TO BUILD THE COLOSSUS.

OKAY, UP, GREG.

THE TEAM USES SAND TO CREATE A MOLD.

THEN THEY POUR MOLTEN BRONZE INTO IT.

UP, UP.

GOOD. STOP.

HERE WE GO. READY?

IT'S A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS MOMENT.

BACK, BACK.

WHEN IT HITS THE MOLD,

THE BRONZE COOLS DOWN AND TAKES ITS INVERTED SHAPE.

♪♪

EXPERTS BELIEVE WORKERS CAST THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES

IN LARGE SECTIONS.

EACH STOOD 5 FEET TALL AND WEIGHED UP TO 250 POUNDS.

WORKERS MOUNTED THE SKIN

ON AN INTERNAL FRAME MADE OF IRON BARS

AND RIVETED EACH LARGE SECTION TOGETHER.

THE PEOPLE OF RHODES USED AN ABANDONED SIEGE TOWER

AS A SCAFFOLD TO REACH THE STATUE'S CROWN,

A DIZZYING 110 FEET OFF THE GROUND.

FOR STRENGTH, THE METAL WAS AN INCH THICK BELOW THE KNEES,

WHERE IT SUPPORTED THE MOST WEIGHT.

TO STOP IT BEING TOP-HEAVY,

IT TAPERED TO A QUARTER OF AN INCH NEAR THE HEAD.

♪♪

BUT, INSTEAD OF BRONZE, BARTHOLDI CHOSE COPPER,

A METAL NOT SUITABLE FOR CASTING.

COPPER MEANT HIS WORKERS HAD TO USE A SPECIAL TECHNIQUE,

CALLED REPOUSSé,

WHICH INVOLVED SHAPING THE METAL

BY HAMMERING FROM THE REVERSE SIDE.

Cavanaugh: THEY CREATED A NEGATIVE WOODEN FORM.

THEN, AND USING ALL SORTS OF DIFFERENT LITTLE TECHNIQUES,

THEY WERE ABLE TO HAMMER INTO THE WOODEN FORM

AND THEN HAVE IT HOLD ITS SHAPE,

SO IT COULD BE RIVETED TO THE INSIDE STRUCTURE.

♪♪

Narrator: PAUL ASSESSES THE TWO TECHNIQUES.

HE BELIEVES THAT CAST BRONZE IS THE SUPERIOR METHOD.

CASTING BRONZE, FOR A LARGE MONUMENT,

LIKE THE COLOSSUS, IS MUCH BETTER.

THE COLOSSUS WOULD BE A LOT STRONGER

THAN THE STATUE OF LIBERTY.

♪♪

Narrator: WHEN EXPOSED TO THE ELEMENTS, COPPER TURNS GREEN OVER TIME;

AND, COMPARED TO CAST BRONZE, COPPER REPOUSSé IS WEAKER

AND MORE LABOR-INTENSIVE, SO WHY DID BARTHOLDI CHOOSE IT?

♪♪

DESPITE ALL ITS FLAWS, IT HAS ONE MAJOR ADVANTAGE.

IT WAS MUCH, MUCH LESS EXPENSIVE THAN CAST BRONZE.

IT WAS JUST A TECHNIQUE TO SAVE A LOT OF MONEY.

♪♪

Narrator: ACCORDING TO LEGEND, THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES WAS BUILT

USING CAPTURED BRONZE WEAPONS FROM A RECENT WAR,

BUT FRéDéRIC BARTHOLDI DIDN'T HAVE THIS ADVANTAGE.

HE WAS LIMITED BY MONEY

AND HAD TO DRUM UP FUNDS TO REALIZE HIS VISION.

THE STATUE OF LIBERTY WAS MADE AS A GIFT

AND I THINK THAT THE WAY THOSE THINGS WORK IS

THE PERSON WHO CONTROLS THE PURSE STRINGS

CONTROLS WHAT MATERIAL'S CHOSEN,

SO BARTHOLDI HAD TO SOMEWHAT GO ALONG WITH THAT.

♪♪

Narrator: DESPITE IT NOT BEING FIRST CHOICE,

THE WORLD HAS GROWN TO LOVE THE STATUE'S GREEN COPPER TINT

AND LIBERTY HAS LASTED FAR LONGER

THAN HER ANCIENT ANCESTOR, THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES,

EVEN IF SHE WAS BUILT USING

AN INFERIOR CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUE.

BUT THIN COPPER SHEETS ARE FAR TOO WEAK

TO SUPPORT SUCH A MASSIVE STRUCTURE ON THEIR OWN,

SO WHAT SECRET METHODS DID HER ENGINEERS USE

TO ENSURE SHE WOULD STAND THE TEST OF TIME?

[ SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC CLIMBS, CHORD STRIKES ]

[ RUMBLING ]

[ RUMBLING ]

[ SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYS ]

Narrator: FOR MORE THAN A CENTURY, THE STATUE OF LIBERTY

HAS STOOD PROUDLY ON ITS PLINTH, WATCHING OVER NEW YORK HARBOR.

♪♪

THE FAMOUS COLOSSUS OF RHODES, ON WHICH IT WAS MODELED,

WAS SHORTER AND BUILT OF STURDIER STUFF,

YET IT WAS DESTROYED BY AN EARTHQUAKE

AFTER JUST 66 YEARS.

♪♪

HOW DID LIBERTY'S ENGINEERS ENSURE

SHE WOULD OUTLIVE HER ANCIENT GREEK ANCESTOR?

♪♪

VETERAN STRUCTURAL ENGINEER DONALD FRIEDMAN

IS ONE OF AMERICA'S LEADING SPECIALISTS

IN RENOVATING HISTORICAL BUILDINGS.

♪♪

HE'S INVESTIGATING HOW THE STATUE OF LIBERTY

HAS STOOD THE TEST OF TIME.

Friedman: SHE'S AN AMAZING STATUE.

WHEN YOU LOOK AT HER FROM THE OUTSIDE, YOU KNOW,

YOU SEE WHAT EVERYBODY HAS ALWAYS COME HERE TO SEE,

BUT WHEN YOU GO INSIDE, YOU SEE THE STRUCTURE,

AND IT'S EVEN MORE INTERESTING.

[ SUSPENSEFUL CHORDS STRIKE ]

Narrator: UNDERNEATH HER ROBE

LIES A VAST, HIDDEN LATTICE OF INTRICATE METALWORK.

♪♪

A HUGE, CENTRAL PYLON ANCHORS HER TO THE PEDESTAL...

♪♪

...AND ACTS AS A SPINE FOR LAYERS OF STEEL GIRDERS...

♪♪

...SUPPORTING A FRAMEWORK OF THIN, METAL BARS...

♪♪

...THAT ATTACH TO HER COPPER SKIN.

[ SUSPENSEFUL CHORALE CLIMBS ]

♪♪

SO HOW DID THIS SEEMINGLY FRAGILE FRAME

MAKE HER STRONGER THAN ANYTHING THAT HAD COME BEFORE?

♪♪

TO SOLVE THIS MYSTERY, DON FIRST WANTS TO UNDERSTAND

EXACTLY HOW THE COLOSSUS COLLAPSED.

[ KNOCKING ]

♪♪

NICE TO SEE YOU.

DON WORKS WITH VETERAN PHYSICIST NEVILLE REIGER,

WHO HAS BEEN RESEARCHING THE FATE

OF THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES FOR OVER 20 YEARS.

THIS IS WHAT WE THINK THAT THE COLOSSUS LOOKED LIKE.

IT STOOD PRETTY MUCH WITH ITS LEGS CLOSE TOGETHER.

CERTAINLY NOT STRADDLED OVER THE HARBOR.

♪♪

Narrator: NEVILLE HAS BUILT A COMPUTER SIMULATION

TO INVESTIGATE WHY IT FELL.

♪♪

IT WOULD HAVE FAILED AT THE ANKLES.

THAT WOULD'VE BROUGHT THE ENTIRE STRUCTURE DOWN.

I'M SURE THAT'S WHAT THEY SAW LYING ON THE GROUND

FOR 700 YEARS.

♪♪

Narrator: DON BELIEVES THE STATUE OF LIBERTY'S CREATOR

MAY HAVE TAKEN THIS INTO ACCOUNT.

IF YOU LOOK AT A PERSON, WE'RE BIG IN THE MIDDLE

AND THEN WE GET NARROW DOWN TOWARDS THE ANKLES

AND THAT'S THE WEAKEST PART OF A STATUE.

♪♪

Narrator: THE NARROW LEGS AND ANKLES OF THE COLOSSUS

MADE IT SUSCEPTIBLE TO COLLAPSE.

♪♪

SO LIBERTY WAS DESIGNED TO HAVE A WIDE,

FLOWING ROBE AROUND THE BASE.

♪♪

THE ROBE WOULD MAKE HER MORE STRUCTURALLY SOUND.

♪♪

THAT WOULD ALSO HELP HER DEAL WITH A MORE LIKELY THREAT...

♪♪

...STRONG WINDS.

THE SCULPTURE ITSELF IS A VERY THIN COPPER SKIN

AND, EVEN WITH A GOOD SHAPE

AND EVEN WITH THE GOOD GEOMETRY THAT THE DRESS GIVES IT,

THERE'S STILL THE ISSUE OF HOW DO YOU MAKE THIS STRONG ENOUGH

TO WITHSTAND THE WIND PRESSURE THAT'S BLOWING ON IT

ON A DAY LIKE TODAY, FOR EXAMPLE?

Narrator: SO WHY HASN'T THE WIND RIPPED OFF LIBERTY'S THIN COPPER SKIN?

IN ORDER TO PROVIDE THE STRUCTURE

FOR THIS MASSIVE SCULPTURE, THE ARTIST EMPLOYED ONE

OF THE MOST FAMOUS ENGINEERS OF THE ERA

AND ARGUABLY THE BEST ENGINEER IN FRANCE, AT THAT TIME.

♪♪

Narrator: BARTHOLDI RECRUITED

A RISING STAR OF THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY,

WHO WOULD GO ON TO COMPLETE THE FAMOUS EIFFEL TOWER IN FRANCE:

GUSTAVE EIFFEL.

♪♪

INSIDE THAT THIN, COPPER SKIN,

YOU'VE GOT A WROUGHT-IRON, BRACED FRAME

THAT IS THE MAIN STRUCTURE OF THE STATUE,

DESIGNED BY THE ENGINEER GUSTAVE EIFFEL,

AND IT'S VERY SIMILAR TO THE TOWER

THAT HE BUILT IN PARIS A FEW YEARS LATER.

♪♪

Narrator: THE STATUE'S STRENGTH

COMES FROM ITS SOLID CENTRAL PYLON,

MADE OF FOUR COLUMNS REINFORCED WITH CROSSED DIAGONAL GIRDERS.

♪♪

THIS SUPPORTS A SECOND STEEL FRAME,

WHICH ATTACHES TO THE STATUE'S SKIN

WITH FLEXIBLE RODS AND STRIPS OF METAL.

♪♪

THESE STRIPS ARE HELD IN PLACE WITH COPPER SADDLES,

SO THAT THE TWO LAYERS MOVE INDEPENDENTLY.

♪♪

THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE SKIN AND THE SKELETON

ACT AS A SPRING, ALLOWING THE STATUE TO SWAY AND FLEX.

♪♪

YOU HAVE POTENTIALLY A LOT OF MOVEMENT OF THE SKIN

FROM ONE SIDE TO THE OTHER,

RELATIVE TO THE STRUCTURE THAT'S IN THE MIDDLE,

AND, IF IT WEREN'T ALLOWED TO MOVE,

IT WOULD START TO RIP ITSELF APART.

♪♪

Narrator: BACK AT HIS OFFICE, DON INVESTIGATES

THE EFFECTS OF WIND ON THE STATUE'S SKELETON.

THIS FRAME IS DOING WHAT EIFFEL DESIGNED IT TO DO,

WHICH IS TO TAKE ALL OF THIS WIND LOAD

AND THEN TRANSMIT IT DOWN TO THE BASE, DOWN TO THE PLINTH.

Narrator: THIS SPRING TECHNIQUE WAS ONE OF THE FIRST OF ITS KIND

AND IT PAVED THE WAY FOR MANY OTHER HIGH-RISE STRUCTURES.

Friedman: AT THE TIME THAT EIFFEL DESIGNED THIS,

THIS WAS ONE OF THE BEST FRAMES IN THE WORLD.

I MEAN, THIS WAS JUST AN AMAZING DESIGN FOR THE 1880s.

EVEN TODAY, USING THE MATERIALS HE WAS USING

AND WITH THE CONSTRAINTS HE HAD FOR CONSTRUCTION,

I'M NOT SURE WE COULD DO VERY MUCH BETTER.

[ POIGNANT TUNE PLAYS ]

♪♪

Narrator: ON THE OUTSIDE, THE STATUE OF LIBERTY

RESEMBLES THE GODS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD,

BUT, INSIDE, SHE IS A MODERN ENGINEERING MARVEL.

HER FACE MAY HAVE INADVERTENTLY BEEN BASED ON A REAL PERSON,

BUT THIS GREAT MONUMENT

HAS GROWN IN PEOPLE'S HEARTS AND MINDS

TO TAKE ON A UNIQUE IDENTITY OF HER OWN.

IT IS WHAT ONE ART HISTORIAN CALLED A HOLLOW ICON.

THAT IS, IT DOESN'T HAVE ANY DEFINITE MEANING

WRITTEN INTO IT, AND SO THAT ALLOWS US

TO SPECULATE AND IT ALSO ALLOWS THE MEANING

OF THE STATUE OF LIBERTY TO EVOLVE WITH THE TIMES.

♪♪

Narrator: THE STATUE OF LIBERTY IS THE LIFETIME ACCOMPLISHMENT

OF FRéDéRIC BARTHOLDI, WHO OVERCAME COLOSSAL OBSTACLES

TO BUILD AN ANCIENT WONDER IN 19th-CENTURY NEW YORK.

♪♪

LIBERTY'S CREATOR MAY HAVE TAKEN INSPIRATION

FROM THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES,

BUT THIS ICONIC LADY STANDS TALLER AND STRONGER,

THANKS TO THE INGENIOUS STRUCTURAL INNOVATION

HIDDEN WITHIN.

♪♪

THE ISLAND SHE CALLS HOME IS AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL TREASURE TROVE

ROOTED IN THE BIRTH OF A NATION.

♪♪

ONCE A GLEAMING COPPER LEVIATHAN,

THE STATUE OF LIBERTY HAS EVOLVED TO BECOME ONE

OF THE MOST IMPORTANT SYMBOLS OF THE MODERN WORLD.

[ TRIUMPHANT MUSIC CLIMBS ]

♪♪

[ SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYS ]

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

[ SUSPENSEFUL CHORD STRIKES ]