Miss Freedom, originally namedGoddess of Liberty, is the statue adorning the dome of theGeorgia State Capitol since 1889. Commissioned in 1888, the hollow copper statue is painted white, weighs over 1600lbs, and is over 26 feet tall. She was sculpted with a torch in her right hand and a sword in her left. The torch is a functioningmercury-vapor lamp, casting a blue-green light at night. The torch in her right hand was supposed to be a working light continuously, but it remained dark until it was reconstructed in 1959. Tube and trolley systems have been installed so the bulb can be changed from the inside.
There were four different capitol locations before the current location.[1] The current capitol building resides in the city of Atlanta.[1] Construction of the Atlanta capitol started on November 13, 1884.[1] The building took four and a half years and 250 men to complete.[1] The statue of Miss Freedom was installed in 1888.[2] Completion, and opening of the building, took place on March 20, 1889.[1]
The statue's origin is vague as the original documents about the construction of the State Capitol andMiss Freedom were burned. What records remain suggest that the architectural firm in charge of the building,Edbrooke andBurnham, ordered the statue from the W.H. Mullins Manufacturing Company in Salem, Ohio.[3] The statue's name before its christening is unknown, but it has possessed the namesMiss Freedom, Liberty, and Goddess of Liberty.[4][1]
The statue wears aPhrygian cap,[5] orpileus, adorned with a star. It wears a robe and holds a torch in her right hand and a sword in her left. The torch is meant to represent truth or enlightenment while the sword symbolizes authoritative armed liberty or enforced justice.[5]
| Topics |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Education | ||
| Government | ||
| Sports | ||
| Related | ||
33°44′56.35″N84°23′17.33″W / 33.7489861°N 84.3881472°W /33.7489861; -84.3881472
