June 17 — On this day in 1885, the Statue of Liberty arrived in New York Harbor. The copper and iron statue was dismantled into 350 pieces that were shipped across the Atlantic from France in more than 200 cases.
The Statue of Liberty was meant to commemorate the American Revolution, as well as 100 years of friendship between the United States and France. It was designed by French sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi, who modeled the statue after his own mother. Bartholdi intended to finish the statue by 1876 to mark the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence but fundraising efforts across Europe and the U.S. took longer than expected. Back then, the statue cost the French an estimated $250,000, which today would amount to more than $5.5 million.
Bartholdi finally completed the statue in 1884. After she arrived the following year on New York Harbor's Bedloe's Island—which was renamed Liberty Island in 1956—the 450,000-pound statue was reconstructed to depict a robed woman holding up a torch. Bartholdi dubbed his creation "Liberty Enlightening the World" and at the time, it was the tallest structure in New York City standing more than 305 feet from the foundation of its pedestal to the top of the torch.
On October 28, 1886, President Grover Cleveland officially dedicated the statue as a symbol of freedom and democracy saying, "We will not forget that Liberty has here made her home; nor shall her chosen altar be neglected." After nearby Ellis Island was opened as the U.S.'s chief immigration station in 1892, Lady Liberty has since welcomed millions of immigrants as they arrived in New York Harbor.
Originally a copper statue, the Statue of Liberty naturally changed colors in a process called patination, which is why it is the greenish-blue color we see today.
