STATUE OF LIBERTY

STATUE OF LIBERTY

The Statue of Liberty was given to the Americans by the people of France to represent the friendship between the two countries established during the American revolution Discussions in France over a suitable gift to the United States to mark the Centennial of the American Declaration of Independence.It was dedicated on October 28, 1886,is a monument signing America's independence. It represents a women wearing a stola,broken chain and a eleven edged star crown.The women is carrying a torch in her right hand and a tabular in her left hand. Standing on the Liberty island it welcomes visitors and Americans traveling by ship. Frederic Auguste Bartholdi sculptured the statue and obtained a patent.Gustave Eiffel (engineer and designer of Eiffel towers)was responsible for the choice of copper. The torch is plated with gold. The statue is 151 ft (46 m) tall, but with the pedestal and foundation, it is 305 ft (93 m) tall.Bartholdi had initially planned to have the statue completed and presented to the United States on July 4, 1876, but a late start and subsequent delays prevented it.However, by that time the right arm and torch were completed. These parts of the statue were displayed to people, charged 50 cents to climb the ladder to the balcony. The money raised this way was used to start funding the pedestal.The construction of the statue was completed in France in July 1884. The cornerstone of the pedestal, designed by American architect Morris hunt, was laid on August 5, 1884, but the construction had to be stopped by lack of funds in January 1885. It was resumed on May 11, 1885 after a renewed fund campaign by Joseph Pulitzer in March 1885. Thirty-eight of the forty-six courses of masonry were yet to be built.The statue arrived in New York Harbor on June 17, 1885.On October 28, 1886, the Statue of Liberty was unveiled by President Grover Cleverland front of thousands of spectators. New York legislature to contribute $50,000 to build the pedestal.