Statue Of Liberty (Splash)

Location: New York, New York, USA
Address: Liberty Island
Date: Jan 2009
Website:  www.nps.gov/stli/index.htm

In the movie Splash, Daryl Hannah plays a mermaid who goes by the name of Madison.  Tom Hanks is Allen Bauer who was saved by a mermaid after falling out of a boat when he was a boy.  Years later Allen has another boating accident and is saved once again.  The mermaid finds his wallet and decides to travel to New York in order to locate him. 

When a mermaid is on land she has legs like a human, but when she enters the water her tail returns so she can swim away.  Madison arrives in New York on Liberty Island.  She climbs over the railing like the one in the first picture above and walks past a sign like the one in the bottom left corner of the second picture.  As she walks across the grass with the skyline of Manhattan in the background she causes quite a commotion.

  It seems that even though mermaids have legs when on land, they do not instantly become clothed.  As a result Madison appears naked on the island.  The movie Splash was actually the first Disney film geared towards adults under the name Touchstone Films.

  Madison is quickly ushered inside through the doors on the front right of Lady Liberty and away from the crowds.  She is then escorted by police boat from the island wearing an extra long "I Love New York" t-shirt.  This is one way to possibly get a free souvenir that we were unwilling to try.

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Map of Our World
Statue of Liberty (Splash)

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Post # 120

Statue of Liberty (In The Movies)

Location: New York, New York, USA
Address: Liberty Island
Date: Jan 2009
Website:  www.nps.gov/stli/index.htm

  The Statue of Liberty has been seen in numerous movies.  Nothing does a better job of letting you know that you are on American soil than a few shots of Lady Liberty standing watch over New York.  Most movies don't actually make the trip to Liberty Island and instead use special effects.  Here are a few of the movies we have seen that feature the statue, courtesy of some movie magic.

National Lampoon's European Vacation
  When we first started thinking about movies that featured the Statue of Liberty, we recalled a movie in which a plane crashes into her torch and causes it to swing in her hand.  We figured it out.  As the Griswold family returns from Europe, Clark (Chevy Chase) accidentally enters the cockpit instead of the washroom.  He then bumps into the pilot and causes the plane to dive.  Oops!

Planet of the Apes
  George Taylor finally escapes those "damn, dirty apes".  He sees the Statue of Liberty sticking out of the sand on a beach.  It is then that he realizes he is still on planet earth.

 Spaceballs 
  Mega Maid is a vacuuming spaceship that bears a striking resemblance to the Statue of Liberty.  This resemblance is further emphasized by a Planet of the Apes parody.  When she crashes into a beach the whole thing is witnessed by a couple of apes on horseback.  "There goes the planet."

Ghostbusters II
  If you visit the Statue of Liberty and wish to go inside the pedestal or up into the crown, you must book your tickets well in advance.  Ray, Egon, Peter and Winston manage to not only make a last minute trip up to the crown, but do so in the middle of the night.  Using some of their slime they bring the statue to life and she wades across the Hudson River and into the streets of Manhattan.

Superman IV
  Superman IV isn't the best Superman movie (actually it's the fourth best), but it does feature the Statue of Liberty.  The villain, Nuclear Man, takes the statue and flies her through the streets of Manhattan and then hurls her towards the ground.  Superman swoops in and saves the day and she is safely returned to her pedestal.  For his efforts, Superman gets to leave Liberty Island courtesy of the business end of a boot.

Judge Dredd
  I am the law!  Sylvester Stalone (Judge Dredd) spends a little time hanging from a hole in the side of the statue's head.  In this futuristic tale the Statue of Liberty has been moved to the middle of a Mega City and hides a secret laboratory.

X-Men
  The X-Men have a battle that starts in the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.  Magneto is going to create radiation in the statue's torch which will mutate all the world leaders meeting on nearby Ellis Island.  Besides making a mess of the museum in the pedestal, the X-Men damage the statue's head and Wolverine's claws leave a few permanent scratches.

Men in Black II
  In the Men in Black movies, a neuralyser is a stick which produces a bright light and can wipe the memory of anyone who looks at it. After defeating the evil Serleena in an explosive fashion, Agent K ( Tommy Lee Jones) uses the Statue of Liberty as a giant neuralyser to wipe the memory of all of New York.  We don't recall if we have seen this movie.

The Statue of Liberty has also seen her share of movie disasters.  She has been hit by tsunamis in both Deep Impact and The Day After Tomorrow, and an alien attack in Independence Day.  Despite all the abuse she has seen in the movies, the Statue of Liberty has been standing since 1886.  Thank goodness it was all just special effects.

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Map of Our World
Statue of Liberty (In The Movies)

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Post # 38

Statue of Liberty

Location: New York, New York, USA
Address: Liberty Island
Date: Jan 2009
Website:  www.nps.gov/stli/index.htm

  As we traveled on the subway towards South Ferry station there was an announcement that you needed to be in the first five cars if you wished to exit the train at that stop.  Being tourists, we were not sure how many cars make up a typical New York subway.  Is there ten cars? Is there more than that? How far back in the train were we anyway? At the next stop we ran forward from the car that we were in.  The train stayed at the station so we ran forward some more.  We were not alone as other passengers revealed themselves as tourists and joined the rush.  Eventually there was another announcement along the lines of  "You have moved forward far enough you only need to be in the first five cars".   We assumed this announcement may have been for us so we took a chance and stayed where we were.  South Ferry station is an older station with a platform that can only fit half of the train.  Luckily when the doors opened we had a platform to exit onto.
  We arrived in Battery Park and the lines of people circled through the grounds.   There was one line to get your Statue of Liberty tickets and then you moved on to the next line, where you waited to board a boat that would finally take you to Liberty Island.  Neither of the lines looked very promising.  We waited for some time and then noticed that people were arriving and heading straight to another line to wait for the boats.  We inquired and were told that they had timed tickets which they purchased on the internet.  This seemed like the better idea as it was a rather cold December day and we still had lots of New York to see.  We took one last look out towards Lady Liberty and vowed to return next year.

  Later that night we went online and purchased our timed tickets for two days later.  On New Year's day we returned to try again.  We sat right up in the front car of the train, but this time we were on an R train going to Whitehall Station so it was not required.  Whitehall and South Ferry stations end up being right next to each other so either one will get you close to Battery Park.  New York might be the city that never sleeps, but on New Year's day we think they make an exception.  The lines were considerably shorter and the weather was also considerably colder.  Despite the poorer turnout, our timed tickets still saved us from standing in line in the cold.

  Soon we were on our way sailing towards Liberty Island which is part of the National Park Service.  The Statue of Liberty was a gift from France and it was shipped in pieces to the USA.  It's official title is "Liberty Enlightening the World" and was designed by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi.  It sits on an American pedestal created by Richard Morris Hunt and was dedicated back in 1886.  Once we were on the island we made our way from the dock and had a view of the back of the statue.  This view is limited only to those who visit the island, or someone in New Jersey.

  We made our way around the right side of the statue and we could tell that Lady Liberty is actually stepping forward.  You can see the heel of her right foot off the ground.  From the front or the left sides of the statue she always appears to be standing still.  Finally, we were able to stand beneath her and look up at her face from the front.  The statue itself stands just over 150 feet tall.  If you include the pedestal it is just over 300 feet.  She has seven rays on her crown to symbolize the seven seas and continents.  To go inside the crown or pedestal you must book online well in advance to get special tickets.  The tablet she holds reads July 4th 1776 in roman numerals.  This date is Independence Day when the United States of America declared it was independent from Britain.

  The Statue of Liberty shares Liberty Island with not much else besides some trees and The Crown Cafe.  It was from this cafe that we purchased a spring water bottle which contained many of the facts included in this blog.  Once you have visited Liberty Island you must then board another boat to take you either to Ellis Island or back to Battery Park in Manhattan.  Be sure to check the ferry times and line-ups to minimize your wait times.  Any trip to the Statue of Liberty includes the trip to Ellis Island so that is where we were headed next.

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Map of Our World
Statue of Liberty

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Post # 33