The phrase “this town ain’t big enough for both of us” comes to mind now that Little Liberty, the 30-foot-tall replica of the Statue of Liberty that stood behind the Brooklyn Museum, has made its suitcases and ventured to the Midwest. After 17 years in the museum parking lot, Little Liberty left its post last Monday for repair and restoration at the National Building Arts Center (NBAC) on the outskirts of Sauget, Illinois, and St. Louis, Missouri, where it will be moved in permanence and honored as a national symbol of freedom.
The little freedom was commissioned in 1902 by William H. Flattau as a topper for his Liberty Storage & Warehouse Company building on West 64th Street in Manhattan, just 14 years after the original 305-foot-tall Lady Liberty was installed on Liberty Island (then called Bedloe’s Island ). The galvanized steel and zinc statue was built by WH Mullins in Salem, Ohio, and transported to Manhattan by rail. Flattau’s building was converted into a condominium apartment building in 2003, which resulted Little Liberty’s gift at the Brooklyn Museum’s Steinberg Family Sculpture Garden. The statue was installed outdoors in 2005 and suffered catering on site in 2006.
NBAC Executive Director Michael Allen said Hyperallergic that the effort to move the statue to the Midwest was led by the center’s founder, Larry Giles, in 2017. NBAC and the Brooklyn Museum already had a well-established relationship as the latter transferred a large number of architectural artifacts from demolished buildings across New York City from his collection to be restored and maintained in St. Louis. Lady Liberty’s transfer was postponed for years due to the pandemic and its subsequent impacts on the economy and the shipping industry.
“NBAC will repair the steel base and skin of Little Liberty,” Allen said of the repairs needed for the statue. “We will complete construction of a base that replicates the base atop Liberty Warehouse where Little Liberty once stood, and have the statue installed by August. After the installation, the statue will be repainted and we will hold a dedication ceremony probably in August.
Little Liberty will be placed at the front of the Center facing the city’s iconic Gateway Arch and hopefully inspires tourists and residents alike to explore the bigger picture of artistic and architectural workmanship through the prism of American identity. Allen confirmed it was a permanent move.
