Statue of Liberty

자유의 여신상

The Statue of Liberty is a giant copper statue of a robed, crowned woman holding a torch high in the air. She stands on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, USA. The statue was a gift from the people of France to the United States. French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi designed her, and Gustave Eiffel, the engineer behind the Eiffel Tower, built her metal skeleton. She was dedicated on 28 October 1886.

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At a glance

Country: United States
Location: New York City, USA
Built: 1886
Height: 93 m
Type: Statue

Quick answers

Where is Statue of Liberty?

Statue of Liberty is in New York City, USA, United States.

When was Statue of Liberty built?

Statue of Liberty was built in 1886.

How tall is Statue of Liberty?

Statue of Liberty is about 93 m tall.

A copper statue gifted by France to the United States, greeting arrivals to New York Harbor as a symbol of freedom.

From the ground to the tip of the torch she measures about 93 metres, and the statue alone is about 46 metres tall. For generations of people arriving in America by ship, she was one of the first things they saw, so she became a symbol of freedom and of welcome to newcomers. Today she is looked after by the US National Park Service.

History

In 1865 the French historian Édouard de Laboulaye suggested a monument to celebrate American independence and freedom. The plan was that France would pay for the statue and the United States would build the pedestal, the tall base she stands on. Raising money was hard, especially in America, so the newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer asked readers to donate. The statue was built in France, shipped across the Atlantic in crates, and put together on what was then called Bedloe's Island. Its completion was celebrated with New York's first ticker-tape parade.

What she holds and wears

In her left hand she carries a tablet marked JULY IV MDCCLXXVI, which is 4 July 1776 written in Roman numerals: the date of the US Declaration of Independence. At her feet lie a broken chain and shackle, a sign of freedom from slavery, though they are hard to see from below. Her crown has 25 windows and seven rays. The torch you see today is a 1986 replacement covered in thin gold leaf; the original torch is now in the Statue of Liberty Museum.

Why is she green?

When the statue was new, she was the colour of a shiny copper coin. After about 1900, the copper slowly reacted with air and rain and formed a green layer called a patina, or verdigris. By 1906 the green had covered her completely. At first, the US Congress thought the green was damage and planned to paint the statue, but many people protested. This layer actually protects the copper underneath from wearing away, so it was left in place.

Fun facts

Its copper skin was originally a shiny brown and turned green as it weathered.
Her copper skin is only about as thick as two coins pressed together.
The statue can sway up to about 8 cm (3 inches) in strong wind, and the torch up to about 15 cm.
Her index finger alone is about 2.4 metres long.
Visitors have not been allowed up into the torch since 1916.