When the Statue of Liberty as France's heftiest gift to America arrived on June 17, 1885, around 200,000 New Yorkers eagerly lined the docks to witness the arrival. The statue travelled aboard the warship Isère across the Atlantic, and it was highly-anticipated a 225-ton copper statue.
The "Liberty Enlightening the World" was carefully packaged in 350 separate pieces. The color of the Statue of Liberty is more likely that of a shiny new penny.
Unfortunately, when the statue arrived in New York, the pedestal was not ready yet, but until a year later, in April 1886 the statue's assembly commenced.
According to the National Parks Service, the Statue of Liberty was assembled on Bedloe's Island.
Sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi of the French anti-slavery activist Edouard de Laboulaye, designed the monument, as a symbol of the United States' centennial anniversary of its independence and a trademark to France's friendship with the United States.
Artist Auguste Bartholdi who designed the statue, chose the Liberty island to put the statue on, for a reason that its location is in the busy harbor.
Auguste Bartholdi wrote: "It is, indeed, the New World, which appears in its majestic expanse, with ardor of its glowing life. Yes, in this very place shall be raised the Statue of Liberty."
The statue has been dedicated to a UNESCO World Heritage Site 129 years ago and has become a National Monument and a New York City landmark.
Millions of people worldwide every year visit the statue as one of the most iconic and symbolic sites in the nation.
When the deadliest and most destructive Hurricane Sandy in 2012 hit the U.S., the Statue of Liberty was closed for more than a year after being damaged, however, it reopened soon afterwards.
The anniversary of the statue's arrival was commemorated by Google, the logo of Google was replaced with a doodle of the statue arriving in the harbor.
