When I first saw the Statue of Liberty standing proudly across the the Hudson River as it flows into the Bay of New York, I was filled with unexpected emotion. I knew that I would be thrilled beyond measure to actually see the Statue of Liberty. However, what I really saw were the images in my mind of my great-great grandfather arriving from England in the mid 1800s.
The Statue of Liberty had not yet arrived in the United States when my first relative arrived. Most likely, he first arrived at an immigration station located at Castle Garden in the Battery. As the number of immigrants grew larger, Castle Garden was determined to be too small and unprepared to handle so many people. A new immigration station was built on Ellis Island and opened in 1892. The Statue of Liberty arrived in New York Harbor in 1885 in 214 crates and was dedicated in 1886.
Pictures of Battery Park in New York City. A wonderful place to view the Statue of Liberty across the water.
Arriving from the Port of Liverpool in England, my great-great grandfather was not greeted by seeing the Statue of Liberty or the hopefully organized and professional atmosphere of Ellis Island. However, I can only imagine his excitement, his fear, his plans for the future, his expectations. My great-great grandfather was the first to arrive. He was in his very early twenties. So young…and I think…so brave.
Paintings of early immigrants to New York City.
That is why I felt such a surge of emotion to be looking directly at the Statue of Liberty. We were in New York City for a wedding, but we had a few days to take some sightseeing tours. We booked a Circle Line afternoon cruise to get a closer look at the statue and other sights along the river.
Honestly, I was like a child at a birthday party even when we were waiting in line to board. Our daughter thought that I had lost my mind. Upon boarding, we realized that our tour was full of an equally excited tourist group from Japan. I fit right in with them and started talking with the group sitting near us almost immediately…of course, I had to get to know them.
As we moved closer and closer to the statue, every single person in the tourist group from Japan stood up and started singing America the Beautiful! What a truly memorable moment! I was impressed that they knew the song… one of my favorites. There were so many people standing up that I was worried about the safety. But…who can worry at a time like this?
So…I stood up too and started singing the song. Our daughter was totally embarrassed and told me to sit down right away since I was certainly not part of the tourist group. The look of distress was evident on her face and almost enough to cause me to chuckle, but I held myself back. She was just too young to grasp the importance.
Today…she would understand the implication of a group from Japan standing up and singing American the Beautiful. She would understand the implication of a group from Japan taking pictures of the Statue of Liberty. She would understand the implication of a group from Japan being proud to be actually seeing such a grand representation of freedom.
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Statue of Liberty Express Bus Tour is the best way to visit Statue of Liberty .
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Thank you so much!
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How very beautiful!
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My youngest two sons have had the privilege of seeing Lady Liberty. She is also on my bucket list!
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She was always on my bucket list too. I had been to NYC when I was 14, but only looked around for one day. My brother had finished college and had gotten a job in Philadelphia. I did sort of see her from the top of the Empire State Building. Kathleen had been several times with the choir and also to visit friends. She had several friends who moved there after college. The tour boat to the statue trip was for a wedding. Then we went back about 3 years ago for another wedding. The wedding was in upstate New York. Mike and I loved it… The landscape was like East Texas! I think NYC is fascinating!
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Wonderful post. I have never been to New York to see the Statue of Liberty, but I am glad you got the opportunity. I can just see you singing and your daughter’s embarrassment. Ha
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It was a scene…that’s for sure! I hope that you get to go to NYC someday!
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Just might get to New York someday. Do like the less crowded Western U.S. for trips.
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I do too…love Colorado and Wyoming! We have also gone to New Mexico lots of times! I was so surprised that my husband liked New York so much. He would much rather get a cabin near Breckenridge CO over NYC! But, the city is exciting! We also went to upstate New York for another wedding… the countryside was just beautiful with many pretty farms!
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I’m with you and would have joined in singing too!! What a great story!!! Give the kids something to remember 🙂 ha!
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Wonderful post. I could understand your excitement and wanted to join the Japan tourist to sing. It’s a natural response. When you actually see the Statue of Liberty, and hear the song the song America the Beautiful, it brings up so much emotion and the memories of all the history. Thank you for sharing!
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Thank you so much! I was just thrilled to be on the cruise down the river in the first place and the wonderful Japanese tourist group was an added bonus! Our daughter would respond so differently today…now that she understands the history and the struggles to build a strong friendship with Japan. We have a friend from Tokyo and her dedication to her family as the oldest daughter is heartwarming. So…I also was thinking about our friend, Misae and how her parents felt when they first visited her in San Francisco!
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Wonderful experience! I hope we can do it someday!
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Yes…it is such an interesting city. I love the sounds of the city such as the many languages you hear when just walking down the street. The added experience of seeing the Statue of Liberty is the best! NYC is one of my favorite places even though I normally like to travel to national parks and surrounding areas. However, once I saw my first Broadway show…I decided that NYC offers an incredible amount of excitement!
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I love Broadway show! My daughter went to NYC for a modeling convention when she was 13 years old. I called her room after 11:30pm, she was not in her room. The operator said< “What do you think? This is New York!”
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Even in NY, 11:30 is late to be out for 13 year olds…even with chaperones! Our daughter was in the Texas Girl’s Choir for over 7 years…they would have concerts/tours all over the world every summer for a few weeks. They would sometimes have dinner at 11:00 pm…I decided to never, ever be a chaperone!!! Is your daughter still involved in modeling?
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Those were good experiences for kids growing up. My daughter is not involved in modeling, but all the classes they had the kids go through helped her to be confident!
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That is exactly the most wonderful result of our daughter’s choir experience…the level of confidence. She auditioned at age 8 and stayed in until she was 15. The rehearsals were intense at times, but she loved it. Some of the choir girls that she sang with are still close friends today. So wonderful that our girls knew the real benefits of responsibility at early ages!
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That’s wonderful. I encourage y daughter to stay in touch with the girls. She still has friends from 2nd grade!
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So happy for your daughter! It takes a special person to keep in touch with friends for years and years!
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It takes effort to do that. Once in a while I asked if she knows how such and such friend is doing! I only have one childhood friend!
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Lovely post. I love the history of Ellis Island and Manhattan in general.
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Thank you! I love the history too! I have been working on our family tree through ancestry.com for several years! Lots of fun!
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Great post! The Statue of Liberty is such a powerful symbol, but also just breathtaking!
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Thank you so much! I agree with you…the Statue of Liberty represents everything that the founding fathers planned for the country. That’s how I see it and that is exciting!
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