Statue of Liberty holds a torch above her head with her right hand.
Statue of Liberty . She holds a torch above her head , and in her left arm carries a tabula ansata inscribed in Roman numerals with `` JULY IV MDCCLXXVI '' ( July 4 , 1776 ) , the date of the U.S. Declaration of Independence . The torch-bearing arm was displayed at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876 , and in Madison Square Park in Manhattan from 1876 to 1882 . Public access to the balcony surrounding the torch has been barred for safety reasons since 1916 .