Top Tourist Attraction in U.S.A : Statue of Liberty

"Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

-  The New Colossus, Emma Lazarus

Statue Of Liberty is the symbol for democracy and freedom. The Statue of Liberty, known officially as “Liberty Enlightening the World,” was designed by French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi and funded completely through donations from the French people. After Bartholdi finalized the design in miniature, the statue itself was created using wooden molds, a copper shell, and an iron structure designed by Gustave Eiffel, who later built the Eiffel Tower. On July 4, 1884, the 151-foot-tall, 225-ton Statue of Liberty was delivered to the American Ambassador in Paris. In order to transport Lady Liberty to New York, the statue was dismantled into 300 pieces and packed into 214 wooden crates. The torch that we see today is not the original torch of 1886. This torch was replaced during the 1984-86 restoration because restoration was found unsuitable. The original torch underwent major modifications in 1916. Today this torch is located in the Lady Liberty's lobby museum.

The original ‘life size’ cast of the Statue of Liberty  stands  amongst the beautiful flower gardens and fountains of Paris Luxembourg Gardens [which is home to the French Senate] in Paris.   On her pedestal she’s approximately 15 feet high and absolutely ‘magnifique’ among the flowers and trees.  This was architect/sculptor Batholdi’s miniature mold for the American Statue of Liberty. Construction of the statue began in 1875 in France, and was completed in June 1884.  A design patent, for the statue was issued, by the United States Patent Office, on February 18, 1879.  The statue was dismantled and shipped to New York, arriving on June 19, 1885.  The statue then took four months to rebuild.  On Lady Liberty’s tablet is inscribed “July 4, 1776 in Roman numerals, Day of America's Independence from Britain: July 4, 1776”, and inscribed upon the base for the statue is an excerpt from  Emma Lazarus poem "The New Colossus".

The Statue of Liberty, the most famous symbolic statue of a woman, was modeled after Marie Bartholdi, the sculptor's mother. The Statue of Liberty is tremendous! Her nose is four and a half feet long, and her mouth is three feet wide. Her waist measures 35 feet around. The statue was a gift to the people of the United States from the people of France in recognition of the friendship established during the American Revolution. Over the last 120 years, the Statue of Liberty has become an internationally-recognized symbol of freedom and democracy. In 1984, the United Nations designated the Statue of Liberty as a World Heritage Site and a massive restoration effort began. On July 5, 1986 the newly restored Statue re-opened to the public during Liberty Weekend, which celebrated her centennial.

Where it is

The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor. Liberty Island is situated in Upper New York Bay at the mouth of the Hudson river and measures an area of just over 10 acres.

How to reach

Visiting New York will include making the obligatory trip to the Statue of Liberty. The nearest subway stops to the Statue of Liberty are Bowling Green on the 4/5 line; Whitehall Street on the N/R line; and South Ferry on the 1 (make sure to be in the first 5 cars of the subway to exit at South Ferry station). Exit the station and follow the signs to Castle Clinton where you can purchase tickets to the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. Ferries to Liberty Island run from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. The island closes at 6:00 pm and the last ferry returns to Battery Park around 6:30 pm.

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