For the many immigrants that flocked from Europe to New York, the Statue of Liberty was the first image they saw of the USA. The statue was a gift from the French government for the 100th birthday of America's Independence.

It was designed by a young French sculptor, Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, who was striving to build a statue like the great Colossus that once stood at the Greek island Rhodos. The statue's face was modeled after his mother's and the story goes that the body was modeled after a prostitute. The steel framework was made by Gustave Eiffel, who also built the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It was constructed in France and sent to the USA in 214 pieces. The biggest and most embarrassing problem was the construction of the pedestal, which had to be paid for by the Americans themselves. The statue's torch was displayed in Madison Square park for six years in an attempt to spark interest and attract funds. But it was only after publisher Joseph Pulitzer published the names of those who donated money for the project that the funds started flowing in. Eventually, the statue was erected 10 years late, in 1886.

The Statue of Liberty is 46,5 meters high and together with the pedestal it reaches 93 meters. It used to be possible to take the staircase inside the statue and walk all the way up the 354 steps to the head from where you have a nice view on New York City, but for security reasons it was not allowed anymore for some time after sept 11. If you want to check if the Statue of Liberty is open, take a look at this website.