On June 17, 1885, crates containing parts of the Statue of Liberty arrived in New York City, NY. Sculptor
Frederic Auguste Bartholdi and engineer Gustave Eiffel packed hundreds of parts into more than 200 crates
for transport to the United States from France.
After being assembled on Bedloe's Island (renamed Liberty Island in 1956), President Grover Cleveland
and other dignitaries dedicated the Statue of Liberty on October 28, 1886.
Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.
On June 17, 1885, a ship loaded with crates containing parts to build the statue arrived in New York City, NY's harbor. Designed by sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi with an iron skeleton built by Gustave Eiffel, the effigy—formally titled "The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World"—was a gift of friendship from the people of France to the United States. Dedicated on October 28, 1886, the sighting of the Statue of Liberty upon sailing into New York City's harbor brought relief to millions of weary immigrants. Today, the Statue of Liberty is recognized as a symbol of democracy and freedom throughout the world.
Following the Union victory that ended the American Civil War and the end to slavery in the United States, Edouard de Laboulaye, President of the French Anti-Slavery Society, proposed erecting a statue in the United States commemorating freedom, justice, and liberty. With the help of sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, Laboulaye began raising funds to construct a statue he hoped would be completed in time for the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition and celebration of the Declaration of Independence.
The French committed to funding the statue's construction through public fees and even a lottery, while the United States promised to erect a pedestal upon which the statue would be built. Fundraising and construction delays on both sides of the Atlantic slowed progress on Bartholdi's statue. Although engineering challenges delayed completion in time for America's centennial celebration, the sculptor did display the statue's arm holding the torch at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition and the completed head at the 1878 Paris World's Fair. To address the challenges of supporting such a large statue, Bartholdi enlisted the assistance of Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (Eiffel Tower designer) in 1879 to design and build Liberty's iron skeleton. In the meantime, the American effort to construct Liberty's base faced its own funding stumbling blocks. American newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer collected more than $102,000 in donations from readers who saw their name among a list of donors printed in his New York City, NY, newspaper. School children collected spare change, a poetry contest (won by "New Colossus" writer Emma Lazarus) raised funds, and architect Richard Morris Hunt (who would become famous for his design of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and facade of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art ) donated the design of the statue's pedestal.
Bartholdi completed construction of the Statue of Liberty in France in July 1884. During a ceremony held in Paris, France, on July 4, 1884, the U.S. Ambassador to France, Levi P. Morton, formally received "Liberty Enlightening the World." The Statue of Liberty continued to overlook the French capital until January 1885, when workers began to carefully disassemble the statue and pack it into more than 350 crates for transport aboard the French frigate Isere leaving Ronen, France, in late May 1885. Arriving off Sandy Hook, Middletown, NJ, on June 16, a naval parade escorted the Isere into New York Harbor the next day to the cheers of thousands of spectators who gathered along the New York and New Jersey waterfront.
The Statue of Liberty remained in storage until its Bedloe's Island pedestal was ready in April 1886. Crews raced to erect the iron skeleton and copper skin, completing the project on October 19, 1886. On the morning of October 28, 1886, more than 1 million spectators stood in the rain to watch New York City's first ticker tape parade. Following an afternoon nautical parade, President Grover Cleveland formally dedicated the Statue of Liberty at a Bedloe's Island ceremony. Millions lined the shoreline for weather-postponed fireworks and the nighttime illumination of the statue on November 1.
Initially cared for by the United States Lighthouse Board, President Theodore Roosevelt transferred the statue's supervision to the War Department in 1901, which assigned the Army Signal Corps and later military police to Bedloe's Island. President Franklin D. Roosevelt transferred Liberty to the National Park Service in 1933. An Act of Congress officially changed the name of Bedloe's Island to Liberty Island on August 3, 1956.
After welcoming arrivals to New York Harbor for nearly a century, the Statue of Liberty underwent an $86 million restoration that was completed in time for the statue's centennial and "Liberty Weekend" celebration July 3–6, 1986. The Statue of Liberty continues to welcome immigrants dreaming of a better life in the United States and symbolizes America's freedom and prosperity to people around the world. The statue, Liberty Island, and nearby Ellis Island are part of the Liberty National Monument, which welcomed more than 4.5 million visitors in 2016.
You can learn more about the Statue of Liberty using census data and records. For example:
Prior to being renamed Liberty Island in 1956, the land on which the Statue of Liberty stands was known as Bedloe's Island. Named for Isaac Bedloe who owned
the island from 1667 to 1732, the land was subsequently a private summer residence and later quarantine site for people suffering from small pox, tuberculosis,
typhus, yellow fever, and cholera.
New York ceded the island to the federal government in 1800, for the construction of the 11-pointed, star-shaped Fort Wood to protect New York City, NY.
The granite ramparts of Fort Wood serve as the base of the Statue of Liberty's pedestal.
An Act of Congress changed the name of Bedloe's Island to Liberty Island on August 3, 1956, and today Liberty and nearby Ellis Islands are part of the
Liberty National Monument.
Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.
The Korean War began on June 25, 1950. In the decades since the 1953 armistice ended hostilities on the Korean Peninsula, thousands of Koreans have immigrated to the United States. The 2010 Census reported that more than 1.7 million people identified as Korean.
The cities of Los Angeles, CA, and New York, NY, have the largest Korean populations with 110,679 and 91,729 respectively, while Palisades Park, NJ is home to the largest concentration of Koreans who make up 46 percent of the city's population.
From 1892 to 1954, the Statue of Liberty welcomed approximately 12 million immigrants to the United States as they entered New York Harbor enroute to the Ellis Island Immigration Station.
Ellis Island opened on January 1, 1892, and 18-year-old Irish immigrant Annie Moore became the first person processed through the station.
The Ellis Island Immigration Station closed in 1954. On May 11, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson added the site to the Statue of Liberty National Monument. After extensive fundraising and restoration, the first of several historic buildings reopened as part of the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration in 1990.