Facilities

Rising To The Challenge Of A Monumental Installation
By Jordan Heilweil, Total Recall

Working at the Statue of Liberty was both a personal thrill and a walk on the wild side. From the inception of this project, I had a very clear perception of what the finished product should look like and functionally how it should work. Transitioning from conception to reality was the challenge.

Once we were on-site, reality hit hard. Many things, such as starting our day at 10 p.m. and working until 6 a.m., we knew about. All of the equipment and tools had to be transported by a special boat. Just moving crews between Ellis Island to Liberty Island and back, we had to coordinate with the staff boat schedule. These were just some of the logistical issues we had to take into account.

Out of Reach - Almost

The actual installation was very different than any other structure we have ever worked in. We could almost take all the conventional installation knowledge that we have obtained through the years and leave it at the edge of the island.

The statue itself sits atop the base, or pedestal. The pedestal is six stories tall and has walls that are six feet thick in some areas. The monument is supported by a steel superstructure with the copper skin built around that. The pedestal has an elevator that travels between the first and fifth floors. Everywhere else we had to carry our tools, ladders, and equipment. Once you enter the first level of the monument (seven stories high), you are inside the open structure of the statue. The only way to the crown is to walk the 146 narrow steps up the helical stairs.

Due to the historic significance of the monument, in many sections you cannot fasten housings in a conventional manner. Nor do you have access to install a camera in the normal way. The install team leader, Jim, and his associate, Jason, had to repel from the crown, and while hanging by ropes, run wires and install the camera housings. Extra care and a lot of conduit had to be run to protect and conceal all of the wire.

The monument is a large open area, which is subject to over 5 million visitors annually. A byproduct of the traffic is dust. So, we selected a camera housing that would be pleasing to the architects and at the same time provide a dusttight environment for the camera. The Pelco EH-2500 series housing was our answer. A combination of mounts had to be clamped to the steel structure while hanging in mid-air that, at times, was 110 degrees.

Custom Fabrication

The pedestal required special custom mounts. I was very impressed with the cooperation of Pelco in this regard. From simple to major design changes, Lolo Garza of Pelco’s Manufacturing Department was great. The biggest challenge was how do we mount four Spectra® domes outside of each face of the pedestal 120 feet in the air, and how the heck do you service them? Once again, our teamwork with Lolo and his crew enabled us to develop a unique upside down parapet mount. We were able to install the mount safely from inside a landing, then install the Spectra® dome, swing the arm in place, and lock it. The wall we were mounting to is three feet thick. Keep in mind, we were up 120 feet in the air overlooking Liberty Island and the water.

As we were progressing with the installation, the first cameras to come online were the fixed cameras. The Park Police were enjoying their new-found vision. As we progressed further with the installation, and the Spectras came online, without question everyone was very impressed with their performance. When the Park Police saw the caliber of our installation and functionality of the entire system, they were quite pleased.

We selected Pelco products for multiple reasons. While it is important to have quality equipment, it was even more important to have a manufacturer thatwould work with us and take pride in what we accomplished.

I’d like to extend a special thanks to Sgt. Charles Guddemi and Jeff Marrazzo whose tenacity and "can-do" attitudes made things happen. Jim Wurmer, who did an excellent job running the installation, to Dennis Dodrill and his programming insight, Elke Kunz, who made sure our product was there when we needed it, and last but not least, to Lolo Garza, who I can’t say enough about.