134 Years Ago On This Day, Lady Liberty Arrived in US From France

The Statue of Liberty was gifted to America by France in 1885 to commemorate their friendship.

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(This piece was originally published on 17 June 2017, and has been republished on the occasion of the anniversary of Lady Liberty’s arrival in America.)

One of the world's most familiar and featured landmarks, a symbol of democracy and freedom, the Statue of Liberty arrived in New York from France on this day, 17 June, exactly 134 years ago.

The Lady, whose official name is Statue of Liberty Enlightening The World, was a gift to the US by France. It commemorated their friendship, and France's support of America after the Civil World War post 1865.

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A Torch and a Tablet

The woman was envisioned to be holding a raised torch in her right hand, and a tablet in her left. The tablet had an engraving “July 4, 1776" upon it – or the adoption date of the Declaration of Independence. The idea was to appreciate America's democracy.

The large-scale French sculptor, Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi, created the statue out of sheets of copper. Interestingly, it was Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel, the man behind the Eiffel Tower, who assisted Bartholdi in designing the statue’s steel framework. The 305-foot-statue was, therefore, copper-coloured. It has since then gone through a process of a natural colour change.

(Photo Courtesy: Imgur)

Grand Entry

The Lady had a grand welcome. She was shipped through the Atlantic Ocean in 350 dismembered pieces, packed in over 200 cases. She was then renovated, later to be revealed to the world the following year by US President Grover Cleveland from a designed pedestal on a small island in New York – now called Liberty Island.

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Liberty Island was next to Ellis Island, America's prime immigration station. For the years that followed, Lady Liberty "watched over" millions of immigrants, who entered America through the New York Harbour.

(Photo Courtesy: Wikemedia Commons)

Restoration Under Reagan

In 1924, the statue was named a national monument. Almost 60 years later, under US President Ronald Reagan, it underwent a restoration.

It was closed – fully and then partially – after the 9/11 attacks. Eight years hence, it was fully reopened in 2009.

(With inputs from History.com and PBS America.)