Unspecified/General

Rising from a small island in New York Harbor, the Statue of Liberty has welcomed arrivals to the United States since 1886 and stands today as one of the most powerful symbols of freedom and immigration in the world. Liberty Island, the patch of land on which she stands, lies a short ferry ride from Lower Manhattan and the New Jersey shore, within sight of the skyline. The statue was a gift from the people of France, conceived to mark the friendship between the two nations and the ideals of liberty they shared. Designed by the sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, with an internal iron framework engineered by Gustave Eiffel, the copper figure was built in France, shipped across the Atlantic in crates and assembled on a massive pedestal funded by public donations in America. Her green colour is the weathered patina of that copper skin, formed over decades of exposure. Standing more than 90 metres from the ground to the tip of the torch, the figure depicts a robed woman bearing a torch and a tablet inscribed with the date of American independence, a broken chain at her feet. The famous lines welcoming the tired and poor come from a poem mounted inside the pedestal, written to help raise funds for its construction. The island is administered by the National Park Service as part of a national monument that also takes in nearby Ellis Island. A museum on the island tells the story of the statue's creation, and visitors with the right tickets can climb to the pedestal or, in limited numbers booked far ahead, up to the crown. For visitors a trip means a ferry from Battery Park in Manhattan or Liberty State Park in New Jersey, the only authorised way to reach the island, with security screening before boarding. Walking the grounds offers close-up views and a panorama of the harbour and skyline, and many people combine the visit with a stop at Ellis Island on the same ticket. Demand for crown access is high and tickets are released months ahead, so the climb requires planning, while pedestal and grounds tickets are easier to secure. The ferries can be busy in summer, and arriving early helps avoid the longest queues for security screening and boarding.

Type: Tourist Attraction

Address: New York City, NY, United States

Website: https://www.nps.gov/stli

Opening Date: 28/10/1886