| Dedicated on October 28, 1886, the Statue of Liberty | | | | story regarding construction and transportation from |
| is one of the most iconic landmarks in America. | | | | France to America. It was completed in France in 1885 |
| Standing tall at the edge of New York Harbour, the | | | | after having been designed by Gustave Eiffel, the |
| statue continues to be one of the country's most | | | | designer behind a similarly famous tower in France, |
| visited tourist attractions - but not many people actually | | | | before being broken back down in order to be shipped |
| know what the statue represents. | | | | to America. It was reduced down to 350 pieces which |
| While the main clue is in the name, it must be the case | | | | were packed into 214 crates, all of which were sent |
| that there's a story behind the statue's appearance - | | | | by sea to the United States - only to find that the |
| and why, more interestingly, it's known to some as | | | | pedestal on which they would be re-erected wasn't |
| Statue de la Liberté - so what spurred on the | | | | finished yet. The pieces were doomed to spend the |
| building of the 305ft tall lady, when was she built and | | | | next 11 months tucked away in storage until the |
| by whom? | | | | pedestal was finally finished. The statue then took four |
| The Statue of Liberty is actually a commemoration to | | | | months to assemble until finally, in 1886, it was |
| a very important event, as well as symbolising | | | | completed. |
| freedom in a general sense. It was given to the United | | | | Over the next ten years, America donated some |
| States of America by the nation of France in | | | | $10,000,000 (in today's terms) to charities in France, |
| commemoration of the centennial of the signing of the | | | | which wasn't a bad thank you for the European |
| Declaration of Independence and is also meant to | | | | country, and enjoyed its statue - which operated as a |
| represent the friendship struck between France and | | | | lighthouse until 1902. |
| the US during the American Revolution. The liberty the | | | | More than 120 years later, the Statue of Liberty still |
| statue represents, then, is not only the notion of | | | | stands and is one of the most popular sights from |
| freedom in general, but also the American freedom | | | | people staying in hotels in New York - and is |
| that was won during the revolution and which is so | | | | considered well worth a visit by locals and tourists |
| proudly recalled by many Americans today. | | | | alike. |
| What's interesting about the Statue of Liberty is its | | | | |