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Where was Statue of Liberty originally supposed to go?

Bartholdi's statue has been intended originally for Port Said beside the Suez Canal (see over). The placement in Egypt would have been quite logical.



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An illustration of the presentation of the Statue to the U.S. Minister Levi Parsons Morton in Paris on July 4, 1881. The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the French people commemorating the alliance of France and the United States during the American Revolution.

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Construction of the Statue was completed in France in July 1884. The massive sculpture stood tall above the rooftops of Paris awaiting her voyage across the sea. Back in America that same year architect Richard Morris Hunt was selected to design the Statue's granite pedestal, and construction got underway.

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Who Was Originally Supposed to Receive the Statue of Liberty? The Statue of Liberty was almost given to Egypt to be placed at the Suez Canal because Bartholdi was very inspired by structures like the Sphinx and the pyramids.

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One hundred thirty-five years after gifting the original Lady Liberty, France is sending a second, smaller Statue of Liberty across the Atlantic just in time for America's July Fourth festivities. The bronze sibling statue, nicknamed the little sister, has been in France since its completion in 2009.

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25 Facts to Celebrate the Statue of Liberty
  • The statue's full name is Liberty Enlightening the World.
  • It was a gift from France given to America in 1886.
  • The robed female figure represents Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom.
  • The statue measures 93 meters and weighs 204 metric tons.


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There are two genuine statues and several lesser versions of the Statue of Liberty. The original and most famous is the one located on Liberty Island, a gift from the French to America. The second is located in Paris, France, and was a reciprocal gift from the United States in 1889.

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The biggest While Liberty in New York was a gift from the French, this statue in Paris was a gift from the Americans. And it's the biggest too, at 11.50 metres (37 feet 9 inches).

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The Statue of Liberty is owned by the Government of the United States of America. The Statue was designated as a National Monument in 1924 (the National Monument additionally includes Liberty Island [1937] and Ellis Island [1965]), and is administered by the National Park Service.

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The entire Statue was completed and assembled in Paris between 1881 and 1884. Also in 1884, construction on the pedestal began in the United States. Craftsmen working on the construction of the Statue of Liberty in Paris.

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So who was the Statue of Liberty modeled after? Quite likely, a mixture of all of these: Augusta Charlotte Bartholdi, the Roman goddess Libertas, a peasant, and that extra inspiration in the artist's own mind.

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The Statue's Copper is the Thickness of Two Pennies But inside the body are a series of steel rods and a skeletal structure that support the weight of the statue and prevent her from collapsing. This support structure was designed by Gustav Eiffel, before he became famous for the Eiffel Tower.

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Some say the current white statue was substituted for the original when American politicians objected to the portrayal of Liberty as a black woman. Some have even argued that the original black statue still exists, either in France or hidden somewhere in the catacombs of New York.

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Egypt rejected the Statue of Liberty because according to the Khedive it was too costly. The original plan was to present the colossal neoclassical sculpture to Egypt to stand at the entryway to the Suez Canal as a beacon of light to Asia. The statue was known as Progress Carrying the Light to Asia.

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The statue, which was meant to stand at the northern entrance to the Suez Canal, was anticipated as a grand project symbolizing the country's burgeoning industrial development, steps towards Europeanization and social advances which Bartholdi pitched to the Egyptian government, especially Khedive Ismail.

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The statue symbolizes freedom and the light around all the world,” Olivier Faron, general administrator of the museum, commented to CNN Style. “We want to send a very simple message: Our friendship with the United States is very important, particularly at this moment. We have to conserve and defend our friendship.”

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