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New Statue of Liberty Museum Honors the Immigrant Experience

A new 2,400 square-meter museum is set to open on New York State’s Liberty Island next year.

The museum celebrates the world famous Statue of Liberty. The statue was a gift from the people of France to the United States. It officially opened to the public in October 1886.

From 1892 to 1954, more than 12 million immigrants passed by the Statue of Liberty as their ships sailed to nearby Ellis Island. Many immigrants later traveled to Liberty Island and saw the statue up close. At the bottom, are the words of poet Emma Lazarus: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled¹ masses yearning² to breathe free…”

Now, a new museum to honor ‘Lady Liberty’ is on the way.

Nicholas Garrison³ is a partner with FXCollaborative, a New York-based company that plans and designs buildings. He designed the museum.

"When we first came on the island, we were moved. We…saw people on their knees, crying, because of what this place meant, and it kind of sunk into us that this is a really special, sacred place."

About 4.5 million tourists visit Liberty Island every year. But only about 20 percent are able to go inside the Statue of Liberty because of limited space. The new museum will permit every visitor to know what the inside is like.

The museum is expected to open in May 2019.

Entering the building, visitors will experience a virtual⁴ look inside the head of Lady Liberty. They also have a chance to see a recreation of the work place of Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, who created the statue.

Museum visitors also will see the 1,600-kilogram torch that lit up New York Harbor for nearly 100 years. It was replaced in 1985.

On top of the Statue of Liberty Museum, visitors can have a good look at New York's Lower Manhattan area. Nicholas Garrison says the museum “tries to be inspirational unto itself as its own object…while being respectful to the buildings that are here."

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

museum – n. a building in which interesting and valuable things are shown to the public

huddled – adj. close together in a group

inspirational – adj. causing people to want to do or create something

sacred – adj. considered very holy

yearning – v. to feel a strong desire or wish for something or to do something

torch – n. a burning stick’ something providing light or guidance

virtual – adj. existing mainly in computers or on the internet

1 huddled   

挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
• We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。

2 yearning   

a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的

参考例句：

• a yearning for a quiet life 对宁静生活的向往
• He felt a great yearning after his old job. 他对过去的工作有一种强烈的渴想。

3 garrison   

n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防

参考例句：

• The troops came to the relief of the besieged garrison.军队来援救被围的守备军。
• The German was moving to stiffen up the garrison in Sicily.德军正在加强西西里守军之力量。

4 virtual   

adj.实质上的，事实上的，实际上的

参考例句：

• This reply is a virtual acceptance of our offer.这一回答实质上是接受了我们的建议。
• At that time the East India Company was the virtual ruler of Bengal.那时东印度公司是孟加拉的实际统治者。