125th birthday of Statue of Liberty
Concerts marking the 125th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty will be held both on Liberty Island and at Church at the Gateway this weekend.
Yesterday marked the 125th anniversary of the beacon of hope and symbol of freedom in New York Harbor. Soloists Ernestine Dillard and Dave Boyer, the Voices of Our Nation Choir with singers from throughout the country, and the Tulsa Praise Orchestra, which plays Big Band music, performed yesterday and will be at Church at the Gateway tomorrow as part of the “Statue of Liberty Tour.”
Tomorrow, Boyer, Ms. Dillard and the band will perform at the 9 and 11:15 a.m. services. A concert with the soloists, the choir and the band will be at 6 p.m. Free-will offerings will be accepted.
Ms. Dillard is best known as “the woman with the voice who helped heal America” after singing a stunning rendition of “God Bless America” at the internationally televised memorial service for the victims of the federal building bombing in Oklahoma City in 1995.
Big Band vocalist Boyer has performed at four presidential events and with Jimmy Durante, Pat Boone, Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra.
Statue of Liberty.
Webcams have been switched on at the Statue of Liberty during a ceremony marking the monument’s 125th anniversary.
The Internet-connected cameras will let viewers gaze out at New York Harbor or see visitors on the grounds below.
The ceremonial “lighting” of the Liberty cams was just part of the celebration Friday.
Grover Cleveland’s grandson received a plaque. Cleveland, the only president born in New Jersey, was chief executive when the statue was dedicated in 1886.
Earlier, 125 immigrants from 46 countries were sworn in as United States citizens.
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar told the new Americans that diversity strengthens the nation.
Other events include a water flotilla and a 12-minute fireworks display choreographed to patriotic music.
The colossal statue (which sits on an island in New York harbor) was a gift to the United States from the people of France. Designed by Frederic Bartholdi, it was dedicated on October 28, 1886.
The United States celebrated the 125th anniversary of the dedication of the Statue of Liberty on Friday with the naturalization of 125 new citizens from 46 nations, a ceremony of unity that temporarily put aside the political and geographical changes associated with the contentious issue of immigration.
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar kicked off the daylong celebration with a speech praising immigrants for bringing diversity to the nation, thus strengthening it. Other scheduled highlights included hooking up Internet webcams on the statue to let viewers gaze out from Liberty Island onto New York Harbor, a salute from a small flotilla of boats and, later, a fireworks display.
In 2010, the New York area was the scene of 72.000 naturalizations out of the 670.000 held nationally, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said by telephone from Friday’s ceremony.
The Statute of Liberty was designed to be a lighthouse, but it evolved into a symbol of freedom and of friendship between France and the United States. Ultimately it became the first sight of hope for waves of European immigrants coming to the United States to avoid famine and war.
The statue (also known as “Liberty Enlightening the World”) traces its artistic roots back to classical lighthouses in the shape of heroic deities that adorned some ancient ports. The version in New York is a neoclassical interpretation of the Roman goddess of freedom, Libertas.
The robed female figure holds a tablet on which is inscribed the date of the American Declaration of Independence from England — July 4, 1776 — a milestone in the first successful liberation of colonies and settlements from a mother country.
The statue itself was a gift from the French people to the United States, which raised money for the pedestal.