President Ronald Reagan described it as an iconic moment that captures the essence of America.
During the 1984 restoration of the Statue of Liberty, construction worker Anthony Soraci was pictured planting a kiss on Lady Liberty’s forehead, decades after the monument welcomed his grandparents to America.
The incredible photograph shows the young worker perched on top of a scaffolding bar more than 200 feet off the ground, with Soraci leaning forward to kiss the statue’s head.
Reagan invoked the moment as he hailed America’s 210th birthday in the summer of 1986, celebrating the statue’s centennial after it was erected on Liberty Island.
“Many of us have seen the picture of another worker here, a tool belt around his waist, balanced on a narrow metal rod of scaffolding, leaning over to place a kiss on the forehead of Miss Liberty,” Reagan said as he kicked off his speech.
“Tony Soraci, the grandson of immigrant Italians, said it was something he was proud to do, ‘Something to tell my grandchildren,’” the former president said.
The restoration project was a four-year endeavor that saw the monument encased in scaffolding as architects, engineers and conservators came together to ensure the Statue of Liberty’s preservation for the next 100 years.
Images of the work showed the restoration crews climbing all around the scaffolding as they worked on nearly every inch of the statue, from her toes to her torch.
Reagan went on to hail Soraci and the others who worked tirelessly to renovate one of America’s most iconic monuments in time for its 100th anniversary, saying the job helps ensure the light of freedom continues uniting those who call the US their home.
“We’re bound together because, like them, we too dare to hope — hope that our children will always find here the land of liberty in a land that is free,” Reagan said.
Now 40 years after Reagan’s speech, Soraci, who lives in Texas, revealed he had returned to the Statue of Liberty earlier this month for an interview with ABC World News Tonight co-anchor David Muir.
America’s eyes will be on Lady Liberty and New York City as it celebrates the United States’ 250th anniversary with a week full of festive events — and the iconic Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks shows on both the Hudson and East rivers.
