New York Statue of Liberty

About the Statue of Liberty

New York City is the most populous city in the United States, known for its iconic Statue of Liberty - a symbol of freedom and democracy. The city is a global center for finance, culture, and innovation, featuring the Empire State Building, Times Square, and world-class museums.

Conceived by the French jurist Édouard de Laboulaye and sculpted by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, with an iron framework engineered by Gustave Eiffel, the copper figure formally titled "Liberty Enlightening the World" was a gift from France to the United States, dedicated by President Grover Cleveland on October 28, 1886, on what is now Liberty Island in New York Harbor. Its position at the harbor entrance meant that arriving ships, including those carrying immigrants processed at Ellis Island from 1892 to 1954, passed it first, which tied the statue to ideas of arrival and welcome. Emma Lazarus's 1883 sonnet "The New Colossus," mounted on the pedestal in 1903, reinforced that reading. It remains a standard shorthand for the city and the nation.