The Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty (originally called Liberty Enlightening the World (French: La Liberté éclairant le monde)) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886. The statue, a gift to the United States from the people of France, is of a robed female figure representing Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom, who bears a torch and a tabula ansata (a tablet evoking the law) upon which is inscribed the date of American independence. A broken chain lies at her feet. The statue has become an iconic symbol of freedom and of the United States.


Height of copper statue - 151 ft 1 in
Foundation of pedestal (ground level) to tip of torch - 305 ft 1 in
Heel to top of head - 111 ft 1 in
Height of pedestal - 89 ft
Height of foundation - 65 ft
Weight of copper used in statue - 60,000 pounds
Weight of steel used in statue - 250,000 pounds
Total weight of statue - 450,000 pounds
Thickness of copper sheeting - 3/32 of an inch


In 1875, Laboulaye proposed that the French finance the statue and the Americans provide the pedestal and the site. Bartholdi completed both the head and the torch-bearing arm before the statue was fully designed, and these pieces were exhibited for publicity at international expositions. The arm was displayed in New York's Madison Square Park from 1876 to 1882. Fundraising proved difficult, especially for the Americans, and by 1885 work on the pedestal was threatened due to lack of funds. Publisher Joseph Pulitzer of the World initiated a drive for donations to complete the project, and the campaign inspired over 120,000 contributors, most of whom gave less than a dollar. The statue was constructed in France, shipped overseas in crates, and assembled on the completed pedestal on what was then called Bedloe's Island. President Grover Cleveland presided over the 1886 dedication ceremony.

Bartholdi was inspired by French law professor and politician Édouard René de Laboulaye, who commented in 1865 that any monument raised to American independence would properly be a joint project of the French and American peoples. Work on the statue commenced in the early 1870s.



Ellis Island in New York Harbor was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States as the site of the nation's busiest immigration station from 1892 to 1954. Prior to that, the much smaller original island was the site of Fort Gibson and later a naval magazine. The island was greatly expanded with landfill between 1892 and 1934. Since 1990, restored buildings on the island host a museum of immigration run by the National Park Service as part of Statue of Liberty National Monument.