Statue of Liberty
In New York Harbor, a statue of a woman holds a torch high. She is the first thing most people see when they arrive in New York by boat. The poem on her base welcomes people from other countries.
Frederic Bartholdi made the copper statue. Alexandre Eiffel built an iron frame inside the statue to hold up the heavy copper. France gave the statue to America as a gift of friendship.
Bartholdi began work on the statue in the winter of 1875, but it was not done until July 1884. It was shipped to New York in June 1885 in 350 pieces. It took four months to put it together.
The 151-foot (46-meter) tall Statue of Liberty stands on a concrete base that the United States made. She wears a long, flowing dress and a spiked crown. Her crown has seven rays and 25 windows in it. She holds a flaming torch in her right hand.
Since 1886 millions of people have visited the Statue of Liberty. At first, people could climb inside the head and arm. During World War I (1914-18), the arm was closed, but visitors could still climb to the crown.
In 1984 the statue was closed for repairs. It reopened on July 5, 1986, on its 100th birthday. After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks it closed for almost three years for security reasons. During that time, people could only visit the base. The statue reopened in August 2004.