Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty is an internationally recognized icon of freedom and democracy, standing proudly on Liberty Island in New York Harbor.  It was dedicated in 1886 as a gift from the people of France to the people of the USA in recognition of the friendship established between the two nations during the American Revolution.  The statue was sculpted by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and engineered by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, who also designed the Eiffel Tower in Paris.  A colossal copper-skinned woman in neoclassical robes, standing over broken chains and wearing a seven-pointed crown, bearing a torch and a tablet inscribed with the date of the Declaration of Independence, the Statue of Liberty was first built in France, then disassembled and shipped in pieces to the USA where it was reassembled atop an American-built pedestal to shine as a beacon of freedom at the entrance to New York City.

• The Statue of Liberty’s original name is “La Liberté éclairant le monde” – “Liberty Enlightening the World”
• When originally built, the Statue’s skin was the same color as a copper penny but it quickly acquired its natural green patina through exposure to the sea air
• After standing for almost 100 years, the Statue of Liberty was heavily restored starting in 1982, reopening in time for her centennial in 1986
• The Statue’s electrically-illuminated torch was operated by the US Lighthouse Board until 1901; it proved to be too dim to use as a functional lighthouse
• Prior to 1916, visitors to the Statue could climb a stairway up to the balcony of the torch, but it has been closed ever since for public safety
• Reservations are required to climb to the top of the pedestal or the Statue’s Crown

For more information, visit the official website at http://www.nps.gov/stli/index.htm/.