To Strengthen the Arm of Liberty
"To Strengthen the Arm of Liberty" is a small copper replica of Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi's monumental "Liberty Enlightening the World" erected in 1886 in New York Harbor. The replica was donated to the City of Birmingham by the Birmingham Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America in 1950 as part of that year's 40th anniversary national program theme: "To Strengthen the Arm of Liberty".
Kansas City Area Council Commissioner Jack Whitaker initiated the idea of having scout groups purchase replicas of the statue of liberty for public display. He contracted with the Friedley-Coshardt Co. of Chicago, Illinois to fabricate the the 8 foot-4 inch, 290-pound statues out of pressed copper for $350 each. Birmingham's statue was placed on a limestone base in the central reflecting pool at Woodrow Wilson Park.
It was removed to a different location near the Jefferson County Courthouse, and on a much shorter platform, when the park was renovated in the 1980s.
References
- Norton, Bertha Bendall (1970) Birmingham's First Magic Century: Were You There?. Birmingham: self-published/Lakeshore Press
External links
- Archive of the Replica Statue of Liberty Search at cheyennetroop101.org