Why did they put the Statue of Liberty on an island?

While Bartholdi was designing the Statue, he also took a trip to the United States in 1871. During the trip, Bartholdi selected Bedloe's Island as the site for the Statue. Although the island was small, it was visible to every ship entering New York Harbor, which Bartholdi viewed as the gateway to America.



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Bedloe's Island is designated as the site for the Statue of Liberty.

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The city of New York acquired the island in 1758, and it was ceded to the state of New York in 1796 and to the federal government in 1800. Fort Wood was built there for the War of 1812, and the statue was erected within the fort in 1885–86.

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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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5 Things You May Not Know About the Statue of Liberty
  • The statue represents a Roman Goddess. ...
  • The crown's spikes represent the oceans and continents. ...
  • Lady Liberty is struck by lightning 600 times every year. ...
  • Gustave Eiffel helped to build it. ...
  • Lady Liberty's face is modelled on the artist's mother.


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The Statue of Liberty arrived in New York Harbor to great fanfare that day, but to the surprise of everyone not already familiar with the Statue project, its full public debut was put on hold for another year after a logistical problem cropped up: the statue's mammoth pedestal didn't exist.

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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.

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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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10 Fun Facts about the Statue of Liberty
  • Her spiky hat is symbolic.
  • She is actually French.
  • The statue served as a lighthouse.
  • Her head isn't on properly!
  • Nobody is allowed in the torch.
  • Lightning doesn't strike twice, does it?
  • She escaped her chains.
  • Why is she green?


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The last residents of Liberty Island, superintendent David Luchsinger and his wife, Debbie, left the island in 2013. The Statue of Liberty Museum now occupies the side of the island where the residences used to be.

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Liberty Island is a federally owned island in Upper New York Bay in the United States. Its most notable feature is the Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World), a large statue by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi that was dedicated in 1886.

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Federal ownership Liberty Island has been owned by the federal government since 1801, first as a military installation and now as a national landmark.

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It's made of copper, which has oxidised naturally to form a green patina coating which actually protects the copper underneath. It took about 20 years for the Statue of Liberty to change from copper coloured to green!

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Is the Statue of Liberty an image of a man or woman? Classical images of Liberty have usually been represented by a woman. The Statue of Liberty's face is said to be modeled after the sculptor's mother.

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The truss in statue's right shoulder had seriously weakened and was in danger of collapse. And almost half of the iron armature that supports the copper skin had corroded, in part because the statue had become, in effect, a giant battery.

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On July 4, 1884 France presented the United States with an incredible birthday gift: the Statue of Liberty! Without its pedestal it's as tall as a 15-story building. She represents the United States. But the world-famous Statue of Liberty standing in New York Harbor was built in France.

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It began with efforts to finance this unprecedented undertaking. France would be responsible for creating the Statue and assembling it in the United States while the American people would fund and build the pedestal. To raise funds in France, public fees, various forms of entertainment, and a lottery were used.

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To these anxious newcomers, the Statue's uplifted torch did not suggest enlightenment, as her creators intended, but rather, welcome. Over time, Liberty emerged as the Mother of Exiles, a symbol of hope to generations of immigrants.

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