The French sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi, with a bit of assistance from Gustave Eiffel (YES the guy who designed the Eiffel Tower), used his own mother as a model for the more than 305-foot tall statue that has welcomed immigrants for 126 years. Just goes to show ya, mothers shape the world.
Anyway, June 17th, 1885 saw the dissassembled Lady Liberty arrive in New York City Harbor in 350 individual pieces, packed away in more than 200 cases. The following year it was reassembled and dedicated by US President Grover Cleveland, who says of it, "We will not forget that Liberty has here made her home, nor shall her chosen altar be neglected."
The French gifted the statue to the US in commemoration of the American Revolution and a century of friendship between France and the US. It cost France an estimated $250,000 - more than $5.5 million in today's money.
The copper and iron figure, originally copper-colored but changed by natural processes in time to be greenish-blue, was the tallest structure in New York City at the time. It stood on Bedloe Island, whose name changed to Liberty Island after the iconic statue came to rest on it.
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