Little.liberty

It was a 100-degree Fourth Of July in 1999 and I was staggering around Manhattan for want of anything else to do. Before I passed out from heat stroke, I took an idle glance skywards at 64th and Broadway, and it was then that I saw her. Not Hillary, not Barbra, not Cher, but the Liberty Belle herself.

No, the Statue Of Liberty hasn't been uprooted and moved to 64th Street.

According to the AIA Guide to New York City, this 37, or 55-foot tall (depending on who you believe) replica has been here since 1902. It was placed there to promote the Liberty Warehouse, which was the building's original use.

The residents of a high-rise apartment building across the street have a much better view of "Little" Liberty than is available from the street.

When first built, it must have dominated the neighborhood.

I always knew there was a large replica of the Statue Of Liberty somewhere in Manhattan, but I could never find it. Until now.

Little Miss Liberty was cast in Akron, Ohio, in about 1900. She was shipped into NYC on a flatbed car after being sliced in half lengthwise, and then soldered together again. When first erected, the statue had a spiral staircase that allowed visitors to climb up to the top to get a panoramic view, just like in the real McCoy in the harbor. That staircase was closed in 1912 and has fallen into ruin. Perhaps it can be rebuilt when Little Liberty is moved. At the time, there were no taller buildings in the vicinity, so the view from here was panoramic.

After a near-100 year run on the Liberty Warehouse, it looks like Little Miss Liberty's days in this location are numbered. The Athena Group, which owns the Liberty Warehouse, is going to add four floors to the 8-story building and sell them as luxury apartments. That means Little Miss Liberty has to go. But where?

2004: Little Liberty is currently in storage at the sculpture garden of the Brooklyn Museum.

Little Liberty, as viewed from the 8th floor at ABC network headquarters on Columbus Avenue.

The statue replicated most of the details of its larger mentor, matching the robe folds and pedestal!

New Yorkers got a sneak preview of "Liberty Enlightening the World" in 1885, when the arm and torch were placed in Madison Square Park at Fifth Avenue and 24th Street.

The General William Worth monument at left is still standing; it has been there since 1857. The general himself can be located beneath the monument.

While the Manhattan Little Liberty isn't there anymore, this one, at River Avenue near Yankee Stadium, has kept her position.

Yet one more Liberty, on Williamsbridge Road.

Bronx Liberty photos: Donald Gilligan

Closeup view of River Avenue Liberty.

Liberty's crown was replicated at El Teddy's night spot at Varick and Franklin Streets. The real crown has seven spikes.

2004: the crown is now gone, as is El Teddy's.

The real McCoy, of course, continues to greet the tempest tost, the homeless, and those yearning to breathe free in the harbor. Until Charlton Heston finds it washed up along the Brooklyn coastline in Planet Of The Apes.

SOURCES:

David Dunlap, "Kicking Out The Kid Sister," NY Times, January 16, 2002

Thanks to Charles Gallo for assistance with this page

Got a beef? E me at erpietri@earthlink.net.