Statue of Liberty

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For other uses, see Statue of Liberty (disambiguation).
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Statue of Liberty
Liberty Enlightening the World

Location Liberty Island

Manhattan, New York City,
New York,[1] U.S.

Coordinates
404121N 74240WCoordinates:
404121N 74240W
Height Height of copper statue (to torch):
151 feet 1 inch (46 meters)
From ground level to torch: 305 feet
1 inch (93 meters)
Dedicated October 28, 1886
Restored 1938, 19841986, 20112012
Sculptor Frdric Auguste Bartholdi
Visitors 3.2 million (in 2009)[2]
Governing U.S. National Park Service
body
Website Statue of Liberty National Monument

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Type Cultural
Criteria i, vi
Designated 1984 (8th session)
Reference no. 307
State Party United States
Region Europe and North America

U.S. National Monument

Designated October 15, 1924
Designated President Calvin Coolidge[3]
by

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Official name: Statue of Liberty National Monument,
Ellis Island and Liberty Island
Designated October 15, 1966[4]
Reference no. 66000058

New Jersey Register of Historic Places

Designated May 27, 1971
Reference no. 1535[5]

New York City Landmark

 Type Individual
Designated September 14, 1976[6]

Location of Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor in

New York City
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The Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World; French: La Libert clairant
le monde) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York
Harbor in New York City, in the United States. The copper statue, a gift from the
people of France to the people of the United States, was designed by French
sculptor Frdric Auguste Bartholdi and built by Gustave Eiffel. The statue was
dedicated on October 28, 1886.
The Statue of Liberty is a robed female figure representing Libertas, the Roman
goddess. 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. A broken chain lies at her feet. The
statue became an icon of freedom and of the United States, and was a welcoming
sight to immigrants arriving from abroad.
Bartholdi was inspired by French law professor and politician douard Ren de
Laboulaye, who is said to have commented in 1865 that any monument raised to
U.S. independence would properly be a joint project of the French and U.S.
peoples. Due to the post-war instability in France, work on the statue did not
commence until the early 1870s. In 1875, Laboulaye proposed that the French
finance the statue and the U.S. would provide the site and build the pedestal.
Bartholdi completed the head and the torch-bearing arm before the statue was
fully designed, and these pieces were exhibited for publicity at international
expositions.
The torch-bearing arm was displayed at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia
in 1876, and in Madison Square Park in Manhattanfrom 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 New York
World started a drive for donations to complete the project that attracted more
than 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. The statue's
completion was marked by New York's first ticker-tape parade and a dedication
ceremony presided over by President Grover Cleveland.
The statue was administered by the United States Lighthouse Board until 1901
and then by the Department of War; since 1933 it has been maintained by
the National Park Service. Public access to the balcony surrounding the torch has
been barred for safety reasons since 1916.