Years ago heading northwest on Rt 322 West towards State College, the highway was hugging the Susquehanna River and to my surprise I saw for the first time a miniature version of the Statue of Liberty in the middle of the River. It was kind of a strange thing to see in the middle of a wide river, but none the less she was there. Over the years I have tried to get a good photo of her in passing, at high speed, but even without getting a good photo I still enjoy seeing her because she makes me chuckle and makes me wonder who the heck thought to build her and how did they get the statue in the middle of the river?
This stretch of the Susquehanna is interesting to me because there is a lot of rock jutting above the surface of the river and there are remnants of old pilings from former bridges. It is on top of one of these old pilings that this lady is standing.
Digging around on the internet I found out a few things about her. This project was conceived and originally built by a person who was inspired by the 100 year anniversary of the NYC Statue of Liberty in 1986. The man who built the first statue recruited a dozen men to transport her by boat at night and lift this heavy lady onto an old piling in the middle of the river. She was an instant hit during daylight hours, but of course since this was done illegally she was taken down. But in the end a more sturdy Statue was erected with local government oversight and a hefty price tag. She is now a landmark for the area.
Finally after many years passed and there was no longer fear of being charged with a crime for erecting this statue, the person who was inspired to make her, revealed himself.
To read more, please use these links.
Susquehanna River Statue of Liberty
To see the Susquehanna River Statue of Liberty in person, she is roughly 100 miles out from Delaware County, on the way to Penn State University.
This post was inspired by looking over past photos.
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