Originally conceived as a gesture of international friendship, the statue has become global symbol of freedom.
The giant sculpture, designed by the French sculptor Frèdèric Auguste Bartholdi, was given by France to the United States to commemoraten the centennial of US independence and Bartholdi`s intention was to honor the idea of liberty.
LINKS TO NORWAY
NORWEGIAN-AMERICAN ENGINEER SAVED STATUE OF LIBERTY
One hundred years ago, when the Statue of Liberty was erected in New York Harbor, not much was known about wind stress and how to counter it, The statue could very well have had a sudden and ignominous demise as it blew down before a high wind.Fortunately there was, at that time, an American engineer of Norwegian decent who was far ahead of his time. Working for Schiffler Bridge Company of Pittsburgh, Mr. Joachim Giaver (Giæver) had been trained in Norway with a thorough education in bridge building. He was asked, because of his reputation and the reputation of Schiffler Bridge Company, to design the structural framework for the Statue of Liberty. His work has stood the test of time and kept Miss Liberty firmly upright for all to see and remind ourselves that we have much to be thankful for and to cherish.
Mr. Giaver’s son, Einar William Giaver, is a resident of Island Estates. He followed in his father’s footsteps and obtained his engineering degree from Georgia Tech. After a varied career in professional football, the movies, and the steel industry, Mr. Giaver retired to Clearwater where he keeps an eye on civic affairs both locally and nationally.
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS
Instituted 1852
MEMOIRS OF DECEASED MEMBERS
JOACHIM GOTSCHE GIAVER (GIÆVER)
Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers
Died May 29th, 1925
Norway. The missing link in the history of the statue`s mystery is solved.
Joachim Gotsche Giaver, the son of Jens Holmboe Giaver and Hanna Birgitte Holmboe, was born On August 15, 1856, in Jövik, a small town owned by his family, near Tromsö, Norway. His father, of a prominent Norwegian family, was a large landholder and one of the leading figures in the fishing industry in Northern Norway. Tutored at home, Mr. Giaver entered the Trondhjem Technical College, at Trondheim, Norway, from which he was graduated in 1881 with the degree of Civil Engineer.
As the engineering field in Norway was limited at that time he came to America in 1882, and found employment as Draftsman for the Pacific Railroad Company at St. Paul Minn. At the close of 1883, Mr. Giaver left for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to become a Draftsman for the Schiffler Bridge Company and from 1885 to 1890 served as Chief Engineer of that Company.
During that period he designed several of the bridges over the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers at Pittsburgh, and by odd coincidence one of his first engagements was the design of the structural framework for the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor.
Mr. Giaver forged rapidly to the front as one of the leading structural designers of the United States and, in 1891, he went to Chicago, Illinois, to become Assistant Chief Engineer of the famous World’s Columbian Exposition. Having been one of the first to recognize the importance of wind bracing in the structural frameworks of buildings he was in charge of perfecting this feature in the structural design of the buildings for the Exposition. He designed the three-hinge arch in the dome of the Liberal Arts Building which at that time was the largest truss of its kind in the world, having a span of 368 feet.
Following the Exposition, Mr. Giaver was engaged in the general contracting business from 1893 to 1896 and served as the Bridge Designer for the Sanitary District of Chicago from 1896 to 1898. In the latter position he designed the various bridges over the Chicago Drainage Canal.
During the World’s Columbian Exposition, Mr. Giaver had become acquainted with and worked with Chicago’s famous architect, the late Daniel H. Burnham, and, in 1898, he became Chief Engineer for the firm of D. H. Burnham and Company, which position he held for 18 years, until 1915. During this time, Mr. Giaver’s engineering work was in the practical development of the modern skyscraper from the old spread-footing foundation, cast iron column, wrought iron structural framework to the modern caisson foundation and the structural steel framework.
As Chief Engineer of the Burnham Company he had charge of over 400 of the largest buildings in the United States, among which were the Flat Iron, Gimbel, Maiden Lane, and Equitable Buildings in New York, New York; the Field Museum, Continental and Commercial National Bank, Railway Exchange, Peoples Gas, Conway, Field, and other buildings in Chicago, Illinois; the Union Station and Post Office in Washington D. C.; the Frick, Oliver, Smithfield, and First National Bank in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; the May Company in Cleveland, Ohio; and the Wanamaker and the Land Title Buildings in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the most interesting designs was that for the dome of the Mount Wilson Observatory in California.
In 1915, Mr. Giaver interested himself in the questioning and licensing of structural engineers in the State of Illinois. He was the leader in securing the passage in 1915 of a bill to this effect by the Illinois State Legislature, and the result of which structural engineers are allowed to practice their profession on equal terms with the architects in that State. Prior to this it had been impossible for engineers to practice in building operations, except as employees of an architect, as under the former law, building plans could not be lawfully approved unless bearing the signature of a licensed architect.
In 1920, Mr Giaver was decorated with the order of Knight of St. Olaf, 1st class, by His Majesty King Haakon VII, of Norway, in recognition for his prominence as an engineer and his activities in behalf of Norwegians in the United States.This is the highest honor accorded by the Norwegian Government to a non-citizen of that country, Mr. Giaver having received his final papers as a citizen of the United States in 1896.
After the death of Mr. Burnham in 1915, Mr. Giaver established offices in Chicago as a Consulting Engineer, and, in 1916, organized the architectural and engineering firm of Giaver and Dinkelberg. His last work as a member of this firm, finished only a few months before his death, was the engineering design of the Jewelers Building being erected on Wabash Avenue and Wacker Drive, of Chicago, which will be the tallest office building west of New York.
Mr. Giaver was married in New York on September 3, 1883, to Louise C. Schmedling of Trondhjem, Norway. He is survived by his wife, two daughters, Astrid (Mrs. Ralph Holmboe), Brigit (Mrs. A. C. Bull), and three sons, Erling, Finn J., and Einar W. Giaver.
In private life, Mr. Giaver was an enthusiastic yachtsman. It was his principal hobby and he won many prizes racing his boats on Lake Michigan. He was a Trustee of the Norwegian American Hospital in Chicago; President of the Structural Engineers Association; former Director of the Western Society of Engineers; President of the Norwegian Engineers Association; past President of the Chicago Norske Club; former Vice Commodore of the Columbia Yacht Club;Svenska Klubben, Chicago Athletic Club; and Chicago Yacht Club. Mr. Giaver was elected a Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers on September 12, 1916.
Memoir prepared by Amasa C. Bull, Esq., Chicago, Illinois
Transcribed by Dixie Zahorik
May 16, 2001
Historical records make no mention of the source of the copper used in The Statue of Liberty.
The solution to one of the Statue of Liberty`s last remaining mysteries, the source of her copper skin, has been found at the end of a trail that leads to 1 Commupaw Ave, Jersey City, New Jersey from a defunet copper mine on a Norwegian Island in the North Sea.
It has been widely rumored that the copper used in the building of the Statue came from Visnes Coppermines at Karmoy, a small rocky island near Stavanger in Norway. Copper from the statue was analyzed, and it has now been confirmed that it was indeed extracted in
It has been widely rumored that the copper used in the building of the Statue of Liberty in New Jersey came from Visnes Copper Mines at Karmoy near Stavanger in Norway. In the autumn of 1985 copper from the statue was analyzed and it has now been confirmed that it was indeed extracted at Visnes.
Historical records make no mention of the source of the copper used in the construction of the Statue of Liberty, although a local tradition suggests that the copper came from the French-owned Visnes Mine near Stavanger, Norway. Records show that ore from this mine, refined in France and Belgium, was a significant source of European copper in the late nineteenth century. To investigate further the origin of the statue`s copper, "Bell Laboratories" in New Jersey, USA, have analyzed the samples of copper from the Visnes Mines and from the Statue of Liberty by emission spectography. A comparison of the presence and concentration of metallic impurities show the two samples to be very similar, and a review of historical and geographical information on possible suppliers of the copper suggests that the Visnes Mine is a very likely source. "Bell Laboratories" conclude that it is highly probable that the copper from the Visnes Mine was used for the Statue of Liberty, and that the metallurgical evidence argues strongly that the copper comes from Norway.
The Statue of Liberty ("Liberty Enlightening the World" by Frèdèric Auguste Bartoldi) in New Jersey waters outside New York Harbor is sheathed in copper of average thickness 2 mm. The statue is 50 m high and some 80 metric tons of copper was required for its fabrication. It is probable that few projects before or since the Statue`s construction in 1876-1885 ever required as much copper. Nonetheless, no historical records have yet been found to indicate positively the source of copper.
One of the mines which provided high-purity ore to the European metals industry in the late nineteenth century was the Visnes Mine in Norway. This mine was in operation throughout much of the latter half of the ninetenth century, and local tradition has it that copper from the mine was uses for the Statue of Liberty. In an attempt to obtain further information concerning the copper origin, "Bell Laboratories" have analyzed samples of copper from an instrument from the Visnes Mine and from the Statue of Liberty. This paper lists and discusses the sources of European copper during the period when the statue was built, describes briefly the history of the Visnes Mine, presents the analytic results of the examinations. and discusses the implications of the findings for establishing the origin of the Statue copper.
Copper has been mined in Europe for millenia, but a handful of deposits provided nearly all copper used in Europe in the nineteenth century. The English mines at Cornwall and Devon were the world`s largest producers of copper ore during the first half of the nineteenth century. By the latter part of the nineteenth century, they had been supplanted by Montana and Arizona mines in North America and by the Rio Tinto mine in the Huelva Province of Spain in Europe. Copper ore was also derived from the Mansfield mines in Germany and in a number of relativeliy small deposits in Norway. Negligible amounts of copper-bearing ore were mined in France.
From consideration of geography, one would anticipate that among the convenient sources of refined copper for a Paris sculptor would be Swansea, England, where the British ore was refined. Hamburg, Germany, where the German ore was refined. Huelva, Spain, a major source of copper where the German ore was refined. Huelva, Spain, a major source of copper for centuries, or ore mined in Norway and refined on the continent.
In the 1870`s one of the most active of the Norwegian copper mines was at Visnes, a community situated on the island of Karmoy on the west coast. The copper at this site was discovered in 1865 and the mine constructed under the direction of Charles Defrance, a French mining engineer.
Defrance was employed by a mining company in Antwerp, Belgium. This company owned ore processing plants in France and Belgium and a refinery at Hemixen, Belgium (near Antwerp). The corporation formed to develop the Visnes ore body, Sociètè des Mines et Usines de Cuivre de Visnes, used the same processing and refining facilities, but had its headquarters in Paris.
During the 1865-1890 period the Visnes ore, a high grade pyrite-complex copper ore with zinc, was shipped to sulfuric acid plants in Dunkirk, France and Antwerp, Belgium. The location of the Visnes mine on the North Sea made transportation of the ore relatively convenient.
The premium grade Visnes ore had an average content of 3.5% copper, 3% zinc and 44% sulfur. After it was roasted to manufacture sulfuric acid and to form the copper oxide, the ore was shipped to the copper leaching plant at Hemixen. There the copper was put into solution (probably by dilute sulfuric acid leaching) and then precipitated out on iron to produce cement copper. The production during the 1870s and 1880s reached as much as 3.000 metric tons of copper per year.
Although details of the metallurgical processing are not certain, one can presume the cement copper was melted and cast at Hemixen. It is not known whether the cast copper was rolled to sheet at Hemixen or at some other plant.
It is a special treat to know where the copper, used to construct the World`s most famous Statue of Liberty, was mined and how the miners lived and worked at extracting this metal from the earth.
Discovery of Copper at Visnes in Norway - today a Mining Community Museum
In 1865 a rich copper ore was discovered in Gronnevik at Visnes, on the western side of Karmoy island. By 1895 the mine had been excavated to a depth of 730 m under the sea level, and 1,8 mill. tons of copper ore had been extracted. During these years, up to 70% of Norway`s copper export came from Visnes, which at that time was one of North-Europes largest mines.
Thanks to the mining regulations operative at that time, the Belgian and French owners were allowed to run their activities free from undue interference. The local authorities exercised very little control. The mining companies had their own health service complete with doctors and hospital, their own school system, and mining staff were the resident policemen.
In operation from 1865 - 1895, extracted 1,4 mill. tons of copper ore. Extracted and exported 850.000 tons of copper enriched mineral. In operation from 1899 - 1972, extracted and exported 1,3 mill. tons of copper enriched mineral.
The mining began using compressed air driven drills as early as 1875. This resulted twice as much ore being extracted from the ore. As long as the rock wasn`t too hard, it was possible with a hand drill and mallet to advance by 12 to 17m in a month (25 days). By using aircompression drills it was possible to advance by 20-30m over the same period of time. The Copper Mine Museum also has in its collection the first electric lightbulb, put into use at the the mine. That was as early as 1870.
Several bridle paths were made in the northern part of the property. They still exists, and form a network of paths crossing the landscape which is not common for the west coast of Norway. The paths are broad and level, so level in fact that even wheelchairs can be used in this woody terrain. Although a strong north-west wind can sometimes blow in the headland, the bordering wood provides shelter for those using the paths.
The nature around Visnes at that time, a wasteland covered by heather and juniper, was not wery inspiring. The mines first director, Charles de France, decided to create a more appealing landscape for his Southern-European workers. A number of beautiful gardens were subsequently designed and planted.
Nine ovens were utilised to produce powered copper and enriched copper ore. Useful by-products were zinc oxide and sulphur. The smelting works was in operation from 1872 - 1887. On the rocks stretching out into the sea there are many remains of gun posts, trenches and bunkers. All these relics bear witness to lively activity in the days of the war.
In the old mining area you will find a beautiful park area, including "Fransehagen", named after the first director, Charles de France, Visnes mining museum and the old mine.
HOW YOU
CAN HELP THE POOR
Make a donation of food around the world:
Every someones
dies of hunger; 3/4 of the deaths are children under 5.
On the Web,
the United Nations` The Hunger
Site lets you click on a button,
and somewhere in the world a hungry person gets a meal to eat at
no cost to
you.
So,
visit the site . . . http://www.thehungersite.com . . . and pass the word.
Photo: Thomas Miller - Webmaster: Michael Holmboe Meyer
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AWARDED NOVEMBER 10, 1996 This
site is included within the history section of global pavilion by
World Fair Secreatariat EXPO 96, October 31. 1996
This presentation is
maintained 1996-2006 © by:
Michael
Holmboe Meyer, Director IFLAC Norway and Scandinavia
Founded in 1985,
Haifa, In Harmony with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights embodied in the Charter of the United
Nations.
Astrid Tollefsen's new book, Following the Waters, the true drama of the final Norwegian Emigration
is the story of the courage, integrity, great success and tragedies of the Norwegian emigrant fishermen (especially scallopers) and their families
to New Bedford & Fairhaven Massachusetts in the 20th Century. With CD by noted Norwegian balladeer Aleksander Hauge
Following the Waters © by Astrid Tollefsen
Last updated: December 1st 2001, © Copyright Michael Holmboe Meyer.
