Today we celebrate the laying of the cornerstone of the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal on August 5, 1884.

​A cornerstone is significant because, historically, it was the first stone set and the reference point that established a building’s alignment, orientation, and stability.

In older masonry construction, the cornerstone could be a real structural element at a corner.

Today it is usually more commemorative than load-bearing.

Cornerstone rituals began as ancient foundation rites meant to set out, protect, and consecrate a building, with practices such as “stretching the cord,” placing deposits, and marking the four corners of a structure.

There are references to the practice being performed in medieval times, but most of my reading has been about the Egyptian "Foundation Rituals."

What began as a practical and sacred act of anchoring a building became a way to announce a project’s importance, honor the people behind it, and mark the beginning of something meant to outlast its builders.

More on why humans celebrate such events, but first, some interesting findings on the Statue of Liberty.

Most people learn in school that the Statue of Liberty was a gift from France, made of copper, and designed by Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi. Well, I remembered it as Bertolli, but in writing this I realize that's a company that makes pasta sauce.

However, from a structural engineering and construction perspective, the monument is effectively the world’s first curtain-wall skyscraper disguised as a classical statue.

The original plan was to fill the inside of the copper shell with sand or masonry. Then came Gustave Eiffel. Yes, that Eiffel. Eiffel argued that a rigid, load-bearing shell of that scale would fail in high marine winds.

Instead, he created a central wrought-iron truss pylon (acting like a modern elevator core) with a secondary flexible iron framework. The 3/32-inch-thick copper skin (roughly the thickness of two pennies) doesn't carry structural weight; it hangs from the core.

This decoupled, non-load-bearing exterior skin is conceptually identical to the metal-and-glass curtain walls used in modern high-rise construction.

Because copper and iron expand and contract at different rates under solar radiation and cold weather, rigidly riveting the skin directly to the frame would have caused severe oil-canning, distortion, or sheared fasteners.

1,350 custom-bent, puddled-iron bars ("ribs") contour precisely to the inner folds of Lady Liberty's drapery. Instead of bolting the skin to the iron directly, copper "u-saddles" were riveted to the skin. The iron armature bars slipped through these saddles without being rigidly fastened to them. This allowed the outer skin to expand, contract, and flex independently in wind gusts up to 3 inches (and up to 6 inches at the torch) without transferring localized shear stresses back into the main structure.

Another interesting structural tidbit: the pedestal—designed by American architect Richard Morris Hunt—sits inside the historic star-shaped masonry walls of Fort Wood. To anchor Eiffel's central iron pylon against severe overturning moments from offshore harbor winds, the pedestal foundation was cast using 54,000 tons of mass concrete. At the time, it was the largest single concrete pour in the Western Hemisphere, acting as a massive gravity anchor to keep the high-center-of-gravity tower upright.

To top it all off, there was a "design change" that somehow forgot to make its way back to the structural designer (sound familiar?).

Bartholdi altered Eiffel's structural geometry for aesthetic reasons without fully recalculating the loads. He moved the statue's head and right arm 2 feet to the side to give her a more graceful posture.

This uncoordinated architectural tweak placed the cantilevered load of the 40-foot torch arm slightly off-axis from Eiffel's intended primary truss framing. The resulting eccentric loading placed permanent bending stress on the shoulder connection, requiring significant structural bracing reinforcements during the 1980s restoration.

Each year, nearly 3.5 million visitors make their way to this iconic landmark, drawn by the enduring ideals that define the United States: liberty, justice, and equality. More than just a monument, the statue stands as one of the most recognizable structures in the world — a timeless symbol of inspiration for all who strive to uphold these foundational American values.

Back to the cornerstone ritual, "groundbreaking," the "topping off party," or a "ribbon cutting," and why.

Human rituals and celebrations are fundamental aspects of our species' social evolutionary biology and psychology. While the specific details change—whether it’s an ancient Egyptian king performing a foundation ritual or a modern family throwing a birthday party—the underlying human needs remain remarkably consistent.

Humans are deeply social creatures whose survival historically depended on group cohesion. Celebrations and shared rituals act as "social glue."

Planning and participating in festivities trigger the brain’s reward systems, providing positive anticipation and delight.

In business, when team members work hard toward a financial or operational target (like finishing on schedule, shortening turnaround times, or hitting a quarterly revenue goal), achieving the goal without recognition creates fatigue.

A celebration provides closure and validates that the extra effort mattered.

Whether you manage a full design studio or run a solo shop, how do you mark the completion of a big project or celebrate a win? Do you have a personal post-drawings routine, a team lunch, or a milestone tradition?

Speaking of celebrations...

This past Saturday evening, we gathered for the annual American Residential Design Awards Gala. It was an incredible night honoring some of the best residential designers, builders, and architects in the country.

If you couldn't join us in person (or want to relive the highlights), you can check out the event photos and explore all of this year's incredible winning entries:

🏆 Visit ResidentialDesignAwards.com​

A massive congratulations to all of this year’s winners!