Statue of Liberty

Nearing the end of the American Civil War, French historian Edouard de Laboulaye proposed that as a gesture of friendship, the French and the United States should build a statue in honor of the centennial of the Declaration of Independence, as well as a celebration of America’s success in building an enduring democracy.

Who Designed the Statue of Liberty?

The French part of the project was awarded to sculptor Frederic Bartholdi, who built the statue’s copper skin, while Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel of Eiffel Tower fame, was brought on board to build a skeleton out of iron pylon and steel, in such a manner that allowed Bartholdi’s copper skin to move independently in the high winds that frequent New York Harbor.

While statue construction went on in France, newspaperman Joseph Pulitzer used his paper, The World, to raise funds for the pedestal, along with other funds previously raised through contests, benefits and exhibitions. Designed by American architect Richard Morris Hunt, the pedestal was built on Bedloe’s Island, off the southern tip of Manhattan, and when Bartholdi completed the statue in 1885, he and his crew disassembled the statue into 200 crates and shipped it to the States aboard the French frigate Isere.

When Was the Statue of Liberty Built?

Once it arrived, in 1886, workers assembled the statue atop her pedestal, and on October 28th of that same year, President Grover Cleveland dedicated the statue before a gathering of several thousand spectators.

After the U.S. government opened Ellis Island in 1892, the Statue of Liberty greeted some 12 million immigrants who entered through New York Harbor, which saw 10,000 people a day during its peak years of immigration.

In 1924, Congress declared the Statue of Liberty a national monument, which was transferred to the National Parks Service in 1933. In 1956, Bedloe’s Island was renamed Liberty Island, while more than a decade after the closure of Ellis Island, the immigration port and Liberty Island became part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument, making Lady Liberty, one of the most recognized landmarks in the world.