<P> That same year, Ralph Pulitzer, who had succeeded his father Joseph as publisher of the World, began a drive to raise US $30,000 (equivalent to $660,275 in 2016) for an exterior lighting system to illuminate the statue at night . He claimed over 80,000 contributors, but failed to reach the goal . The difference was quietly made up by a gift from a wealthy donor--a fact that was not revealed until 1936 . An underwater power cable brought electricity from the mainland and floodlights were placed along the walls of Fort Wood . Gutzon Borglum, who later sculpted Mount Rushmore, redesigned the torch, replacing much of the original copper with stained glass . On December 2, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson pressed the telegraph key that turned on the lights, successfully illuminating the statue . </P> <P> After the United States entered World War I in 1917, images of the statue were heavily used in both recruitment posters and the Liberty Bond drives that urged American citizens to support the war financially . This impressed upon the public the war's stated purpose--to secure liberty--and served as a reminder that embattled France had given the United States the statue . </P> <P> In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge used his authority under the Antiquities Act to declare the statue a National Monument . The only successful suicide in the statue's history occurred five years later, when a man climbed out of one of the windows in the crown and jumped to his death, glancing off the statue's breast and landing on the base . </P> <P> In 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt ordered the statue to be transferred to the National Park Service (NPS). In 1937, the NPS gained jurisdiction over the rest of Bedloe's Island . With the Army's departure, the NPS began to transform the island into a park . The Works Progress Administration (WPA) demolished most of the old buildings, regraded and reseeded the eastern end of the island, and built granite steps for a new public entrance to the statue from its rear . The WPA also carried out restoration work within the statue, temporarily removing the rays from the statue's halo so their rusted supports could be replaced . Rusted cast - iron steps in the pedestal were replaced with new ones made of reinforced concrete; the upper parts of the stairways within the statue were replaced, as well . Copper sheathing was installed to prevent further damage from rainwater that had been seeping into the pedestal . The statue was closed to the public from May until December 1938 . </P>

When did statue of liberty became a national monument