14 Incredible Photos Of The Statue Of Liberty Being Constructed In Paris

    Lady Liberty’s first home was a Parisian neighborhood.

    Brian Galindo
    by Brian Galindo

    BuzzFeed Staff

    Albert Fernique / New York Public Library

    Interesting facts about the Statue of Liberty:

    • The Statue of Liberty was a gift from France to the United States, as a symbol of friendship.

    • Lady Liberty was sculpted by artist Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi.

    • The statue was originally called Liberty Enlightening the World.

    • Alexandre Gustave Eiffel served as the structural engineer.

    • Construction on the statue began in 1875, in Paris, and was completed in 1884.

    • The statue arrived (disassembled) in New York Harbor in June of 1885

    • The Statue of Liberty was dedicated by President Grover Cleveland on October 28, 1886.

    • The height of the statue, from the base of the pedestal foundation to the tip of the torch, is 305 feet, 6 inches.

    • The thickness of the exterior copper covering is 3/32 of an inch (slightly less than the thickness of two pennies).

    • There are seven rays on her crown; they represent the seven continents.

    • It took almost 30 years for the Statue of Liberty to change from copper brown to its now iconic greenish-blue patina.

    • One symbolic feature that people cannot see (due to the height of the pedestal ) is the statue’s feet surrounded with broken shackles, it symbolizes Lady Liberty’s freedom from oppression and control.

    Facts via: The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation and National Geographic

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    Albert Fernique / New York Public Library

    Construction of the skeleton and plaster surface of the left arm and hand of the Statue of Liberty

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    Albert Fernique / New York Public Library

    Men at work on the construction of the Statue of Liberty.

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    Albert Fernique / New York Public Library

    Workers hammering sheets of copper used for the exterior covering.

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    Albert Fernique / New York Public Library

    View of the workshop, with models of the Statue of Liberty in the background.

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    Albert Fernique / New York Public Library

    Workers shaping sheets of copper.

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    Albert Fernique / New York Public Library

    The head of the Statue of Liberty on display at the Paris World's Fair, 1878.

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    Albert Fernique / New York Public Library

    Scaffolding for the assemblage of the Statue of Liberty, of which the head is shown at left.

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    Albert Fernique / New York Public Library

    Assemblage of the Statue of Liberty in Paris, showing the bottom half of the statue erect under scaffolding, the head and torch at its feet.

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    Albert Fernique / New York Public Library

    View of the external area of the workshop in Paris, showing construction materials, the head of the Statue of Liberty, and a group of men gathered in front of the left foot of the statue.

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    Albert Fernique / New York Public Library

    Assemblage of the Statue of Liberty in Paris.

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    Via cassouletratatouille.com

    The Statue of Liberty completely built in the courtyard of Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi's studio in Paris.