Statue of Liberty 1889, there were 38 U.S. states), although this was not done. Above that, a balcony was placed on each side, framed by pillars. Bartholdi placed an observation platform near the top of the pedestal, above which the statue itself rises. According to author Louis Auchincloss, the pedestal "craggily evokes the power of an ancient Europe over which rises the dominating figure of the Statue of Liberty". The committee hired former army General Charles Pomeroy Stone to oversee the construction work. Construction on the foundation began in 1883, and the pedestal's cornerstone was laid in 1884. In Hunt's original conception, the
Black Hawk Statue to ensure that the statue was completed and erected. The statue was planned by Taft and several of his students and associates at the Art Colony, which is now part of the Taft Campus of Northern Illinois University and is adjacent to Lowden State Park. An original model of the statue is on permanent display at Discovery Center Museum in Rockford, Illinois. Another model is located at the Oregon Public Library in Oregon, Illinois. The statue stands 125 feet above the Rock River, although its height only accounts for 48 feet of that. Black Hawk weighs in at 536,770 pounds