History of Statue of Liberty

For any traveler first arriving from Europe to the US by sea, the first acquaintance with New York begins with the Statue of Liberty. Frederic Auguste Bartholdi wanted a majestic female figure to reflect the symbol of friendship between Europe and America, between France and the United States.
The French historian Edouard de Laboulaye planned the statue in 1865 to symbolize liberty, and to commemorate the friendship of France with the United States. It was designed by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi and built by the company owned by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel. Alexandre Gustave built his famous Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Statue of Liberty represents a woman dressed in a long classical robe. The statue is 46 m high and its head measures 3 m by 5 m. The right arm with the torch is 13 m long. In the left hand there is the Code of Laws. The crown has seven sharp wedges, representing seven continents and seven seas. Twenty-five windows in the crown symbolized precious stones and rays.

Amazing Statue of Liberty

Alexandre Gustave Eiffel built the Statue of Liberty in a suburb of Paris. Copper came from the Nizhny Tagil ore plant in Russia. Grueling work lasted for nine years. Then the statue was shipped to the United States in 214 cases. The statue stands on a pedestal of concrete faced with granite. The base is surrounded by walls in the shape of an 11-pointed star. The base and pedestal are 47 m high, almost the same height as the statue itself.
The grand opening of the Statue of Liberty, attended by US President Cleveland Grover, took place on October 28, 1886. The French gift was late for the centennial of the United States for more than ten years.

Construction of Statue of Liberty

In 1924, the statue and the island of Liberty received the status of a national monument to the United States, and they were opened for visitors. And since 1976, inside the statue there is the National Museum of Immigration.
The day after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the US symbol – Lady Liberty – was completely closed to visitors. Only in August 2004, the Statue of Liberty was reopened for tourists.