Statue of Liberty of War; since 1933 it has been maintained by the National Park Service. Public access to the balcony around the torch has been barred for safety since 1916. According to the National Park Service, the idea for the Statue of Liberty was first proposed by Édouard René de Laboulaye, president of the French Anti-Slavery Society and a prominent and important political thinker of his time. The project is traced to a mid-1865 conversation between de Laboulaye, a staunch abolitionist, and Frédéric Bartholdi, a sculptor. In after-dinner conversation at his home near Versailles, Laboulaye, an ardent supporter of the Union in
Conservation-restoration of the Statue of Liberty (such as numbered ticketing systems, etc.). Earlier in 1982, the French American Committee began looking for U.S. consultants to complement the technical work already begun by the four French consultants. They would need to prepare a detailed diagnostic report to investigate the conditions of the Statue in further detail, as many of the French consultants were unfamiliar with the construction procedures and standards, and the design and business practices employed in the United States. The inclusion of American participation was of obvious and pragmatic necessity to the restoration work that lay ahead. Several architects, structural engineers, and representatives from the