Posted on 07/03/2011 5:56:17 PM PDT by Daffynition
Examining a photo from the middle-of-the-night deed, you expect to spot beer cans.
The gang of 20-somethings had just hoisted Lady Liberty onto her perch atop an old railroad pier in the middle of the Susquehanna River.
Yet no beers were cracked until later.
Now Stilp is marking the 25th anniversary of the statue, located on a stretch of river just north of Harrisburg.
He arranged a commemorative stamp cancellation and a commemorative coin, and he’s conducting a contest for a song about the statue.
“Of all the replicas across America, it’s one of the larger ones,” says Stilp, 61, who’s also inclined to think it occupies the best location.
(Excerpt) Read more at pennlive.com ...
A 25 ft (7.6 m) tall replica sits on the ruins of the late Marysville bridge platform (or pier) in the Dauphin Narrows of Susquehanna River at Harrisburg. The replica was built by a local activist Gene Stilp on July 2, 1986; it was made of venetian blinds and stood 18 feet (5.5 m) tall. Six years later, after it was destroyed in a windstorm, it was rebuilt by Stilp and other local citizens, of wood, metal, glass and fiberglass, to a height of 25 feet.
PATRIOTIC Pennsylvanians appreciate our Lady Liberty. Thank you Mr Stilp and all who aided and abeted that adventure. God bless
America
Wow, cool. “Old venetian blinds”. There were a lot of immigrants from Italy, so, makes sense. Thanks Daffynition.
A whole lot better tha a piano on a sandbar.
Stilp sought no permission for the first one. They second required “every permit in the world.”
I think it looks neat; however, living in Pennsylvania, I am surprised that the builder didn’t get mauled by the local zoning board.
I should have known.
When I was about 16, one of the freeway bridge abutments on I-94 just north of Detroit sported some communist grafitti. One night, someone very artfully covered it with an American Flag made of oil paint. It remained for many, many years, undefiled. Finally it all flaked off.
**Stilp, who lives in Dauphin County, is trained as a lawyer but says he makes his living as a consultant, often on environmental issues.**
Gotcha. By the way, post 12 is really cool. Love it.
I recall the graffiti artist Banksy and how some of his stuff is edgy, more often than not, progressive; yet he is discounted here by posters.
Englishman Arthur S Mole and his American colleague John D Thomas took these incredible pictures of thousands of soldiers forming icons of American history. Arthur's great nephew Joseph Mole, 70, says: "In the picture of the Statue of Liberty there are 18,000 men: 12,000 of them in the torch alone, but just 17 at the base. The men at the top of the picture are actually half a mile away from the men at the bottom"
Thank you for posting these great photos!
Stilp also has a huge inflatable pink pig that he used to protest pay raises for PA legislators. It showed up on the steps of the Capitol building, among other places. A converted school bus painted pink and sporting pigs ears and snout could be seen when Stilp ran for elective office. Creative, attention getting stuff.
Wow! and Wow! again. That’s great.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.