America 250: David Muir climbs up to the Statue of Liberty's torch

"World News Tonight" anchor David Muir kicked off ABC News' celebration of America's 250th birthday by climbing up through Lady Liberty's right arm to reach the torch, standing over 300 feet in the air.

A gift from the people of France in 1886, the statue was there to welcome more than 12 million immigrants over six decades -- from the opening of Ellis Island as an immigration center in 1892 to its closure in 1954.

ABC is marking America's 250th anniversary with 24 hours of programming called "Disney Celebrates America" across ABC, Disney+, Hulu, ESPN, National Geographic, FX, Freeform, and ABC News Live.

The multi-platform broadcast, led by "World News Tonight" anchor David Muir, will feature coverage across all 50 states, beginning 10 p.m. ET on July 3 and running through July 4.

While taking the ferry to Liberty Island, Muir spoke to Captain Hamilton Clancy, who grew up in the shadow of the statue as his grandfather used to be the superintendent of Liberty Island.

"It's impossible to fully imagine what it was like for the immigrants all those years ago, turning the corner and seeing that torch for the first time," Muir said.

"They were the bravest people that I can possibly imagine," Clancy said, speaking of the courage of the immigrants who came through New York Harbor to start a new life in an unfamiliar land.

It is believed that around 40% of Americans can trace their ancestry through Ellis Island, according to the National Park Service.

In the 1980s, there was a restoration project ahead of the statue's centennial celebration. The original torch could not be restored due to severe damage over the years, so it was replaced with an exact replica. Muir met with Tony Soraci, the grandson of Italian immigrants and one of the workers who helped with that restoration project.

The pair stepped into the museum on Liberty Island to see the original torch that Soraci helped preserve.

"She'd been up there for 100 years -- she's out in the middle of the ocean," Soraci said of the toll the first century took on the statue.

While making his way up to the top of the statue, Muir met up with Matt Housch, a historian with the National Park Service.

As they were climbing the double helical staircase to the crown of the statue, Muir got a glimpse of the intricate copper patchwork inside the statue.

"The copper is so thin, it's really just, like, almost two pennies in your hand, and the outside has that green patina," Housch said. "The inside we see is dark like a penny, and you can also really see all the rivets that are in each copper piece."

French sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi designed the statue in a way that made sure all the people arriving in New York Harbor would see the face of Lady Liberty the moment they got there.

"[Bartholdi] didn't know that the most immigrants in history were gonna come into New York City," Housch said. "That was gonna happen years later."

"I've never seen anything like this," Muir said as he took in the spectacular view from the torch. "Welcome to New York Harbor. You can hear the ferry pulling off. Wow. This is what all of those immigrants saw as they pulled into the harbor."

The statue was designed with the flexibility to sway and withstand aggressive weather.

"One of the things you notice right away up here, when you're standing on the torch at the Statue of Liberty -- which they've given so few people access to -- are the winds up here," Muir said. "You can actually feel the Statue of Liberty swaying with the wind, and architects designed it that way -- with that purpose in mind to withstand the weather all these years."

Just like the many immigrants that came through New York Harbor and were greeted by the statue years ago, visitors are welcomed by the statue every day. Around 3.8 million people come to see it every year, according to data from the National Park service.

"For generations of immigrants crossing the Atlantic, coming here to the United States, this was the first view they would see when they pulled into New York Harbor, the torch of the Statue of Liberty high above the harbor," Muir said. "It was the signal of something, the chance of a new life right here in America."