The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation (SOLEIF) began
in 1982 when President Ronald Reagan appointed Lee Iacocca, then Chairman of
the Chrysler Corporation, to head up an effort to restore the Statue of Liberty
and Ellis Island to commemorate their respective centennials.
The Foundation, working with its public partner the National Park Service, first tackled the restoration of the Statue of Liberty. After almost a century weather, pollution, and sightseeing had left Lady Liberty’s torch in need of replacement and her crown’s rays in need of strengthening. An army of architects, historians, engineers, and almost 1,000 laborers embarked on the project — which also involved replacing the rusted iron armature bars with stainless steel bars, removing multiple coatings from the interior copper skin, as well as installing new elevators and an informative exhibit in the Statue’s base.